---
title: "John D. Hamaker"
chunk: 4/5
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Hamaker"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:06:25.991451+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== Institute For A Future ===
In the mid-1980s, author, and Harvard clinical psychologist, Larry Ephron, set up the U.S. based Institute For A Future and wrote The End: The Coming Ice Age & How We Can Stop It, which examined the theory and themes raised in Hamaker's book citing climatologist Reid Bryson, of the University of Wisconsin: "Breakthrought never come from within the establishment."
The book specifically examined man's influence on nature and climate change. Topics covered included astrophysics, climatology, geology, glaciology, microbiology, paleobotany, paleontology, palynology, plate tectonics, soil remineralization, seismology, soil science, solar physics and human survival.
Ephron showed how climatologists such as John Gribbin and Stephen Schneider who recognized the connection between global warming and the buildup of snow and ice, saw ice buildup only as a side effect of continued overall warming, rather than linking CO2 increase, global warming, ice buildup, glaciation and ice ages, together. An exception was Pierre Lehman, a Swiss atmospheric physicist who noted the important link between soil and climate. NASA climatologist James Hansen was also noted as saying "it is not certain whether CO2 warming will cause the ice sheets to shrink or grow. For example, if the ocean warms but the air above the ice sheets remains below freezing, the effect could be increased snowfall, net ice sheet growth."
In the book, Dave Foreman, Founder of Earth First! wrote: "An ice age is coming, and I welcome it as a much needed cleansing. I see no possible solution to our ruination of Earth except for a drastic reduction of the human population." Also quoted is S. W. Matthews, assistant editor, National Geographic: "The ice age, which has really not left the planet for two million years, is reasserting itself. The warm time... is over. The next great return of ice has begun." and Paul Gersper, Professor of Soil Science, University of California: "The actions recommended here are urgently needed to avoid global disaster."
A film was made of the book called Stopping The Ice Age in 1988, which Ephron co-produced and directed. Like the book, it carried endorsements from various scientists and universities including Kenneth Watt, Professor of Environmental Studies, University of California: "An astonishing service for humanity" and recording artist, Sting: "Everybody has to see this". Ephron's writing on the ice age threat also appeared in The Globe and Mail, the Los Angeles Weekly and Acres USA.

=== New Energy Movement ===
In the 1980s, a contemporary of Hamaker, Alden Bryant, founded a campaign organization called Earth Regeneration Society with former IBM engineer Fred Wood, Barbara Logan and others, advocating global soil remineralization, reforestation, carbon dioxide reduction and a new energy movement. After attending many international conferences on climate issues, Bryant set up the New Energy Movement organization.

== Further proponents ==
Several books citing remineralization have been published including The Tree War: How to Save the Earth and Bring Together the Nations, The Enlivened Rock Powders, The Secrets of the Soil, Empty Harvest and The Secret Life Of Plants.
In the late 1980s, Peter von Fragstein of the University of Kassel, Germany, began researching remineralization with many different rock types as a slow-release fertilizer and to deter insects.
Hamaker's research also complemented work by Bill Mollison on permaculture, John Jeavons and Masanobu Fukuoka on sustainable organiculture, Emilia Hazelip on synergistic agriculture and Rudolf Steiner on biodynamic farming. It further brought interest from science writer Philip Callaghan who developed the rock dusting theme in his work on paramagnetism, a field related to radionics, biophotonics, bio-energetics, bio-resonance, Schumann waves, magnetometeorology and subtle energy.
In the 1990s, the Men of the Trees organization in Australia conducted remineralization trials on many species of trees in Australia with significant results, such as five times the growth of tree seedlings of one variety of eucalyptus, compared to the untreated controls.
Barry Lynes wrote Climate Crime in 1985 chronicling the case for global cooling, and Robert Felix, author of Not by Fire But By Ice echoed concerns about re-glaciation, expressed by Hamaker and Bryant, which he documented at Ice Age Now.
In the 2000s, NCAR scientist Dr. Lee Klinger [4] began to investigate the relationship between rock dust and plant growth to save dying trees, and NASA began to experiment with lunar soil, plant growth and hydrophonics.
In 2001, Alanna Moore wrote the book Stone Age Farming: Eco-Agriculture for the 21st Century which combined remineralization with permaculture for a new eco-agricultural paradigm.
In 2005, Allan Yeomans documented in Priority One, the potential to bring atmospheric carbon to pre-industrial levels within 5 years, through remineralization of the world's agricultural lands. For Yeoman, as well as reducing global CO2 levels to safe levels, it would revitalize the soil and biological life on the planet, and increase human nutrition and health levels.
In 2006, British author Graham Harvey produced the book We Want Real Food which documented the results of remineralization, in terms of soil health and nutritional values in food, and documented major declines in the mineral content of crops.