Understanding the Crucial Role of Soil in Life and Climate

It's easy to overlook the soil beneath our feet, or to think of it as just dirt to be cleaned up. But soil wraps the world in an envelope of life: It grows our food, regulates the climate and makes the planet habitable. "What stands between life and lifelessness on our planet Earth is this thin layer of soil that exists on the Earth's surface," says Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, a soil scientist at the University of California-Merced.

In honor of World Soil Day tomorrow, we're revisiting our conversation with Prof. Berhe, who is also serving as Director of the U. S. Dept. of Energy's Office of Science. She talks to Aaron about the hidden majesty of soil and why it's crucial to tackling the climate crisis.

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