213 results for author: Joanna Campe

Craving Minerals, Eating Rocks: Why do animals and humans eat rock dust?

Last October the Los Angeles Times released an article about research on tool-use among the wild bearded capuchin monkeys of Brazil. The article showcased two short videos of the monkeys smashing rocks against larger boulders – which was interpreted as intentional tool-making behavior. With a closer look, another strange behavior emerged. The monkeys occasionally licked the rocks in their paws. Several hypotheses were proposed to explain this behavior: the monkeys were licking off the minerals in the rock dust collected on the surface of the rocks; they were consuming lichen with antimicrobial properties; or, they were simply consuming ...

Students Gain Hands-On Experience with Remineralization at Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School

Our grant to seed local projects In April 2014, the Judith Haskell Brewer Fund of the Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia donated $5,000 to support Remineralize the Earth. The grant was given to further these ideals: Judith believed in uplifting the world through beauty, science, arts, and education. She was committed to addressing widespread human suffering and was a deeply spiritual and private woman who sought refuge in beautiful, peaceful, natural environments. She showed compassion to, and acceptance of, others and believed in helping people to help themselves achieve self-reliance. It is the intent of the Fund’s ...

An Inside Look at the III Brazilian Rochagem Congress – The Past, Present, and Future of Remineralization

Conference Organizers and Participants   V. Miranda Chase, the director of RTE’s online research database, gave a presentation and represented us at the III Brazilian Rochagem Congress that took place in November 2016. This is the first in a four-part series of articles about the conference.   “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” –Sir Isaac Newton, 1676   The good thing about working with leaders is that they can help us see ahead. They have a vision, and we get to witness it unfolding into reality. During the III Brazilian Rochagem Congress conference, I saw the future of ...

Live Coverage of the Global Symposium on Soil Organic Carbon #GSOC17

Dr. Tom Goreau, of RTE’s Board of Directors, attended the Global Symposium on Soil Organic Carbon (GSOC17) in Rome from March 21 - 23. He presented a conference paper based on the book Geotherapy: Innovative Methods of Soil Fertility Restoration, Carbon Sequestration and Reversing CO2 Increase. Dr. Rattan Lal, who wrote the preface to the book, is a keynote speaker at the Symposium.    Soil took center stage at The Global Symposium on Soil Organic Carbon (GSOC17), hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Nearly 500 participants met in Rome from March 21 to 23 to discuss how soil can help us meet the ...

The Big Blue — Seawater Concentrate for Abundant Agriculture

This is a review of chapter 27 from our book Geotherapy: Innovative Methods of Soil Fertility Restoration, Carbon Sequestration, and Reversing CO2 Increase. Available from CRC Press and Amazon. Close your eyes and think about the oceans: the ethereal blue light shimmering through seawater, the breaking waves kissing the shore, the colorful fishes swimming around reefs. Those deep blue areas not only provide breathtaking beauty; they also provide the resources that all life on earth depends on. About 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by the water of the world’s oceans. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrati...

The Tour Guide — Guiding us from the sea to the soil

This is a review of chapter 28 from our book Geotherapy: Innovative Methods of Soil Fertility Restoration, Carbon Sequestration, and Reversing CO2 Increase. Available from CRC Press and Amazon. Like many other energetic and communicative college students, young Ioan Hossu combined his keen interest in nature and culture into a part time career as a tour guide in Romania. At that time, he probably never imagined that one day he and his company would be another type of “tour guide,” guiding society to an even more eco-friendly world with superior foods. Several decades have passed, and the young tour guide is now the CEO of IHO Agro Intern...

Growing Better Cacti with Remineralization: Research in the Quilombola Communities in Northeast Brazil – Part II

Previously RTE covered on-going research of the team led by Dr. Suzi Huff Theodoro and graduate student Fernanda de Paula Medeiros in the state of Bahia in northeastern Brazil. They seek to grow two species of cacti to serve as animal fodder and as subsistence for the farming families in the Quilombola community there. For an introduction to the project, please read the first article, Part I. In this article, we  cover the latest developments of the project.   Socio-economic and environmental assessment On May 13-15, 2016, the team embarked on their fourth trip to the Quilombola community of Lajedão dos Mateus. On this trip, their ...

Remineralizing a Tree Farm – Growing Nuts for the Revolution!

Our Question What does it mean to have an environmental footprint that regenerates the earth's ecosystems instead of degrading them?  How can human beings once again live in concert with the earth, as fully participating members of the earth's diverse biota, enjoying rich lives in community with other beings? With the forest as our teacher, we are setting out to discover what this might mean in our post-colonial age.  Using the principles of perennial agroforestry and regenerative agriculture, we are recreating a diverse ecological habitat; a place where we can live and grow food, as well as enhance the fertility of the soil, recharge the ...

Da horta à floresta – From garden to forest

A farm called Sitio Semente near Brasilia is taking regenerative agriculture to a whole new level. One of the first steps of returning nutrients back into the soil was through the application of rock dust. In this system, only one initial application of rock dust is required, with no external inputs required thereafter. RTE is advocating for this agroforestry model in semi-tropical and tropical regions worldwide. This model can be easily adapted to a region’s culture and habitat with its great potential for growing a diversity of crops, from fruits and vegetables to nuts, coffee, cacao, and other tree-based crops.

Sitio Semente– From Garden to Forest

Adapting agriculture to the local environment by mimicking natural processes is common to traditional agriculture communities around the world, yet it has only recently re-emerged in the Americas. After decades of land degradation and resource misuse, sustainable food systems are gaining popularity. Increasingly, a great emphasis is being placed on creating systems and practices that work in tandem with nature. One well-known practice is the ‘Three Sisters’ adopted from the Native Americans, in which corn, bean and squash are planted together. The three crops provide nutrients to one another, support each other structurally, retain moisture, and ...