Cows Save the Planet: And Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth

by Judith D. Schwartz

In Cows Save the Planet, journalist Judith D. Schwartz looks at soil as a crucible for our many overlapping environmental, economic, and social crises. Schwartz reveals that for many of these problems - climate change, desertification, biodiversity loss, droughts, floods, wildfires, rural poverty, malnutrition, and obesity - there are positive, alternative scenarios to the degradation and devastation we face. In each case, our ability to turn these crises into opportunities depends on how we treat the soil.

Drawing on the work of thinkers and doers, renegade scientists and institutional whistleblowers from around the world, Schwartz challenges much of the conventional thinking about global warming and other problems. For example, land can suffer from undergrazing as well as overgrazing, since certain landscapes, such as grasslands, require the disturbance from livestock to thrive. Regarding climate, when we focus on carbon dioxide, we neglect the central role of water in soil - "green water" - in temperature regulation. And much of the carbon dioxide that burdens the atmosphere is not the result of fuel emissions, but from agriculture; returning carbon to the soil not only reduces carbon dioxide levels but also enhances soil fertility.

Cows Save the Planet is at once a primer on soil's pivotal role in our ecology and economy, a call to action, and an antidote to the despair that environmental news so often leaves us with.

Genres: Nonfiction, Environment, Science, Sustainability, Agriculture, Nature, Food

Audible Audio

First published May 1, 2013

About the author

I am a longtime freelance writer with wide-ranging experience with books, magazines, newspapers, and a variety of writing and editing clients. I’ve written articles for women’s magazines, co- and ghost-written books with therapists and doctors as well as a couple of my own. I’ve trained as a therapist and written a novel based on my grandmother’s psychoanalyst who was a member of Freud’s inner circle in Vienna. (It’s just a few tweaks away from sending out.)
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About four years ago my work took a different direction: I wrote an article on the then fledgling Transition movement, and the reporting turned my thinking upside down. When the 2008 financial crisis hit, I started asking questions like, “What is money?” Each inquiry led to more reporting, which took me on a whirlwind journalistic tour of New Economics, which sees the purpose of the economy as serving people and the environment—as opposed to the other way around. Which led to environmental economics. Which ultimately led to soil.
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Now for the requisite credential info: I live and work on the side of a mountain in southern Vermont. My husband, Tony Eprile, is also a writer and our son, Brendan, is a singer/songwriter/guitarist on the verge of finishing high school. I have a B.A. from Brown University, an M.S.J. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern. I’m a longtime member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists, and serve on the board of the One World Conservation Center in Bennington, Vermont. In the winter I cross-country ski and in the summer I grow things. Alas, from the state of my garden one would never guess I’d devoted the better part of two years to learning about soil. But there’s always next season.

Reviews

[David Schwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book. Some information presented lacks enough depth to agree with (soil as a carbon sink), but some other sections are quite convincing. One section is on the microbiome of soil and how modern industrial farming robs the soil of a rich culture of microbes; it seems herbicides and fungicides are main culprits. The idea of declining micro nutrients was quite interesting, generally only Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium are managed yet plants are the primary source for other minerals and modern farming cares little about monitoring levels of other minerals.

Evolution spent a lot of time creating a balance between plants and animals. People who think one simple answer to climate change is getting rid of all of the cattle and other farm animals don't really understand how the system as a whole works. There are people who try to be vegan organic farmers and they always fail because they need animal inputs (manure for one) as fertilizer.

This book has at least one scathing chapter on Big Ag (Monsanto, Dupont, etc.).

Practicing the type of farming described in this book requires lots of planning and a great amount of intelligence, this kind of farming requires a significant commitment.

[Andrea Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that I will be getting a few people for Christmas. Took forever because I kept getting it with other books that read faster. This is not a light read even though it is short. It is full of info and theories that will make you think about the earth. It is one of the basis behind my change in college degree. All farmers or to-be farmers should read this book even if you don't agree, the knowledge still needs to be planted in your brain, just in case.

[Jaylia3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soil science made accessible, exciting, hopeful, and entertaining,

To paraphrase a sentence in the author’s introduction, if anyone had told me I’d be reading about soil, much less be fascinated and excited about it, I’d have said they were crazy, but I was so engrossed in this lively, hopeful book that I read it all in one day. There is a lot of science, but it’s easy to follow, and there are brief but interesting bios of the varied people--from farmers to researchers--the author met with to learn more about the subject.

Among the things I discovered about soil is that when it is robust it pulls carbon dioxide out of the air, reducing greenhouse gasses, slowing climate change, and enriching itself in the process so that food grown in it has more nutritional value. Instead of merely “wrecking the world more slowly” by persuading polluters do less polluting, we could also take a positive step by increasing the capacity of soil to hold carbon. And it’s not that complicated. The statistic that says it takes a thousand years to generate an inch of topsoil is referring to geological weathering, but topsoil can be much more quickly increased by other, mostly low tech methods, like altering farming and animal grazing practices. (The author step by step dismantles the popularly held belief that cows contribute significantly to global warming, showing instead that grazing animals can improve soil when intelligently managed.)

Packed with important information presented in an entertaining style, I wish Cows Save the Planet was required reading for policy makers around the world. If you’re interested in the environment or the quality of your food this may be a book you will love.

[Jeff Dannis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because the author is the Key Note at a conference I will be attending.

It was painful. The editing did not catch grammatical errors and there were quotations where I was left confused because the speaker used too many pronouns and no one included a [ethnic group] to clarify which "they" were talking about. The editors should have insisted on a better wrap up in the final chapter.

This is not a how to book. It is the author's exploration on subjects associated with current environmental crises and extensive interviews with people using mother nature to develop a piece of a solution to these crises. There are no detailed explanations about how the suggested processes work. No suggestions for how the reader can apply this work to themselves or their land. Not even details how to ensure that we can buy food that is higher in nutrients. There are limited figures, no checklists, no recommendations for minimum goals, just lots of interviews.

While it does provide an overview as to the problems the world is facing regarding soils and how these problems are integrated with global warming and the pending drinking water crisis, the ideas could have been clearly stated. I found the chapter on pesticides helpful, but thought that spending 2/3 of the chapter focusing against Round-Up and Monsanto, was a little too focused on one product.

For me, I'd rather learn the science of the solutions and how they can be implemented, than to learn how her experts live in buses, or that she can get really lost in Montana looking for a rancher. Steer me clear of such works.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

'If we're willing to be honest about what soil life does, we can re-create a functioning biological system.'

This book makes me happy. Plants are amazing! Soil processes are amazing! I'm glad some smart people know what's what.

[Elan Garfias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rather than using atmospheric carbon levels as a benchmark for planetary wellbeing, Schwartz focuses on soil health as the best indicator. However, due to the drawdown effect of plant growth, the two are inherently interconnected. The book is broader in depth than the cover might indicate, as the namesake cows only pop up a few times in the book. Topics such as holistic grazing are given a full treatment replete with firsthand encounters with farmers and ranchers practicing some of these more unorthodox methods. Especially interesting were Schwartz'z descriptions of crop nutrition and the carbon cycle. While modern, post-Green Revolution agriculture has massively increased output, it often comes at the price of both poor soil health and decreasing nutritional content. This is worrying for such staple crops as wheat and rice, but in my opinion even more disconcerting in the case of fruits and vegetables, which contain vital minerals and vitamins. It is one thing to spray these foods down with pesticides and herbicides, but we also have to consider the state of the soil itself. If the soil is low in nutrients, the resultant crop will be too. I find this especially worrying because even if we cut out processed foods, we still run the prospect of nutritionally impoverished "whole foods" as a result of poor soil. Alternatively, the lucid elaboration of the carbon cycle in this book was a bit of a cause for hope. I've often wondered what happens to all the energy released when wood is burned, but I guess the carbon released is supposed to get consumed by other plants for fuel. If I understand this correctly, we can basically "eat" the carbon that industrial processes have released into the atmosphere by supporting plant life, which will sequester part of it in the soil and yield up part of it when the plant gets eaten. The role cows might play in all of this involves their hooves upon the soil, which can mimic the salutary effects that "wild" grazers might have on the landscape. Given the long history of the bovid-human relationship, it would be something indeed if one of our most ancient friends showed up to help us out of the current ecological mess.

[Adina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good interlocking journalistic treatment of the benefits of soil regeneration, soil water retention, and animal grazing practices to improve soil health and protect the climate. The author also adores the eccentric rebels who stand against conventional wisdom to develop these practices; but in order to save the planet these practices need to scale and that will also take institutions.

[Brian Corbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book is about far more than just the cows saving the environment. The author speaks on many subjects. Very educational. Makes so much sense. I only wish feeding an entire planet was addressed. That’s the only problem people have with this method of agriculture. Worth your time to read though! 😁

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although there is at least a bit I find fault with when it comes to the point of view of the author's perspective. Yet by and large the author has a lot to say that is deeply interesting about the ways that properly handling cows in herds can help rather than hurt soil and lead to a greater sequestration of carbon in the soil itself. If the author avoids making miraculous claims about soil growth, there is still some impressive possibility when it comes to the way that soil can recover based on the survival of organisms in the soil in what would look like dead dirt that is not actually fully dead. This book amounts to a debate within the environmentalist community about ways that cows can be helpful to the environment rather than be seen as the enemies, and as someone who is quite fond of the raising of cows and quite aware that there are good ways for them to be raised, this book's approach is one that I can generally get behind when it comes to the avoidance of overgrazing and the use of field rotation as a way of encouraging growth without destroying the ability of grass to recover.

This book is about 200 pages long and it contains a variety of chapters that discuss various aspects of soil health that are related to the health of the planet as a whole and the health of people. The book begins with a foreword and an introduction that demonstrate the author's perspective and focus on the soil as being a key aspect of environmental protection. This leads to a look at the importance of the ground when it comes to carbon sequestration (1). After that there is a look at nature's version of carbon trading (2), as well as the making and unmaking of deserts based on different types of grazing (3). The author talks about the return of lost water (4), the importance of soil health in making vegetables beneficial to people (5), as well as the importance of soil biodiversity (6). After that there is a look at the struggle over soil (7), as well a discussion of the issue of flood and droughts and extreme weather relating to soil health (8), which leads to the end of the book and the author's view of the soil standard (9), after which there are acknowledgements, notes, a bibliography, and an index.

A book like this is pretty obviously designed to encourage the reader to think of farms in a new light, as positive forces for the soil rather than negative ones. This is, it should be noted, by no means a new problem. If it is to be regretted that there is so little awareness of history when it comes to soil management, it has always been the case that small family farms have tended to be handled differently than large industrial or plantation-style land which have not been treated as intensely and as intelligently. The author, when balancing her desire to make a provocative enough claim to sell books and draw attention and her more sober and rational and moderate claims about the work it takes to bring and to keep soil in a healthy area, demonstrates some of the nuances with regard to environmental thinking and reasoning that is not often seen nowadays. It is to be lamented that environmental thought tends to be immensely hostile to the interests of people, as it would be easier to get a coalition of people by not offending those who one needs to appeal to in order to have one's views be taken seriously and supported by a large segment of society.

[emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The answer to so many of our problems can be found within soil. Yet, vast amounts of people refuse to withdraw themselves from "traditional" agricultural techniques to focus on a regenerative style of farming that would increase the quality and longevity of our agricultural infrastructure.

We have put our trust into a food growing system that perpetuates a negative feedback loop of land degradation. It's time for a change. This book gives many prime examples of how we can change our agricultural system one step at a time.

[Carlo N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

plant native grass and save the planet

[Dave Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you into the habit of throwing stuff at the soil there is no better antidote to what may be your obsession than a new book by Judith Swartz --Cows Save the Planet: And Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth.

The N:P:K paradigm we are usually encouraged to accept is really a recipe for manufacturing dirt. What Swartz does instead, in her journalistic fashion, is draw our attention to a very different way to relate to the ground at our feet -- one that isn't about adding ingredients (fertiliser) or hardware (irrigation) but in respecting and working with soil as a living thing -- even as a community of living things.

Swartz's presentation is up beat and optimistic. She pulls this perspective off by talking to a community of seemingly very practical people who in pursuit of a sustainable income from the land, go about their dirt farming very differently from the norm

Variously called 'Carbon Farming' and 'Holistic Mangement' their approach is quite a mind shift. Not only is it about a different means to work (with) the soil but its consequences contribute significantly to ameliorating the impact of climate change.

So we're talking win/win.

The significance of that option Swartz asserts in the book's title with the phrase 'Cows Save the Planet'. Like some whodunnit, how cows go about 'saving' the rest of us is something I won't spoil for you.

While I didn't appreciate Swartz's journalese the core argument gets delivered through a succession of different voices who give us the real dirt on soil.

And it's a game changer.

When you are talking up hydrology, fungi, grasses, manures and hoof prints it comes as a bit of surprise to discover that you aren't chasing a bum steer.

While the book tries to tackle the big ecological picture your everyday backyard gardener, such as I, still gets lot to take away. Despite what may be your sustainability preferences -- organic, permaculture or whatever -- it will be hard to look at a weed with the usual disdain ever again.

I find 'Permaculture' a tad full of itself and over reliant on 'design' -- almost for its own sake as though that's the package. And 'organic' seems to me to be input obsessed in the sense of what you proscribe from your vegetable path.

They're like shibboleths.

But what really matters is the soil. That has to be our god. While many roads may lead to loam I know that I can be a ready victim of schematism such that I usually miss, what may be, the main game.

Cows Save the Planet serves as an important adjustment to our collecive thinking about the Earth.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I began recommending this book before I'd finished it. Schwartz brings together information from scientists, farmers and others on the importance of soil health to the health of the planet and everything which lives upon it, particularly us.

She visited areas where soil restoration has brought tremendous benefit not only to humans, but also to a wide array of plant and animal life.

More importantly, she spoke with scientists whose work is pointing a clear way to ameliorate climate change by restoring carbon in agricultural soils, which have lost 50 to 80 percent of their carbon content since the mid-1800s. Building up carbon in the soil has other benefits as well. The more organic matter, which is mostly carbon, there is in the soil the better the soil will be at retaining water. When water is retained in soils we can reduce erosion and keep nutrients in the soil and out of our waterways where they cause the kind of dead spots we see at the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Just as importantly, when water stays in the water ground it recharges aquifers and nurtures a wider variety of land both above and below ground.

Anyone interested in concrete ways to restore balance to our environment should read this book.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was definitely an interesting read, made me consider where my own food comes from and how I could better source it. The almost narrative-style writing irked me at times, especially towards the end. I really couldn't care less what colour eyes the farmer has or what the author and her husband grows in their garden.

The saving grace of her writing however, was when it came down to the dry and heavy soil science. I would have fallen asleep otherwise.

It reads a bit like the writing of a conspiracy theorist occasionally and some claims were quite doubtful, for example:

He suggests connections among plant disease, animal morbidity, and human health problems: “Look at what’s happening with autism. With chronic disease and infertility. All of those have always existed but there’s been a 600-fold increase within the last fifteen years. That’s not normal.”

Like, really? When did we forget that correlation doesn't equal causation. It made me question how reliable those she interviewed were if the author was willing to publish this guy's ramblings. Are we really gonna suggest that pesticide is to account for rising autism rates?

But like I said, it was interesting. That's really the best word for it.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas with some valid reasoning/proof on how you can manage soil to improve its quality - and thereby the quality of the food grown in it. Also take a lot of CO2 out of the atmosphere and put it back into the earth (fixing global warming).

Let cattle graze the land (controlled - not overgrazed, not undergrazed) sit it can trample enough plants (which break down) and trample enough soil (so it will let water through).
Grazed plants will let more light through so new plants can grow - adding variety and thus biodiversity.
The more and the more varied the vegetation, the better the root systems and the under-the-ground microbiology bugs and fungi that shuttle nutrients around.
Also the better the soil will hold water - preventing erosion, and resisting wildfires.

So, 5 stars for the ideas, but 3.5 stars for the writing. At page 150 I was well convinced and just kept reading more of the same, without ever learning what I can do to my backyard garden to improve the nutrients in the food I'm growing there.

[Carrie Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great, comprehensive book. It opened my eyes to the carbon cycle. I thought I knew all about it, but somehow I had lost track of the big picture. Ultimately, this currently out-of-whack cycle and so many other things (declining human nutrition, obesity, water scarcity, and biodiversity loss) are all fundamentally linked to how we've degraded the thin layer of life that supports us all - the soil.

The first sentence of the book states, "We've got a carbon problem." We've all heard this before, but the refreshing thing about this book is that it makes clear that the solution to this problem is something we all learned about in basic biology - photosynthesis. As a plant-lover, this makes me almost gleeful. Instead of being depressed and sad about the state of our world, I'm now hopeful and excited to get out there and do what I love most - composting and planting : ) If we all join in, we have the potential to solve so many problems at one time.

[Dennis Littrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an education for me.

The idea that animals such as cows might actually be good for not just the soil but for the grasses they feed on may seem a bit strange at first. But because grasses and grasslands (and pastures) have experienced millions of years of grazing animals they have not only learned to live with them but to thrive. Schwartz explains how this works and why healthy grasslands, farms and pastures can serve as carbon sinks while feeding the seven million plus people on the planet.

There is a crisis in food production and in fresh water availability that is upon us today. Soils are being depleted many times faster than they are being built, and water tables are falling precipitously. Schwartz interviewed people who demonstrate on their own farms that this doesn’t have to continue. It was long thought (and before reading this book I believed it) that it typically took hundreds of years to build an inch or two of topsoil. However by using methods explained in this book farmers all over the world are building inches of topsoil in a year or less!

One technique is “pasture cropping.” Essentially what you do is plant your seeds into an unplowed field that already has native grasses growing in it. The idea is that by keeping the field cover you retain the soil, the carbon in the soil, and the moisture while promoting and maintain a healthy soil ecology. Crops yields may fall a bit at first but over the long run you gain by keeping your fields covered all year round.

So what this book is about is soil rehabilitation. The stakes are huge. Healthy soil serves to sequester carbon and keep it out of the atmosphere. Healthy soil retains moisture and very significantly contains nutrients for not only healthy plant growth but for healthy foods for us. Schwartz suggests that the broad acre monoculture farming massively practiced the US is leading to nutrition-deficient soils. She writes, “Some scientists believe today’s high obesity rates are, paradoxically, a symptom of malnutrition due to diets deficient in micronutrients.” She asks, “Could the declining nutritional content of our food also be a factor in our rising rates of chronic diseases and allergies...?” (p. 3)

Schwartz did much of her research by going out into the fields and farms and pastures and talking to the people who actually grow the food and manage the land. They told her how they do it. They also told her why sustainable agricultural practices are not more widely spread. You can guess the reason:

“Far greater profit is derived from developing, manufacturing, marketing, transporting and applying toxins—to the food we feed our kids—than is made by farmers. Indeed, the major portion of farm income is now expended on the inputs required to maintain production as soil function fails.” (p. 40)

A minor problem with the book is the lack of foot- or endnotes or citations. Although Schwartz usually makes it clear who is saying what, sometimes it is not clear. The quotation above appears to be attributed to Christine Jones but she is not directly quoted. So that quote from the book may be a paraphrase of what Jones said.

Schwartz describes the people she interviewed right down to the clothes they’re wearing and the color of their eyes. Additionally there’s a two-page bibliography: Schwartz did her homework. I know she did because it would be impossible to understand what the holistic management people were telling her. That’s how revolutionary and complex are the ideas and methods now being employed for sustainable farming.

Schwartz concludes the book with some insights into what really constitutes wealth. The real wealth of the world is not in greenbacks or digital dollars or skyscrapers but in the soil and the food that comes from that soil. On page 203 she quotes environmental film maker John D. Liu:

“From the study of natural ecosystems comes an economic answer that goes to the fundamental question of ‘what is wealth?’. Although everything that is produced and consumed comes from the bounty of the Earth, according to current economic thinking, the value ecological function is zero. We now calculate the economy and money as the sum total of production and consumption of goods and services. By valuing products and services without recognising the ecological function from which they are derived, we have created a perverse incentive to degrade the Earth’s ecosystems.”

Ecologist John Todd asks, “What if we used carbon as a universal currency? What if people around the world were paid to capture and sequester carbon, particularly in soils? What if enterprises that emit carbon into the atmosphere...had to pay for the right to pollute...?” (p. 200) Christine Jones observes, “Carbon is the currency for most transactions within and between living things.” (p. 201)

Make no mistake about it. If the soil continues to deplete at the present rate, while releasing its carbon into the atmosphere, the pain for humankind will be horrific.

Read this important, eye-opening, and cautiously hopeful book to get an introduction to a vital part of the green revolution.

—Dennis Littrell, author of “The World Is Not as We Think It Is”

[Ben Yeagley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another science book by a journalist… I have not learned.

Liked the fresh perspective on the true value of soil/ regenerative farming. And the first four-ish chapters were super informative.

Did not like the extreme lack of sources (bordering on conspiratorial) and the editing style.

[James Harbaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as a concerted, politically feasible effort to regulate carbon, droughts, and soil quality, this book covers a general overview of the integrated systems (in more of a female cross connectome with narrative/episodic and character mapping of the hippocampus rather than spatial which is sure to annoy the typical male sperg with a dual specialized connectome of the right and left hemispheres). The overlay of complexity theory is remembering that both the water cycle and carbon cycles are just that... cycles... and they've had natural systems to balance out the give and take though humans have given a lot of one and taken a lot of the other without completing the cycle and thus breaking the system.

1) Terraforming vs. Geoengineering - I won't give away too many factoids and instead just focus on tangents to unburden some thoughts. The first being the term "natural" system as a definition not with respect to good or evil but with time tested which is important to complex biological, on a larger scale, and ecological systems. Take asbestos... a wonder material that is fireproof and a good insulator from the standpoint of when it was produced without any apparent downside. Or DDT... those damn mosquitoes but more so the pests all disappear and no one needs to things about anything else because the objective is achieved. Both are examples of asymmetric information which mess up cost benefit analysis of choices since asbestos can cause cancer when inhaled and DDT kills humans as well as other critters with side cost of acquired pest immunity from artificial selection pressures. So while the "geoengineering" chemicals/metals in the air for cloud seeding or in the water for algae blooms is fascinating, it's a new kid on the block tech and untested by time for long term effects with all the spillovers, unintended consequences, etc that come with novelty. That said, I think Terra-forming sounds sexier and could be conditioned with nanotechnology that has proven itself for millions and in some cases billions of years... trees, root fungus, predator/prey herd pasturing, and beautiful-black-carbon rich soil that's as old as dirt but surprisingly that can be rather young and complex. Plus if we do terra-form another plant, it might help to fully grasp the systems and processes that brought about this one by an invisible hand (not the market one but something similar and withing the wave function if that's your thing).

2) Droughts with rising Sea Levels - Many countries are grappling with water shortages currently or in projected into the future with the simultaneous threat of ocean levels rising... so in terms of a system, a feed back loop is broken or greatly diminished. I'll try not to go over the biotic pump in too much detail as it's covered in the book, but it really clicked after a visit to Angkor Watt. The Khemer Empire was incredible with engineered water systems of greater complexity than the Romans but for rice and canals which facilitated all that amazing masonry. The speculation I heard while at the museum was that they were almost certain that all of the trees had been clear cut for rice and buildings so they imagined silt from a lack of roots clogged the system... however after reading this, it seems highly likely that they brought the drought on themselves as so many other advanced civilizations not seeing the linkage to forests "wasting space." The interplay of transpiration, condensation, heat exchange, air pressure... it's a real "duh" head thump moment. One can apply this to the US's SE. Building into Cali's forests (ones like the Muir woods that have shallow interlocking roots for mist), shoddy electrical infrastructure, strong winds, etc have lead to more forest fires than the norm (though some seeds can only germinate in such heat so naturally they are not new) with a decreases snow pack on the Rockies feeding the tributaries that feed the river and thus Lake Mead in a complex web. Eminent domain isn't really popular, but maybe something like a flood plain but a forest plain instead to deter building or phase it out and perhaps put it into a CRP (with some thinning protocol to avoid deadwood) system subsidized by the water users on the Colorado River water shed... Additionally, something like Teddy's Conservation programs with Army Engineers (new 2 week AT to fulfill the 1st Earth Battalion's mission) could supervise it the project were architect with the Feds and involved states for funding (probably some kind of bond measure with enhanced firefighting earmarks) and future water rights dependent on snow pack levels or other metrics. A larger scale initiative could be taken by "green wall" projects in China (Deng Xiaoping's legacy and pushing into the Gobi), the whole of Africa (south of the Sahara), Saudi Arabia, and India. For efficacy it would make sense to go thicker on the coastal ends first where the most humidity can be pumped in and probably weighted more towards existing currents (west Africa in a fashion to push further inland but still working from the East at a slower rate of overall resources). Plans would also have to incorporate increased water flows for rivers or canals and the regional issues those might bring in advanced within states or countries in the case of Africa and its road to regional integration. Funding could could be part of a broader full package carbon offset program for new carbon sinks that will first require water. The pilot could be UN designed and charity funded by Corporation with a shaming mechanism for emissions or carbon taxes rather than a cap and trade that is better for increasing efficiency in the members best able to do it with market mechanisms (a negative second and sometime first derivative instead of a stock decrease). The author has another book exclusively on water I have yet to read but I'm sure it will be informative on this topic. As a loss aside, there is mention of "green" water in that on land water is not just in aquifers (which is hopefully in more detail in her other work) but that plants are essentially water balloons but cellulose and sugary forms of carbon instead of the rubber form... so less water in the oceans as well.

The Open Soar Healed by Carbon- Once again, it's hard not to spout off all the rich factoids in the book but there are some key pieces that are a must without the details. The first, for a second time, is that plants are organic and thus carbon and they breath this carbon in as CO2 and pump out 02 not only for photosynthesis for ATP energy but also to construct themselves and their hydrocarbon sugars. What's more is the root fungus... finally figuring out why white spindles wrapped the roots of my prepackaged tomato and bell pepper plants was rewarding in and of itself... but it's a critical component of soil creation/carbon capture and water retention as the author points out... an amazing level of complexity and integration before every getting to the soil microbiome and larger (it pretty much is a living entity or earths skin). Without going into to much detail on the "soil glue" (an understatement as it does so much more) these fungi networks produce, carbon capture programs would need to insure this or some regional substitute was incorporated with year long stability (both for carbon, water, and retaining the soil with it's health). I'm from Iowa and the Midwest has had constant flooding for some time partially due to tiling/damning/diking/levees which force the water out into rivers as fast as possible and quickly raise the water level. But having partially exposed black earth fields mid year and fully exposed for the rest of the year as well as fungicides has most likely killed off this vital fungi network (a little more advanced than the Idiocracy's Brando but no less harmful long run as it creates the black soil that feeds the nation). No till or key hole tilling could be hammered out with John Deere and Case IH so the root fungus could still have something to link into all year and the soil would be covered a little bit. Yet the inter row crop would optimally not interfere with soybeans or corn, protect the soil, and have long roots to maximize fungi volume. Additionally the root fungus would need to be resistant to the fungicide so Monsanto would be the fastest (and most likely to gouge) solution to finding or engineering both. Some kind of anti trust or government regulated monopoly rule to coordinate the synching of the root crop/cash crop/ and root fungi would need to be employed by the department of Ag to not overburden farmers, discourage mono-cultures, and work with some metric to gradual increase or decrease carbon sinking depending on the programs success if limited experiments were conducted by some rich guy buying farm land.

De-desertification with Vaquero/Cowboys, Enjins, and other Nomads - loosely, once trees can feed the water sheds and the necessary sub components are seeded or spored, the main theme of the book comes into view. I won't give it away entirely but with a system like an engine, you can have all the right parts but still not have it function if they are not connected in the right way in space or time (like cracking the egg with the other ingredients that were not mixed before going in the oven as order matters). This stems back to the classic dilemma of The Tragedy of the Commons which I used to think was easily solved by barbed wire... but the Native Nations had it worked out best with constantly driving the buffalo without overgrazing (which heavily glosses over the details of way the methods she lists have such a different outcome than letting cows graze down a pasture and loaf around). After the Civil War many freed slaves found freedom for a time driving long haul cattle before barbed wire (the History Channel's America The Story of Us) and the cowboy tradition stems from the vaqueros of Mexico so it's an American identity and not just a US one. Much of the land East of the Rockies is federally held and could be coordinated with the Dept of the Interior with native reservations who could coordinate the de-desertification process with more cowboy esque leasing of heads going to professionals and maybe those looking for something removed from traditional society with cultural exchanges... cellphones and GPS would also be nice to coordinate the program but there would be a chance to undo some damage on a few fronts. It would function kind of like a club good with limited membership like a country club to avoid overgrazing, extinct species would have to be prompted, and coordinated drives to ensure optimal prairie heights with the right traffic at the right speed would be needed. Similar functions would be necessary in Africa for coordination and compliance to ensure soil enrichment, the Aborigines would be good cooperation candidates down under. The biggest issue would be to not go too far in the other direction like cyanobacteria... too little CO2 and too much O2 led to the little guys killing them selves off with an ice age when they pumped the latter into the atmosphere for the first time with no counterbalance (the 2012 of the microscopic world)... Spell check sometime.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cows Save The Planet is a great read for farmers, earth lovers or anyone else who is curious about our role in climate change. Journalist Judith Schwartz breaks down complex ideas into simple and easy to understand chapters, making this a perfect book for readers eager to learn more about the earth and how it works. You don’t have to raise cattle to find the value in this book. Key issues in this book such as global agriculture, water availability and climate change is something everyone should care about. This book will leave you as an expert and advocate for natural and earth healthy farming methods.
Cows are often regarded as having a negative impact on the environment. This idea usually stems from their role in methane emissions caused by their ruminant digestive system. Schwartz challenges this idea by investigating the positive impacts cows have, specifically on soil composition. Soil quality has been steadily declining for decades, thus causing a decrease in nutrients in the food we eat and a harsher environment for natural foliage. Schwarts dives deeply into the science behind the natural mutualistic cycle of herbivores and the land they feed on.
If you are unfamiliar with holistic management, reading this book is a fantastic way to familiarize yourself with this agricultural restoration method. One of the chapters I found most impactful in Cows Save The Planet was the chapter about the restoration of Dimbangombe Ranch in northwestern Zimbabwe. This ranch was used to explore the impacts of agroforestry, the planting of trees and crops together. Along with this, livestock and wild herds were encouraged to roam through these crop fields to graze and fertilize pastures. Not only do these herds fertilize this land, but they have a large role in circulating oxygen and water through the soil. As ruminants graze and walk they stomp holes and divots in the earth. These “hoof prints” allow circulation of fresh oxygen along with water seepage into the soil. Openings in the soil also allow for better circulation of nutrients such as zinc, magnesium, calcium and other minerals that have been lacking in our food supply. With greater mixing of these nutrients in the soil, the crops that grow in this soil will have more vitamins. Therefore, not only can this natural method of farming be beneficial to the earth, but it could be beneficial to us as well.
Along with equipping readers with information about effective and responsible farming, this book also offers information about the complexity of the carbon cycle. I discovered while reading this book that my ideas about carbon in the atmosphere were completely skewed. The belief that most carbon comes from the burning of fossil fuel is false. In fact, most of the carbon that is taken up into the atmosphere is from soil. Due to modern day farming practices such as replanting the same crop in the same plot year after year quickly degrades the soil, causing it to release carbon into the atmosphere. The application of natural processes including the addition of native plants and livestock can be used as biological accelerators. This would regenerate the soil and enable it to store carbon, thus decreasing carbon emissions.
This book, along with the sources it provides, acts as a perfect short and sweet education of climate change and soil restoration. Boring topics like dirt and mud become riveting after diving deeply into its biochemistry and role in our lives. Not only does this information aid in more efficient farming, it could also improve food quality and increase vitamins in our diets. The lines between the earth, animals and plants become blurred once you explore their beautiful and complex relationship.If you're looking for an easy yet extremely informative read, this is the book for you.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book from the library about two months ago and forgot to review it then. Without having it at hand I can't cite specifics. It is a well-written, well-documented, unpretentious discussion of a thesis that sounds at best improbable, and is to many environmentalists, especially vegetarians, just a wacky defense of beef-eating. To me, as an environmentalist and livestock farmer, the book makes a good case that raising ruminant livestock on a diet of pasture grasses and legumes instead of grain and corn can convert those grasses --inedible by non-ruminants-- to high-quality protein human food and at the same time store the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in soil.
Storing carbon in soil has two great benefits. It removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, where at already excessive levels it is a major agent of long-term global warming. Also, the more carbon is in soil, the more resilient that soil is to drought and heavy rains and (assuming legumes in the pasture) the less dependent on inputs of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer.
The current and former grasslands of America are extensive enough that grazed by tens of millions of cattle moved onward frequently in a recurring cycle they could be a net sink for CO2. Whether this process could restore the damaged great plains and reverse desertification in low-rainfall regions is controversial. A switch to grass feeding, however, would be a win-win decision in terms of human , animal and environmental health. The biggest obstacle is that Americans are used to corn-fed beef.
The book is not just about cows and grass and global warming; it's more about soil health generally. Along with air and water, soil is the world's greatest natural resource. Sadly, we take it for granted even as year by year the quality of soils declines in America and almost everywhere else. Ms Schwartz wants us to restore it, regenerate. I like that very much.

[Jeroen WATTE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended book, eloquent and entertaining, using pedagogy of important people in the regenerative agriculture movement. Explains how there is more to climate change than fossil fuel combustion and cow methane, and proves photosynthesis and soil are extremely important. The pedagogical concept of "sunshine spills" is an example: places where no photosynthesis occurs due to bare soil, and solar energy is wasted, causing heat to be reradiated rather than transformed into cooling sequestered carbon.
As the title suggests, the work of Allan Savory is thoroughly covered from regenerative ranchers in North Dakota and effective rainfall to regreening the desert by restoring soil function, through grassland management with cows or through zai pits, rather than through reafforestation. The book has a great chapter on the renegade (but feet on the) soil biochemist Christine Jones and the liquid carbon pathway, which nowadays is becoming more and more scientifically accepted (among soil microbiologists, not agronomists). Pasture cropping pioneer Colin Seis and the Yeoman plow receive great attention as examples of soil building rapidly. One chapter sheds light on the underappreciated role of water in climate change, a theme the author devoted another subsequent book to. Schwarz does a great job in linking the work of the different pioneers, whom she read or talked to. The chapter with Dan Kittredge to talk about nutrient density, makes useful links from Albert Howard and André Voisin to John Kempf, Jerry Brunetti and many more. Same goes for the soil life biodiversity chapter, featuring Elaine Ingham, Kristine Nichols, Charles Darwin, dung beetles… 
The agribusiness chapter exposes the dominant story and explains how it is symptomatic of a dead end, a lock-in, complete with glyphosate, reduced soil life and profit driven science. 
An afterthought to a different slow money system, with carbon as a basis is pertinent but too brief to be of any interest.

[Krista Esta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teades mu lugemissõltuvust, kinkisid nimetet raamatu mulle mu armsad lihaveisekasvatajad, kellega maailma karjamaadel koos rännanud oleme. Peetakse ju veisekasvatust kliimaärevike seas kõige suuremaks kahjuks meie kliimale - ühekülgne ja täiesti väär vaade asjadele nagu lugeda võib. Häda pole veistes, vaid kogu ökosüsteemis, mille oleme uppi keeranud. Autor näitab, kuidas taastava põllumajanduse viljelemisega nii mõndagi ära saab teha, süsinikku siduda, mullastiku kvaliteeti parandada, elurikkust suurendada jne. Räägitakse ka sellest, miks selline olukord on tekkinud ja kuidas parema homse nimel saaks asju muuta, alustades näiteks portsjonkarjatamisest. Raamat ei eita kliimamuutusi, aga on vastu lihtsustatud lähenemisele nagu lehmade peeretamise keelamisele jms totrustele. Kliimaaktivistide teguviisis häirib teda see, et pidevalt võideldakse millegi vastu, selmet rõhk panna mille nimel tegutsemisesse ning oskamatus näha tervikpilti. Keda teema huvitab, siis soovitan. Samas valdkonnas oli hea lugemine ka Charles Eisensteini "Kliima: uus lugu" (eesti keeles olemas), mis mõni aasta tagasi loetud sai.

[Mmiller400m · Rating 5 out of 5]

I often say that my number one political concern that influences who I want to support and vote for are those who are trying to address climate change. There is just constant doom and gloom and stress-inducing headlines everywhere you look. There are a lot of good things but we have a lot more work to do. Even though this book is almost 10 years old it taught me a ton of things that I previously knew little or nothing about. Things like no-till drilling, organic farming, the concept of holistic management, the origins of crop inputs, the term crop inputs, and so so much more. The book mentioned a documentary that was in the making so I looked it up. It just came out on Netflix and is called "Kiss the Ground". My wife is talking about taking it and using the education version that is only about half the length with her library. I think this book and the idea that there is hope in not giving up and in trying to continue to heal our regenerate our planet is a powerful thing and many more people need that message.

[Mark Skinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Judith -

Thank you for a thorough review of soil science and stories about people who are making a difference in caring for the earth. I feel like my life has changed from reading this book in the sense that I appreciate more how choices we make impact our plant. I am encouraged because I think future business leaders do care about how choices their companies make impact our future planet.

As you mentioned with personal experiences from those in the fields and trenches of caring for our soil companies and their profits can shut down good science if it will impact their bottom line. I also think it is an uphill fight for conventional practices to leave room for the "new" ways that will make a substantiall positive impact on growing practices - such as planned grazing and mixed cover cropping.

I want to do more in helping those who have realized this and are currently doing this to improve the land and have evidence that land is better with these practices. I look forward to learning more from you and others who are making a difference and finding sucesss with these methods.

[Mwalkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provided an overview of what many of the great minds of the soil enhancement movement have discovered. Although it is hard to inspire people about "dirt," she eloquently makes a case for the undeniable need for living "soil."

"Green water" was a nutrient cycle enhancement explanation that I found fascinating. Much of our water is taken up and cleaned and given back to us by plants! I look at scummy water in a different way now - that it will be used and "cleaned up" by plants. Another excellent example of why naked ground should be covered.

She deftly broached the subject of CO2 labeled as problematic in the climate change and begs to differ. I too believe that carbon dioxide has been erroneously maligned in the climate change discussions, as has the methane from cattle.

After reading her interview in the Acres magazine, I purchased both of her books. I look forward to reading "Water in plain sight" soon.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This easy-to-read book is a journalistic cover of the many ways in which soil health affects everything from nutrition, weather, healthy weight and obesity, and ecosystems.

Judith Schwartz travels around the country and to South Africa to interview farmers and researchers on what they have found to promote good soil health. This book teaches eye-opening realizations about how complex and important is healthy soil, how potentially concerning are pesticides, and how money is driving decisions to push short-term productivity of crops which could and has destroyed their sustainability even in one or two generations. Some of the stuff Schwartz found is startling and scary. After reading, I have a new fascination and appreciation of the living systems below the earth and a love for how complex systems below are needed for diverse systems above.

[Philippa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arresting, provocative and memorable title! This is engaging investigation into the kinds of farming that can help mitigate (and adapt to) climate change, as well as halt and reverse desertification, restore biodiversity, and improve the health of soils and waterways. The author visits farms and interviews farmers and scientists on the regenerative organic spectrum, such as Gabe Brown, Allan Savory and Christine Jones, and shows a willingness to listen to their experiences and and openness to unorthodox, sometimes radical, holistic thinking that sometimes harks back to traditional ways.
Highly recommended especially for farmers, growers, foresters, and anyone in policy positions (in local and central governments) in agriculture and land "use" generally.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very informative book the majority of which might be an incredibly boaring read for those not already interested in the connections between climate, soil health, and regenerative agriculture.

The last chapter, however, asks riveting and important questions about how we choose to define wealth and value in our economy and the implications that is having on the environment. It imagines how we might change those definitions in order to heal our planet and restore it for future generations. More of us, especially those concerned about the climate crisis, need to be wrestling with these questions.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful and inspiring book (especially for those working with cattle and the environment) about how agriculture can play a significant role in supporting a sustainable and ultimately regenerative practices. Ideas balanced with research a promising path forward for agriculture and ultimately the planet. The unsung hero of what can (and if we pay attention ultimately will) save us, the soil is put front and centre, with the crucial links between soil, plants and animals brought out into the light. Life is complex and this book does not shy away from this complexity.