Our planet is more than the things we can see and touch.  It is also our atmosphere, our air.  We are the only planet we know of with an atmosphere that supports life as we know it.  It wasn’t always like this.  Our early atmosphere was formed from volcanic gasses including water vapour, ammonia, methane, hydrogen sulphide and

ten to two hundred times as much carbon dioxide as in today’s atmosphere.  Much of the carbon dioxide dissolved in the oceans.  Eventually a simple form of bacteria developed that could live on energy from the sun and carbon dioxide in the water, producing oxygen as a waste product. A lot of this early oxygen was taken up by oxidation of minerals in the sediments and rocks. The ammonia was split into nitrogen and hydrogen by sunlight and that hydrogen combined with other elements or was lost to space as it was so light.  The oxygen level eventually increased and ultraviolet light from the sun split the molecules to create the ozone UV shield enabling life in the air and not just under water.  Our atmosphere at present is about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% other gases.

We enjoy a relationship where plants use carbon dioxide for energy and growth and give off oxygen, while we and most animals use oxygen for our energy and give off carbon dioxide.  But things change.  In times past such as the Carboniferous era that had huge forests producing the coal measures (about 300m years ago) the oxygen level was higher than today allowing foot long dragonflies.  And today we are facing problems of climate change caused by an increase in the levels of carbon dioxide and methane.  Never was the composition of our air so important. 

AIR

When I was a kid
I didn’t think there was anything there
where air reigns,
just the space between shapes and lives.
I didn’t think space mattered.

I didn’t see that I wouldn’t see
anything at all
if not held by space,
there would be no square or round or prism,
no face,

no place for love to grow between,
no words or songs or might have been,
no beauty.

I didn’t know
that air was so full
when it looked so empty,
that it carried chemicals
for our breath, our plants, our fire,
for rain,

that it held up planes and slowed down cars,
that it pushed without weighing
anything at all,
that it moved to give wind
and rippled to bring sound
to my ear.

I didn’t understand
that air invisibly enables
all things.

Soil is something we don’t think of much unless we are a gardener or a farmer.  But it is crucial for the life of our planet, and we are learning how to look after it better.  Soil is not just earth and a few worms.  It is full of life.  In fact most of the wildlife in your back garden is in the soil, and a teaspoon of soil holds more life than there are people on this planet.

Much of this life is microorganisms including bacteria which breakdown waste organic matter and turn it into compost.  Without them not only would our soils not be fertile but we would drown under a sea of fallen leaves.  There are networks of fungi mycelia that also break down organic matter.  More than that, they form a network that surrounds the roots of plants and trees and nourishes them, helping them absorb water and nutrients, stimulating root growth and protecting them from some diseases.  They also bind the soil particles together that increases the amount of water it can hold.  These and other organisms are disturbed by deep digging or ploughing so farmers are now encouraged to practice ‘min-till’ – minimum tillage, drilling new seeds direct into the soil without ploughing first.   

Soil is important for decomposing waste, for holding water to prevent flooding, for storing carbon, and of course for having the structure, organisms and nutrients that will grow healthy plants. 

Earth

There’s no dirt
like earth,
no rubitinyourfingers richness
that will grow me a green tree,
no other matrix
of microbe, mouldered leaf
and stone,
honeycombed with water and air,
furrowed by worms
for plunging roots.

So easy to despise
as dirt
the dust that forms our food,
that moors our bodies,
that links us to deeper mysteries –

the slow time of centred rock,
the cold holding of hot memories,
the love and lure
of dark gravity
as it pools and congeals
in whirls of magnetic coupling.

And spinning alone in space
with a jewelled face
our earthplanet,
twirling the sun
in a silent dance
to lift my soul

if I notice
what lives beneath my feet,
if I remember
what lies beyond the skies.