Biotic Pump
Nature's Own Plan to Keep Life Thriving
Making Rain - Regenerating the Climate
To have a healthy system of any kind, you need all the parts, and they have to be healthy and connected. Making rain is no exception. Yes, we CAN make rain, but only if all the parts of the system are present and viable.
It all starts with soil, healthy soil keeps the water that falls as rain and stores it for later use. Dirt is dead soil. It has no life and as such it will not absorb water, the water simply runs off. In a heavy downpour, we get flooding, in part because the dirt can't hold the water. Key to preventing flooding, is increasing the sponginess of the soil - everywhere, so that rainwater has a place to go
But that's only part of the process. In nature's wisdom, the land is a key component. Nature forms the land with hills and gullies to allow the rainwater to puddle, to slow it down, so that it soaks into the soil. This is how underground water is recharged, how dead streams come to life, and how aquifers get refreshed.
It all starts with soil, healthy soil keeps the water that falls as rain and stores it for later use. Dirt is dead soil. It has no life and as such it will not absorb water, the water simply runs off. In a heavy downpour, we get flooding, in part because the dirt can't hold the water. Key to preventing flooding, is increasing the sponginess of the soil - everywhere, so that rainwater has a place to go
But that's only part of the process. In nature's wisdom, the land is a key component. Nature forms the land with hills and gullies to allow the rainwater to puddle, to slow it down, so that it soaks into the soil. This is how underground water is recharged, how dead streams come to life, and how aquifers get refreshed.
Village Homes - Davis, California
Built in 1974 they recently suffered a 500-year flood event - 5 inches of water in a day. No flooding!
Built in 1974 they recently suffered a 500-year flood event - 5 inches of water in a day. No flooding!
Plants are next. The best is forest, and mini-forests will do. This is where trees come in to their own. By taking up the water in the soil, and then releasing it into the air through evapotranspiration, the bacteria they release seeds the next rainstorm. Bacteria seeding means that rain falls at lower temperatures, so more easily and frequently.
Evapotranspiration
Understanding the Biotic Pump gives us the capacity to directly address the chaotic weather and not only plan for dry spells, but actively work to reduce the dryness in our area. This is an agency that every person has, and that the City can support and develop!
Soil Smart Strategy
Atmospheric Rivers
When the biotic pump is healthy and functioning well at the local level, then the atmospheric rivers, which carry water world-wide, are strong and the rainy seasons and monsoon cycles we have come to depend upon, happen. When the atmospheric rivers are interfered with, as in the cutting down of forests like the Amazon, the Sahil, and the boreal forests of Canada and Russia, then drought stalks the world.
The small water cycle, the biotic pump, gives us agency. We can work locally to ensure our part of it is functioning effectively. We have a powerful role in cooling the world, and changing our local climate by actively working to restore nature's own cooling system. Furthermore, while we cannot stop the processes of change that have started, we can work to mitigate the consequences, but we must start NOW.