We then move from plants which are mostly above the ground down, through the roots, into the soil, and into the domain of fungi. “Fungi are the connective tissue of the planet.” If plants have been around hundreds of millions of years, fungi have been around for a billion. They are composters of all organic material that returns to the soil, masters of circular “economy”.
The story of fungi and pond scum (cyanobacteria) moving out of the ocean and onto land, collaborating with each other to evolve into ever more complex “green beings” is fascinating and awe-inspiring.
Completely ignorant of this symbiotic relationship that has been responsible for the fertility and biodiversity of this planet, humans have destroyed these fungal networks with plows, tillage, herbicides, fungicides, pesticides, destroying soil and creating dirt, devoid of life.
Just like doctors never learn about food being medicine in medical school, neither do students in ag school learn about the invaluable and irreplaceable presence of mycorrhizae.
Continuing the tragic examples of human narcissism worshipping at the altar of technology, Occidental Petroleum has built a Direct Air Capture (DAC) plant that cost $1 bn, and will require $300 mn annually to operate, and it will “suck” out about 500K metric tons of CO2 annually; the equivalent of what plants and fungi sequester in 19 minutes.
The chapter brings up the question again: who (and how) are we to assess the intelligence of animals, plants and fungi? And will it be too late before we understand how the world works together to survive and thrive?
Some of the notable names in this chapter:
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