Grass, Soil, Hope: A Journey Through Carbon Country | Courtney White

Author: Courtney White
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing (2014)
ISBN-10: 1603585451
ISBN-13: 9781603585453
Condition: Very Good. Some wear to cover edges and corners. 
Binding: Softcover
Pages: 244
Dimensions: 22.8 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm
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by Courtney White
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This book tackles an increasingly crucial question: What can we do about the seemingly intractable challenges confronting all of humanity today, including climate change, global hunger, water scarcity, environmental stress, and economic instability?

The quick answers are: Build topsoil. Fix creeks. Eat meat from pasture-raised animals. Scientists maintain that a mere 2 percent increase in the carbon content of the planets soils could offset 100 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions going into the atmosphere. But how could this be accomplished? What would it cost? Is it even possible? Yes, says author Courtney White, it is not only possible, but essential for the long-term health and sustainability of our environment and our economy.

Right now, the only possibility of large-scale removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere is through plant photosynthesis and related land-based carbon sequestration activities. These include a range of already existing, low-tech, and proven practices: composting, no-till farming, climate-friendly livestock practices, conserving natural habitat, restoring degraded watersheds and rangelands, increasing biodiversity, and producing local food.

In Grass, Soil, Hope the author shows how all these practical strategies can be bundled together into an economic and ecological whole, with the aim of reducing atmospheric CO while producing substantial co-benefits for all living things. Soil is a huge natural sink for carbon dioxide. If we can draw increasing amounts carbon out of the atmosphere and store it safely in the soil then we can significantly address all the multiple challenges that now appear so intractable.