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Water in Plain Sight: Hope for a Thirsty World
Water scarcity is on everyone’s mind. Long taken for granted, water availability has become dependent on economics, politics, and people’s food and lifestyle choices. But as anxiety mounts―and even as a swath of California farmland has been left fallow, and extremist groups worldwide exploit the desperation of people losing livelihoods to desertification―many are finding new routes to water security with key implications for food access, economic resilience, and climate change. Water does not perish, nor does it require millions of years to form as do fossil fuels. However water is always on the move and we must learn to work with its natural movement. In this timely, important book, Judith D. Schwartz presents a refreshing perspective on water that transcends zero-sum thinking. By allying with the water cycle, we can revive lush, productive landscapes, like the river in rural Zimbabwe that now flows miles further than it has in living memory thanks to restorative grazing; the fruit-filled food forest in Tucson, Arizona, grown by harvesting urban wastewater; or the mini-oasis in West Texas nourished by dew. Animated by stories from around the globe, Water In Plain Sight is an inspiring reminder that fixing the future of our drying planet involves understanding what makes natural systems thrive.
256 pages, Paperback
First published July 26, 2016
40 people are currently reading
1120 people want to read
About the author
Judith D. Schwartz
7 books34 followersI 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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
September 19, 2016
There are a lot of popular misconceptions regarding the water crisis that we're facing and this book does a pretty good job addressing them. Everyone who actually cares about anything has heard things like there's a gallon of water in every almond and 450 gallons in every hamburger. Most of those who hear these numbers stop their research there, thinking they "get it." Unfortunately those who keep digging beyond that point start to see that it's not so simple. A lot of this stuff sounds sort of counterintuitive when you first hear it but anyone who spends enough time thinking about the subject will realize how undeniable these ideas are. The amount of rain that falls on a piece of land isn't as important as the land's ability to absorb and hold on to it. Not only does climate change affect water cycles but water cycles affect climate. Plants aren't just at the mercy of local temperature extremes, they help regulate them. Trees don't just suck up water, they attract rain that would otherwise fall over the oceans. Animals don't just drink landscapes dry, they help keep the soil healthy so it can hold moisture (and carbon). The most effective solutions to our problems don't depend on new high-tech gadgets and mega projects, they depend on empowered local communities...
As counterintuitive as a lot of this may sound, we all know instinctively what a healthy environment looks like. Whether forests or grasslands we understand that beautiful landscapes include a diversity of both plants and animals. It really should be obvious even without all the scientific jargon. Don't just look at the numbers of gallons that conventional agriculture currently uses to produce things. Think about all the different ways food can be produced. This book is pretty helpful that way. I also highly recommend that people research permaculture techniques for their regions, as well as the low-tech approaches of the indigenous people who once lived there (and possibly still do to a certain extent).
As counterintuitive as a lot of this may sound, we all know instinctively what a healthy environment looks like. Whether forests or grasslands we understand that beautiful landscapes include a diversity of both plants and animals. It really should be obvious even without all the scientific jargon. Don't just look at the numbers of gallons that conventional agriculture currently uses to produce things. Think about all the different ways food can be produced. This book is pretty helpful that way. I also highly recommend that people research permaculture techniques for their regions, as well as the low-tech approaches of the indigenous people who once lived there (and possibly still do to a certain extent).
May 30, 2016
Water: a basic human need and one of our ultimate biological components. Water is what makes our planet special, our existence unique, and we depend on it for everything: drinking, cooking, and cleaning, to name a few. We cannot survive without water. So when I see headlines reporting imminent water shortages, droughts, and H2O-related crises all over the world, my breath catches in my throat as I imagine families driven from their homes and livestock dying from dehydration. What is the meaning of all this, and more importantly, what can be done? Judith D. Schwartz says: a whole lot. This book brushed me up on basic knowledge such as the water cycle (the adult version, but reminiscent of what we all learned in elementary school), and not only that, but how everything is connected: soil, vegetation, animals, technology, and climate. As I traveled with Schwartz through the book from country to country (starting in Zimbabwe and cruising through California, to Brazil, Australia, and beyond) and learned that water, as we ought to know, does not just disappear during a rainfall or flood- but where does it go? How are we using it? And what influence does our carbon footprint have on this wet planet that seems to be drying out at the edges? The burning engagement I felt to the cause of worldwide water "shortages" completely catapulted this book out of textbook territory and made the study feel personal and accessible. "Water In Plain Sight" will bring you completely up to speed on what is happening with rivers, oceans, and groundwater all over the world, and Schwartz expounds upon those headlines that cause so much alarm. Don't let the doom and gloom of major networks and newspapers fool you- the answers are right here in this book, and you will be amazed by the difference that can be made by simply reengaging with basic biology- and hydrology- and working with the earth, so that green may spring anew from desert ground and rivers will flow once more.
March 2, 2017
I enjoyed Cows Save The Planet, so I wanted to read this book as well. This one was tough for me to find a groove with, but there were a few sections I enjoyed.
Here are my favorite excerpts:
Pesticides and fertilizers disrupt the synergy between plants and microbes - relationships that are fundamental to plant health and the formation and stability of soil carbon.
In turning to technology to solve water problems, so often we are merely relieving the symptoms of an impaired water cycle without acknowledging or addressing the cause.
The same principles apply to our bodies, the soil, and above-ground ecosystems: the more niches that are filled, the less chance for processes to go awry.
If a plant can grow more efficiently, fixing more biomass in a shorter time, then it may use less water as compared to a plant in a low fertility or low carbon soil, struggling for nutrients and marking time.
It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a soil community to feed a plant.
According to the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, every day the world loses some 2,000 hectares of farmland to salinity.
Removing nitrates from municipal water supplies costs Americans more than $4.8 billion each year.
The N2 gas is very stable, and not available to plants. The nitrogen needs to be "fixed" - its bonds severed- via lightning or nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil or in the root nodules of legumes. Usable nitrogen is also present in plant and animal waste, albeit released slowly.
Farms become reliant on synthetic nitrogen to compensate for impaired soil, they need to be weaned from it, as from a drug.
1 hectare = 2.5 acres
"It is no coincidence that more than 75 percent of the world's conflicts occur in dry-land areas - home to only 35 percent of the world's population." -Bianca Jagger, speaking at the 2013 Caux Dialogue on Land and Security.
Here are my favorite excerpts:
Pesticides and fertilizers disrupt the synergy between plants and microbes - relationships that are fundamental to plant health and the formation and stability of soil carbon.
In turning to technology to solve water problems, so often we are merely relieving the symptoms of an impaired water cycle without acknowledging or addressing the cause.
The same principles apply to our bodies, the soil, and above-ground ecosystems: the more niches that are filled, the less chance for processes to go awry.
If a plant can grow more efficiently, fixing more biomass in a shorter time, then it may use less water as compared to a plant in a low fertility or low carbon soil, struggling for nutrients and marking time.
It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a soil community to feed a plant.
According to the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, every day the world loses some 2,000 hectares of farmland to salinity.
Removing nitrates from municipal water supplies costs Americans more than $4.8 billion each year.
The N2 gas is very stable, and not available to plants. The nitrogen needs to be "fixed" - its bonds severed- via lightning or nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil or in the root nodules of legumes. Usable nitrogen is also present in plant and animal waste, albeit released slowly.
Farms become reliant on synthetic nitrogen to compensate for impaired soil, they need to be weaned from it, as from a drug.
1 hectare = 2.5 acres
"It is no coincidence that more than 75 percent of the world's conflicts occur in dry-land areas - home to only 35 percent of the world's population." -Bianca Jagger, speaking at the 2013 Caux Dialogue on Land and Security.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2022
This is a must read!
Just when you think you have a pretty solid layman's understanding of climate change, environmental degradation, know something about the carbon cycle, the elementary education of the water cycle, some connections between deforestation, soil degradation and desertification, biodiversity, and ecology... this book takes understanding the water cycle and soil health to a new level - for me. New concepts for me were the importance of forests/jungles transpiration actually participating in pumping moisture into the air and contributing to meaningful local rainfall; the whole idea of a local, small water cycle. The frequently repeated concept of holistic planned grazing being used in many of these exemplary stories for restoring natural, moisture bearing grasslands. Leading my mind to wonder whether our sacred "leave no trace" stay on the trail back country ethic is really a worthwhile essential model - wouldn't a little off-trail, managed, ground disruption be helpful in certain areas to model animal hooves, and vegetation breakdown, to benefit soil's water absorption properties?
hmmm?
In any case, great book. Inspired now to read the author's next book - The Reindeer Chronicles. Stay tuned.
Just when you think you have a pretty solid layman's understanding of climate change, environmental degradation, know something about the carbon cycle, the elementary education of the water cycle, some connections between deforestation, soil degradation and desertification, biodiversity, and ecology... this book takes understanding the water cycle and soil health to a new level - for me. New concepts for me were the importance of forests/jungles transpiration actually participating in pumping moisture into the air and contributing to meaningful local rainfall; the whole idea of a local, small water cycle. The frequently repeated concept of holistic planned grazing being used in many of these exemplary stories for restoring natural, moisture bearing grasslands. Leading my mind to wonder whether our sacred "leave no trace" stay on the trail back country ethic is really a worthwhile essential model - wouldn't a little off-trail, managed, ground disruption be helpful in certain areas to model animal hooves, and vegetation breakdown, to benefit soil's water absorption properties?
hmmm?
In any case, great book. Inspired now to read the author's next book - The Reindeer Chronicles. Stay tuned.
April 4, 2024
Less water focused than I was expecting but still an interesting look at holistic land management practices
April 30, 2025
Un conjunto de historias de éxito de manejo holístico para recuperar agua, el elefante blanco en el cuarto del cambio climático. Bueno para crear esperanza.
parece mád un journal que un libro científico
parece mád un journal que un libro científico
November 12, 2021
A great introduction to the complexities of the water cycle and its importance in the discussion on climate change. I will be reading it again to grasp the science more and to go back to all the examples of people around the world working to restore the water cycle.
April 6, 2017
Although, Judith covered much of the same ground in her book Cows Save the Planet, which champions Holistic Land Management, there is enough novel information regarding fresh water cycling and climate change to make it a worthwhile read.
A few of the fascinating things I learned:
*Raindrops need to form around a particle, but not any only particles will do. Which is why you can be in a hazy, humid city, but not get any rain. Plants, especially trees, do a fabulous job of making aerosols for the formation of raindrops.
*Coastal forests pump moisture in from the oceanic atmosphere. Trees emit water in the form of respiration which cools the immediate air above the forest, which in effect, quite literally sucks moist air inland from above the ocean.
*Desert air can provide copious amounts of life sustaining water in the form of condensation that can be "harvested" by clever homesteaders.
*Water forms in invisible rivers over our heads that stream through the air.
*Man made swales along a river can capture can slow the water run sufficiently to stave off the necessity for building a tremendous dam for drinking water and irrigation in a desert region.
Judith's books are full of hope for the future and devoid of political garbage. The focus is on restoration and creative thinking in ways of increasing agricultural outputs by healing the land, i.e., putting carbon back into the soil, restoring soil function, so that when the rains come the land can absorb most of it, rather than losing the water and soil to runoff.
A few of the fascinating things I learned:
*Raindrops need to form around a particle, but not any only particles will do. Which is why you can be in a hazy, humid city, but not get any rain. Plants, especially trees, do a fabulous job of making aerosols for the formation of raindrops.
*Coastal forests pump moisture in from the oceanic atmosphere. Trees emit water in the form of respiration which cools the immediate air above the forest, which in effect, quite literally sucks moist air inland from above the ocean.
*Desert air can provide copious amounts of life sustaining water in the form of condensation that can be "harvested" by clever homesteaders.
*Water forms in invisible rivers over our heads that stream through the air.
*Man made swales along a river can capture can slow the water run sufficiently to stave off the necessity for building a tremendous dam for drinking water and irrigation in a desert region.
Judith's books are full of hope for the future and devoid of political garbage. The focus is on restoration and creative thinking in ways of increasing agricultural outputs by healing the land, i.e., putting carbon back into the soil, restoring soil function, so that when the rains come the land can absorb most of it, rather than losing the water and soil to runoff.
March 21, 2020
Having completed the book I need to upgrade my earlier review. Initially, the book didn't supply much new information for me. But as it began to cover farming systems in Africa and Australia, for example, it provided new perspectives.
Policymakers in the Midwest need to read this book (among others) in order to develop programs that get Midwestern farmers out of their current soil, environment and climate destroying corn-soybean rotation practices and into no-till, cover crops, greater crop diversity and fewer chemical inputs.
Policymakers in the Midwest need to read this book (among others) in order to develop programs that get Midwestern farmers out of their current soil, environment and climate destroying corn-soybean rotation practices and into no-till, cover crops, greater crop diversity and fewer chemical inputs.
July 8, 2017
A hard book to read because of all the science but I learned so much! So many new ideas about how water, soil and trees work together, things I didn't know even though I am pretty well versed about organic farming ideas.
September 2, 2016
Similar topics to her soil book, but the chapter on condensation was new!
March 30, 2022
There are times when I write poetry and just let the words come. Then, there are times when I need to check facts and research information. Reading Water in Plain Sight: Hope for a Thirsty World, by Judith D. Schwartz was one of the latter occasions. I am working on a project in which water is a key element and I wanted different points of view about what is going on today with our water globally, how did we get into this predicament, and what can be done about it for our survival. To paraphrase the author: "How water is moved from place to place impacts climate, poverty, politics, and biodiversity." This work is extremely thorough and insightful. It was actually upsetting to learn about some of our water misuses, but also reassuring to know there are many things we can do to bring about better water supplies.
The author travels extensively to illustrate her platforms. The facts are presented in such a way that creates story within the research, such as: how condensation can be harvested from fog to create water reserves, how beavers help us create better soil and cleaner water, how sidewalks can be made from pervious materials so rain can seep through to the ground instead of running off, and how at one time, slaves were responsible for irrigation maintenance. She introduces us to characters, such as scientists, trackers, permaculturalists, Mennonites farming in Mexico and wild birds looking for new habitat. There is back-story for each category and the book has an easy flow. That said- this is nonfiction, for anyone interested in climate change, the water crisis, and how a desert can be re-greened into an oasis.
The author travels extensively to illustrate her platforms. The facts are presented in such a way that creates story within the research, such as: how condensation can be harvested from fog to create water reserves, how beavers help us create better soil and cleaner water, how sidewalks can be made from pervious materials so rain can seep through to the ground instead of running off, and how at one time, slaves were responsible for irrigation maintenance. She introduces us to characters, such as scientists, trackers, permaculturalists, Mennonites farming in Mexico and wild birds looking for new habitat. There is back-story for each category and the book has an easy flow. That said- this is nonfiction, for anyone interested in climate change, the water crisis, and how a desert can be re-greened into an oasis.
June 19, 2025
Schwartz aims to broaden the discussion about water scarcity beyond reservoirs and irrigation. She travels the planet to document from the ground stories about the great difference that plant and animal life can make in useable water (as opposed to torrential rains that only gauge out the land without serving any useful purpose). She shows time and again how holistically managed grazing techniques allow for a net gain in water productivity, breaking up compacted soil, fertilizing it and allowing for revegetation. Lastly, compared to most environmental literature which can be too focused on the doom and gloom of the challenges ahead, Schwartz manages to convey hope from the very real steps already taken to address problems and the potential for these hard-learned lessons to be communicated more widely.
February 5, 2020
One of the best books I have read on land management and resources and the interconnection between all of earths systems! Climate change is as much about misuse of land as it is CO2 emissions. It also really shows how environmental science and how we use natural resources and services are also tied to major social justice issues such as: rich vs poor, tragedy of the commons, and the basic human right to water.
February 17, 2023
Insightful. Schwartz shears a lot of fascinating information, and she backs up all her facts. I personally am only interested in the information, not her journey getting it. The little side facts about “Barbras hip operation” and her long drive is utterly uninteresting to me and a little annoying. But I will still recommend it because all of quality of the information. It’s relevant and important.
The narrator for the audiobook is very good.
The narrator for the audiobook is very good.
March 12, 2024
Loved this book. Fits very nicely with the concept of holistic land management. This is less of a “how to” book and more of a concept book. Fine by me. I am not a land manager. Anyone looking for hope and a way out of earth’s desertification should read this. There is actually a path out. We just have to take it.
March 18, 2023
This book was extremely inspiring and informative! Such an important reminder about how our water cycle functions, how humans and animals affect it and how we can fix areas that have become subject to desertification.
May 8, 2017
A must read for those of us who want to save the planet. We need to use her methods to find and conserve water.
August 15, 2017
This book provides hope and inspiration as well as real life knowledge that can help us deal with climate change.
August 18, 2019
A prescription for rescuing our future
If we are to have a future on this planet, it will be through listening well to the lessons in this book. Read it, take note -- and then act!
If we are to have a future on this planet, it will be through listening well to the lessons in this book. Read it, take note -- and then act!
June 1, 2020
More focused on soil than water. Highlights the importance of the water cycle and the potential to manage water and soil to alleviate climate change.
March 30, 2021
Biotic pump. Cool!
February 26, 2022
Excellent and informative. Explains things clearly but a bit shallowly for my taste. Hopeful, which is nice!
July 24, 2023
A depressing but timely and important read.
October 12, 2022
Enjoyed a wide-ranging conversation with Judith D. Schwartz on harvesting rain, the perils of pavement, and the power of dew. Hear the replay of this #OnePlanet #Biodiversity #ClosedLoop🌎
click for replay >>> Judith D. Schwartz interview
click for replay >>> Judith D. Schwartz interview
December 31, 2021
California water consumes about 20 percent of the state's electricity.
Fully 80 percent of California's developed water supply is for agriculture.
The State accounts for more than 80 percent of the world's almonds.
Today's beavers number around 120 million, down from an estimated 200 million, a decline that has changed the nation's hydrology.
It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a soil community to feed a plant.
Healthy soil will lead to healthy plants.
Irrigation has created a groundwater crisis. In many places around the world, including Mexico and western United States, we're drawing down water reserves several times faster than can be replenished by national processes.
663 million, or one in ten people in the world, lack access to clean water. Every ninety seconds a child dies from a water-related disease., usually diarrhea from inadequate drinking water. Women and children collectively devote an astounding 125 million hours a day to water gathering. This is time that could be spent on schooling, caring for children or other relatives, and income yielding work.
More people have a mobile phone than a toilet.
In an era of climate change it's crucial to make the connection between land practices and water availability.
The relationship between water scarcity, food insecurity and political instability is growing in many parts of the world - and that a changing climate will only intensify this.
Water may not be a cause of a given set of events. but a significant factor.
The power politics of water is a real concern - and a threat to human rights.
Water is rich in symbolism. Its cultural meanings include transformation and motion, life and rebirth, intuition and reflection. All of which are relevant to this particular moment in time, a moment in which certainty of the fundamentals of life seem to be slipping beyond our grasp.
Fully 80 percent of California's developed water supply is for agriculture.
The State accounts for more than 80 percent of the world's almonds.
Today's beavers number around 120 million, down from an estimated 200 million, a decline that has changed the nation's hydrology.
It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a soil community to feed a plant.
Healthy soil will lead to healthy plants.
Irrigation has created a groundwater crisis. In many places around the world, including Mexico and western United States, we're drawing down water reserves several times faster than can be replenished by national processes.
663 million, or one in ten people in the world, lack access to clean water. Every ninety seconds a child dies from a water-related disease., usually diarrhea from inadequate drinking water. Women and children collectively devote an astounding 125 million hours a day to water gathering. This is time that could be spent on schooling, caring for children or other relatives, and income yielding work.
More people have a mobile phone than a toilet.
In an era of climate change it's crucial to make the connection between land practices and water availability.
The relationship between water scarcity, food insecurity and political instability is growing in many parts of the world - and that a changing climate will only intensify this.
Water may not be a cause of a given set of events. but a significant factor.
The power politics of water is a real concern - and a threat to human rights.
Water is rich in symbolism. Its cultural meanings include transformation and motion, life and rebirth, intuition and reflection. All of which are relevant to this particular moment in time, a moment in which certainty of the fundamentals of life seem to be slipping beyond our grasp.
January 2, 2021
EVERY HUMAN BEING SHOULD READ THIS BOOK or have its content taught to them!
Judith D. Schwartz is easily the most important author writing today. Water in Plain Sight is a great follow-up to Cows Save the Planet in that it answers questions that Cows raised and expands on the most important idea from that book--namely how plants create and maintain Earth's water cycle and how we need to use that to save life as we know it. If you only read one of Schwartz's (so far) three books on this subject (Cows Save the Planet, Water in Plain Sight, and this year's The Reindeer Chronicles), read this one. Give a copy to everyone you know. Our lives depend on it.
Schwartz's very well researched, accessible writing makes complex ideas straight forward without dumbing them down. And she's right about just about everything. Her work gives me a rare hope and optimism that we might just save life as we know it; her stories about the people saving the planet through a wide variety of paths and ideologies, but the same basic goal of reversing manmade global heating and mass extinction, are the perfect antidote to existential crisis-related despair. Everyone of us can do something to save ourselves and our perfect planet, and this book gives you many ideas for where to start.
Recommended without reservation to absolutely everyone.
Judith D. Schwartz is easily the most important author writing today. Water in Plain Sight is a great follow-up to Cows Save the Planet in that it answers questions that Cows raised and expands on the most important idea from that book--namely how plants create and maintain Earth's water cycle and how we need to use that to save life as we know it. If you only read one of Schwartz's (so far) three books on this subject (Cows Save the Planet, Water in Plain Sight, and this year's The Reindeer Chronicles), read this one. Give a copy to everyone you know. Our lives depend on it.
Schwartz's very well researched, accessible writing makes complex ideas straight forward without dumbing them down. And she's right about just about everything. Her work gives me a rare hope and optimism that we might just save life as we know it; her stories about the people saving the planet through a wide variety of paths and ideologies, but the same basic goal of reversing manmade global heating and mass extinction, are the perfect antidote to existential crisis-related despair. Everyone of us can do something to save ourselves and our perfect planet, and this book gives you many ideas for where to start.
Recommended without reservation to absolutely everyone.
January 26, 2022
Nothing but praise for this book, that inspires any land manager to let go of outdated dominant water management models. The title could as well have been "water saves the planet" as Schwarz makes the connection between soil, water, carbon and the climate a recurring theme as she did in her other book (Cows save the planet) as well. Important themes discussed are the biotic pump (forest cover sustains rain over continents), dew harvesting (even in deserts, like the namib beetle), the role of biodiversity in slowing water (beavers), the link between plant health and water efficiency, explained in detail by Ohio regenerative agriculture consultant John Kempf, the link between the soil microbiome and ecosystem productivity, featuring Chico State researcher David Johnson, the particular case of Australia covering fire dynamics in the absence of animals like ungulates explained by Gregory Retallack and others, and of course the work of Walter Jehne, microbiologist explaining the difference between haze as pollution and rain-producing micronuclei and the importance of water vapour in climate change, and the leverage we have by better managing land to restore hydrological systems and cool the climate. Any one of these stories would have been worth the read.
July 18, 2020
3.5 out of 5
I really liked the parts about grasslands, prairies, and the impact that hoofed animals have on it. I also liked the stuff about soils and nutrient cycling and the relationship that has with water retention in the soils. However, some of the chapters felt unfocused to me, and I wasn't clear on what information the author was trying to highlight.
I really liked the parts about grasslands, prairies, and the impact that hoofed animals have on it. I also liked the stuff about soils and nutrient cycling and the relationship that has with water retention in the soils. However, some of the chapters felt unfocused to me, and I wasn't clear on what information the author was trying to highlight.
July 14, 2016
I'd like to see this book as required reading for high school students. It's an eye opener for how we view nature and the positive impact we can have if we use land restoration techniques.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews