Nick Offerman’s Sexy Soil Talk has Brightened My Day

Nick Offerman has taken to Twitter with a new PSA. Is it about the joy of sanding a fine grain of wood, or the pleasure of a perfectly cooked steak? Not quite. It’s about soil!

Partnering with the environmental nonprofit the National Resources Defense Council, Offerman plays the part of the ground as he shares some words of wisdom about the benefits of sustainable farming. Sexy!

“Generations of chemicals and tilling have left me spent and lifeless, dried out, flaky, like dust in the wind,” Offerman-as-ground explains. He goes on to advocate planting cover crops, which protect and rejuvenate the soil instead of depleting it.

The video was made as part of the NRDC’s campaign to support an environmentally friendly farm bill. The U.S. farm bill is a package of agricultural legislation that’s passed roughly every five years, and with a new one coming up in December, the NRDC is hoping to steer Congress away from subsidizing the destructive farming practices that have defined the American food system for so long. The link at the end of the video goes to a letter that viewers can sign and send to members of Congress.

There are so many reasons to love this video. The flowers in his mustache, for a start. They’re lovely! Mainly, though, it’s heartening to see celebrities use their platforms to stand up for what’s right—even when it may not seem like the most attention-grabbing issue out there.

Sometimes the most impactful solutions aren’t the sexiest ones

Say the words “cover crops” and you might see a thousand eyes glaze over—which is exactly why it’s so powerful for Offerman to speak up publicly about the issue. His PSA is short, funny, and lighthearted, and it gets across an idea that’s vital to slowing climate change. Regenerative farming may not sound exciting on the surface, but even if Congress doesn’t pass a more sustainable farm bill this time around, public awareness could go a long way in normalizing sustainability.

Thanks to the destructive practices of industrial capitalism, we’re in some pretty deep trouble. It’s going to take a major paradigm shift to get us out of this mess—and seeing Nick Offerman’s passion for something as unassuming as soil is a step in the right direction.

(featured image: NRDC)