Currently in Toronto — June 8th, 2022
The weather, currently.
A brief break day to dry out, after a heavy soaking in some areas due to prolonged periods of rain and scattered thunderstorms. Expect lots of sunshine early Wednesday morning with a wake-up temperature near 14°C. There will be some scattered clouds through the afternoon, but overall it will be a decent day. The wind from the south will be light with a high of 22°C. The UV index will be 8 or very high. By late evening Wednesday, a new system will move in, bringing in yet another round of rain showers.
Wednesday night: cloudy with showers and a low of 14°C.
What you need to know, currently.
Soil, the dirt beneath our feet, is not only holding life, but is alive itself.
And we’re running out of it. In fact, we’re in the middle of a soil crisis. According to the United Nations, by 2050, soil erosion could reduce up to 10 percent of crop yields, which is equivalent to taking away millions of acres of farmland.
And, due to climate change and improper farming practices, many places have already lost their topsoil — the surface soil where plants have a lot of their roots.
This loss of soil is significant; soil provides ecosystems, supports our food supply, carries biodiversity, and filters our drinking water. Soil also mitigates climate change, as it's one of the biggest absorbers of carbon dioxide, which combats global warming.
But there is work that can be done to save our soil, like incorporating regenerative agriculture practices — which has origins in Indigenous culture — rather than plowing.
For those of us who are not farmers, we can help by pushing for federal support of these more sustainable practices, from giving out soil subsidies to financially rewarding farmers who are using these regenerative techniques to keep the soil healthy.
— Aarohi Sheth