Overview

A scientist's manifesto addressing a soil loss crisis accelerated by poor conservation practices and climate change This book by celebrated biologist Jo Handelsman lays bare the complex connections among climate change, soil erosion, food and water security, and drug discovery. Humans depend on soil for 95 percent of global food production, yet let it erode at unsustainable rates. In the United States, China, and India, vast tracts of farmland will be barren of topsoil within this century. The combination of intensifying erosion caused by climate change and the increasing food needs of a growing world population is creating a desperate need for solutions to this crisis. Writing for a nonspecialist audience, Jo Handelsman celebrates the capacities of soil and explores the soil-related challenges of the near future. She begins by telling soil's origin story, explains how it erodes and the subsequent repercussions worldwide, and offers solutions. She considers lessons learned from indigenous people who have sustainably farmed the same land for thousands of years, practices developed for large-scale agriculture, and proposals using technology and policy initiatives.

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Expressing clear concern Benson ticks off soil problems that include deforestation, erosion, and shortsighted farming practices around the world. She makes listeners hear Handelsman's fascination at seeing a legume grow from lava rock.-- AudioFile

"Expressing clear concern Benson ticks off soil problems that include deforestation, erosion, and shortsighted farming practices around the world. She makes listeners hear Handelsman's fascination at seeing a legume grow from lava rock.-- ""AudioFile"""

Author Information

Jo Handelsman is the director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and a Vilas research professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Handelsman previously served as a science advisor to President Barack Obama. Kayla Cohen has provided research and creative contributions to A World Without Soil. She is completing a master's degree in Environment and Development at the London School of Economics. Rosemary Benson is an Audible #1 bestselling narrator, singer, educator, and stage actress. She has appeared across the US, Canada, and Italy, and regularly performs with several ensembles and big bands. As a passionate learner and audiobook fan, she strives to entertain, enlighten, and encourage, so she is at home in many genres. Her musical ear allows her to produce myriad accents for storytelling, while her expertise in differentiating instruction guides her abilities in nonfiction. She lives across the river from Philadelphia with her husband and a houseful of musical instruments and books.

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