John D. Hamaker facts for kids

John D. Hamaker (1914–1994) was an American mechanical engineer, ecologist, and agronomist. He was also a science writer who focused on important topics like soil health, using rock dust, how minerals move through nature, climate patterns, and glaciers.

About John Hamaker

His Early Life and Interests

John Hamaker was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States. He studied Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University. He cared a lot about the environment. This led him to study ecology and agriculture.

He was inspired by books like Bread From Stones. These books showed that plants grow much better in soils that are made in a natural way. This natural process takes thousands of years. It's like how glaciers scrape over the Earth's crust or how volcanic lava breaks down.

In the 1960s, Hamaker became very interested in soil and climate issues. He started writing articles about how the health of people, society, and the planet are all connected. For 30 years, he wrote and campaigned for organic agriculture. This type of farming uses natural methods, especially by adding minerals back to the soil.

Hamaker was the first to suggest adding minerals back to the entire Earth. He believed this could help prevent the next ice age from happening too soon. In 1982, he wrote a book called The Survival Of Civilization. It was later republished in 2002.

Testing His Ideas

In the 1970s, many scientists thought the world's climate was getting colder. Books and news articles warned about a coming ice age. They said it could greatly reduce how much food we could grow. At the same time, Hamaker kept writing and campaigning for adding minerals back to the world's soils.

According to his writings, Hamaker tried an experiment in 1976. He spread rock dust on part of his 10-acre farm in Michigan. The next year, his corn crop was much bigger. It produced 65 bushels per acre. Other local farms only got less than 25 bushels. His corn also had more minerals.

He figured that adding rock dust from rivers, seashores, mountains, and glaciers could help American agriculture. He thought it could produce four times more food. Or, it could produce the same amount of food for 25% less cost. This would also mean less need for pesticides or chemical fertilizers.

Hamaker's Main Book

The Survival Of Civilization

In 1982, John Hamaker wrote The Survival Of Civilization. He wrote it with Californian ecologist Donald A. Weaver. The book's full title was Carbon Dioxide, Investment Money, Population – Three Problems Threatening Our Existence. It was republished in 2002 and 2006. Weaver added notes and evidence to the book.

The book sold 14,000 copies at first. It talked about the danger of an upcoming ice age. It also discussed adding minerals back to the world's soils. This would happen on both local and global scales. Another key idea was reforesting the planet. This would help bring atmospheric carbon dioxide back to a normal level. This normal level is around 280 parts per million (ppm), which is typical for warm periods between ice ages. This would help slow down the advance of glaciers.

The book brought together all of Hamaker's ideas. These ideas came from his studies in different areas like soil science and paleoclimatology. His main message was called the Hamaker Thesis. He believed that modern farming and forestry were using up the minerals in the soil. This was causing forests worldwide to die and burn. It also led to a lack of nutrients in our food.

He suggested adding minerals back to the soil as a solution. He promoted renewing soil and forests with rock dust. He saw this as a good and sustainable way to farm. It was an alternative to using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Hamaker thought this was one of the most powerful ideas ever. Many soil and nutritional scientists liked the book and its message. They saw it as a plan to fix the planet's environment.

What Others Said About His Work

Buckminster Fuller, a famous inventor, praised Hamaker's book. In 1983, he wrote a letter saying: "Completely convincing.... I will tell all those inquiring of me about matters relevant to our survival that they had best read Hamaker's book."

Another writer, Bertram Cohen, worried that a global climate shift could turn temperate areas into sub-arctic zones. This would take away humanity's food supply. Cohen also noted that Dr. Herbert Shelton had stressed the importance of soil remineralization for healthy agriculture.

In 1984, The Earth Renewal Society supported the book. They presented a statement at a Congressional hearing in Chicago.

His Discoveries and Inventions

Rock Medicine

Hamaker believed that adding rock dust to the world's soil could make barren soil healthy again. He thought it could also reverse climate change. Rock dust is a quarrying by-product. It feeds tiny micro-organisms in the soil. These micro-organisms are the basic building blocks of all living things.

When mixed with compost, the dust created rich, deep soils. These soils could grow plants very well and quickly. The plants would also be free from pests and predators. Later, scientists like Arden Andersen confirmed this idea. He showed that high sugar and mineral levels in soil made soil bacteria strong. This stopped insect and fungal attacks. For Hamaker and Andersen, minerals were the most important food for these micro-organisms. They brought life and health to the soil.

Rock Grinders

Hamaker also invented a special rock grinder. It was designed to grind rock against rock. This meant less wear on the metal parts. He also designed a larger version. Both were for making rock dust. The full design for the rock grinder was in his book The Survival Of Civilization. It was also in Donald Weaver's book To Love And Regenerate The Earth. In 1984, China's Research Institute of Forests accepted a copy of Hamaker's rock grinder patent papers. At that time, China was leading in reforestation efforts.

The Science Behind His Ideas

Climate Cycles

The Earth's soil loses its minerals during every interglacial period. This is the short, warm time (about 10,000 years) between long ice ages (about 90,000 years). This process causes the world's forests and other plants to decline. These plants are important because they absorb carbon dioxide. When they decline, more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide levels in Earth's atmosphere have been rising for a long time. Too much heat from the sun gets trapped by CO₂ and other greenhouse gases. This affects the global climate. Hamaker explained the 100,000-year cycle of major ice ages. He suggested that the greenhouse effect mostly happens in the tropics. This is where the sun is strongest, not just in the polar regions.

Polar Expansion

When the temperature difference between the poles and the tropics gets bigger, strong winds, hurricanes, storms, and tornadoes happen. More evaporated moisture is carried to higher latitudes. There, it turns into ice and snow. This eventually leads to glaciation and another ice age. We are seeing more record snow in the Northern hemisphere and shorter growing seasons.

As glaciers move forward and backward during an ice age, they grind down rocks. The mineral-rich dust is then spread over the Earth by strong wind and water systems. This adds minerals back to the soils and helps plant life grow.

Shorter Growing Season

Hamaker believed that the growing season could become shorter in as little as a decade. This would lead to many people starving in both rich and poor nations. So, he suggested adding minerals back to the world's soils and reforesting the land. This would create places that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This would help make the climate more stable.

He thought that by adding minerals to the Earth's soils, just like glaciers do, we could create fertile soils. These soils would be the base for creating stable ecosystems again.

The Glacial Threat

Hamaker believed there was a clear and immediate threat of a new glacial period. This would follow a long series of glaciations. He felt that adding minerals back to the world's soils and reforesting the land could create a strong, healthy natural system. This would happen through massive reforestation. He thought this could solve both the climate crisis and the food crisis. It would help the planet regulate itself. Potentially, it could even delay the next glaciation for a very long time.

Volcanic El Ninos

Hamaker also thought that increased tectonic activity, along with snow and ice buildup, could heat up tropical oceans. This would happen through sea floor volcanism. He believed this, along with the stronger greenhouse effect, could be a main cause of the El Nino phenomenon.

Confirmed Findings

In 1983, Nicholas Shackleton and other scientists published an article. It said that the last glacial period started when CO₂ in the atmosphere reached about 290 ppm. They noted that the world was already above that level, at 343-345 ppm. Hamaker explained that CO₂ is important for starting glaciation. Once a large ice field forms, its cooling effect keeps the temperature differences going, which continues the glaciation.

In 1984, Hamaker appeared on Ted Turner's Atlanta Superstation. He said that increased reflection of sunlight in high-latitude areas starts glacial advances and retreats. He referred to Sir George Simpson's 1938 analysis on ice ages. He also mentioned later comments by Richard Somerville and Lorraine Remer. They suggested that global warming might be reduced by changes in clouds. Denser clouds would reflect more sunlight, which would counteract the greenhouse effect.

In 2007, climatologist George Kukla also supported the idea of an imminent ice age.

Benefits of Remineralization

Main Benefits

• It slowly and naturally releases elements and trace minerals.
• It helps plants take in more nutrients.
• It increases yields and gives higher brix. Brix measures dissolved solids in plant sap. Higher brix means more nutrients.
• It balances soil pH.
• It increases the growth of micro-organisms and earthworms.
• It builds healthy humus in the soil.
• It stops soil erosion.
• It helps the soil store more water.
• It makes plants more resistant to insects, disease, frost, and drought.
• It produces more nutritious crops. Minerals are very important for human health.
• It makes crops taste better.
• It reduces the need for fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides.

Other Important Benefits

• It helps with reafforestation (planting new forests).
• It increases forest and land resources.
• It creates sustainable ways for forestry, farming, and energy.
• It improves ecosystems.
• It increases biodiversity (the variety of life).
• It helps with Carbon offsetting (removing carbon from the air).
• It leads to a more stable climate.
• It helps keep the current warm climate between ice ages.

His Influence

John D. Hamaker's work inspired many people to get involved in remineralization. This included permaculturists, organic farmers, biodynamic farmers, gardeners, environmentalists, scientists, and many others.

Remineralize the Earth (RTE)

In the 1980s, Hamaker helped start Remineralize the Earth (RTE). Joanna Campe founded it. RTE began to promote renewing soils and forests worldwide. They used finely ground rock dust as a natural choice instead of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. RTE believed that adding all the mineral nutrients back to the soil was key. This would create fertile soils, healthy crops, and forests. For RTE, remineralization was important for restoring ecological balance and stabilizing the climate.

In 1994, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other groups held a meeting. It was about "Soil Remineralization and Sustainable Agriculture." In 1995, Campe also helped with a two-year research project on remineralization at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

In 2009, RTE was invited to write a chapter for a book. This book was given to all U.N. delegates at a climate change conference in Copenhagen. RTE also has a "Real Food Campaign" that promotes nutrient-rich food.

Sustainable Ecological Earth Regeneration (SEER)

Inspired by Hamaker, Cameron and Moira Thomson started a charity in Scotland in the 1990s. It was called Sustainable Ecological Earth Regeneration (SEER). They wanted to develop Hamaker's ideas.

Paul Kelbie wrote an article in The Independent newspaper. He said that the Earth has gone through 25 ice ages in the last three million years. Each one lasted about 90,000 years. We are now 10,800 years into a warm period between ice ages. Past warm periods lasted about 10 to 12,000 years. During these warm periods, soil loses minerals. This means modern soils are not very rich.

SEER believed that by spreading rock dust, they could do in minutes what the Earth takes thousands of years to do. They could put essential minerals back into the earth. SEER received money from the Scottish Executive for the UK's first official rock dust trials. They said rock dust could fight climate change. This is because calcium and magnesium in the dust turn carbon in the air into carbonates. It also helps soil organisms and plants absorb more carbon. Even NASA was interested in their ideas for growing plants on other planets.

SEER also believed that rock dusting would lead to higher crop yields. It would also balance the Earth's environment. Plus, it would make crops more nutritious, which would benefit human health. However, a 3-year research program with Glasgow University (2009) found that rock dust did not make a difference to crop yield or nutrient content in their test conditions.

Regenerate The Earth

In 2002, Donald Weaver wrote To Love And Regenerate The Earth. This book updated Hamaker's original book. It clarified ideas and added new evidence about climate and environmental changes.

Weaver saw Hamaker as a great thinker in ecology and climate. Hamaker understood how forests and trees were connected to the entire Earth system. Weaver and Hamaker believed a new glacial period was due. Weaver explained that Hamaker was sure humanity was heading into the next ice age. This was due to carbon dioxide buildup after the normal loss of soil minerals during the warm period.

Institute For A Future

In the mid-1980s, Larry Ephron, a psychologist from Harvard, started the Institute For A Future. He wrote The End: The Coming Ice Age & How We Can Stop It. This book looked at Hamaker's ideas. It quoted climatologist Reid Bryson, who said, "Breakthroughs never come from within the establishment."

The book looked at how humans affect nature and climate change. It covered many topics like how the sun works, geology, and soil health. Ephron showed how some scientists saw the link between global warming and ice buildup. But they thought ice buildup was just a side effect of warming. They didn't connect CO₂ increase, global warming, ice buildup, and ice ages all together. One exception was Pierre Lehman, a Swiss physicist. He noted the important link between soil and climate.

In the book, Dave Foreman, founder of Earth First!, wrote: "An ice age is coming, and I welcome it as a much needed cleansing." Paul Gersper, a Professor of Soil Science, said: "The actions recommended here are urgently needed to avoid global disaster."

A film called Stopping The Ice Age was made from the book in 1988. It also had support from scientists and universities.

New Energy Movement

In the 1980s, Alden Bryant started the Earth Regeneration Society. This group promoted global soil remineralization, reforestation, and reducing carbon dioxide. They also supported a new energy movement. Bryant later founded the New Energy Movement organization.

More Supporters

Many books have been published that mention remineralization. These include The Tree War, The Enlivened Rock Powders, and The Secrets of the Soil.

In the late 1980s, Peter von Fragstein in Germany researched remineralization. He used different rock types as a slow-release fertilizer and to keep insects away.

Hamaker's research also fit well with the work of others. This included Bill Mollison on permaculture and Rudolf Steiner on biodynamic farming. It also interested science writer Philip Callaghan, who studied rock dusting and paramagnetism.

In the 1990s, the Men of the Trees organization in Australia did remineralization trials. They saw big results. For example, some eucalyptus seedlings grew five times faster than those not treated.

Barry Lynes wrote Climate Crime in 1985, arguing for global cooling. Robert Felix, author of Not by Fire But By Ice, also worried about new glaciation.

In the 2000s, scientist Dr. Lee Klinger began to study how rock dust affects plant growth. NASA also started experimenting with lunar soil and plant growth. In 2001, Alanna Moore wrote Stone Age Farming. This book combined remineralization with permaculture for a new way of farming.

In 2005, Allan Yeomans wrote Priority One. He suggested that remineralizing the world's farmlands could bring atmospheric carbon back to safe levels in 5 years. He believed this would also make soil and life on Earth healthier.

In 2006, British author Graham Harvey wrote We Want Real Food. It showed the good results of remineralization on soil health and food nutrients. It also showed how much the mineral content in crops had dropped.

Rocks for Crops

In 2007, the research group Rocks for Crops started. It was founded by soil scientist Jairo Restrepo Rivera from Brazil, Peter Von Straaten from Canada, and Suzi Teodoro from Brazil.

This group confirmed that a field of geology called agrogeology was growing. It studies natural geological materials that can be used to restore soils. This is an alternative to chemical fertilizers. It's especially useful for worn-out tropical soils. In tropical areas with heavy rainfall, chemical fertilizers wash away quickly. They can't be stored by the soil and can harm groundwater. Rock fertilizers provide nutrients for longer periods. When rocks break down, new minerals become available to soil micro-organisms and the entire soil food web. This process also improves how soils exchange nutrients.

In November 2009, a Rocks for Crops conference was held in Brasilia. More conferences were held in Rio de Janeiro and Mexico. These meetings aimed to study and promote remineralization worldwide.

Hamaker's Legacy

Hamaker laid the foundation for a large movement of people. They cared about the health of the world's soils, sustainable forests, climate change, and better nutrition from food. His idea of rock dusting helps plants grow by feeding the tiny living things and chemicals in the soil. This leads to soil regeneration and more plant cover around the world.

This helped Earth regulate itself. It offered a more natural geoengineering solution to the climate crisis. This solution didn't rely on high technology or constant human control of the climate. Some scientists have suggested that technology could help with remineralization. For example, by turning carbon dioxide into organic carbon that can become part of the soil.

His Writings

Hamaker's main book was The Survival Of Civilization (1983, 2002). He also wrote many articles and publications from the 1960s to the 1990s. Donald A. Weaver further explained his ideas in his book To Love & Regenerate The Earth (2002). Weaver continues to educate people about the climate crisis and the rock dust solution.

Criticisms

Energy Use

Some people criticize Hamaker's idea because it might need fossil fuel energy to create and spread rock dust. This would create more CO₂. However, rock dust is mostly a leftover product from existing quarrying industries. In the future, making rock dust for widespread soil remineralization could use renewable energy sources. These include wind energy and bio-fuels grown on remineralized soils.

Climate Control

Since land is naturally fertilized during ice ages, adding minerals back to the Earth would be like the glaciation process. This would reverse what Hamaker and Weaver called "interglacial soil demineralization." This means the soil loses minerals during the warm periods between ice ages. They believed this would keep the current warm climate and ecosystem going indefinitely. Or, at least, it would slow down the next ice age.

However, some scientists believe that changes in the sunspot cycle are the main cause of Earth's climate cycles, not vegetation. These scientists have not yet included the idea of soil demineralization in their theories.

Hamaker's main concern was the shortening of the growing season due to the coming ice age. He believed rock dusting could prevent this. This would lead to more abundant crops at harvest. He thought the shift from a warm period to an ice age was already happening since the 1970s. He strongly supported a global effort to add minerals back to the soil. This would maintain food quantity while improving its quality. To do this, he suggested adding minerals to dying forests and soils at the same time. This would also help grow bio-fuels. The goal was to return too much carbon dioxide to stable levels of 280 ppm.