This is probably something I can google, but could you point me to some info about why the plow is a disaster? It seems like one of those things that made it possible for a huge increase in the number of people not starving before it became a disaster.
I imagine it has something to do with erosion, but I'd like to know more, and you seem to have a position on the topic.
Tilling effectively kills the soil and micro organisms in the soil over a long period of time. It takes a lot of work and time to add life back into dead soil on historic farms where tilling was commonly used.
For CO2, it takes a lot of energy to move that soil.
For the soil itself, it brings up subsoil which has microorganisms that work better in low air enviornment (because that is what they are from) and move the near surface microorganisms down below where they don't get the air they need. It also breaks up organic matter making them break down faster (into CO2 if there is O2 available, and the turning just added a bunch). Also all those broken roots no longer hold the soil in place. so the soil will erode much faster.
Erosion is part of it, but even if the soil wouldn't erode the loss of organic matter is still a big deal.
I imagine it has something to do with erosion, but I'd like to know more, and you seem to have a position on the topic.