“Globally, each year some seventy-five billion tons of soil is lost. That would cover about thirty-eight thousand square miles of arable land, an expanse larger than the nation of Austria.” — Judith D. Schwartz Copy Share Image
“grasslands, grazing mammals, and pack-hunting predators evolved together. So if domestic herbivores can be managed such that their behavior mimics that of their wild… — Judith D. Schwartz Copy Share
“Steven Apfelbaum, a restoration ecologist in Wisconsin, says that every 1 percent increase in soil carbon holds an additional sixty thousand gallons of water… — Judith D. Schwartz Copy Share
“First you’ve got to change the ideology,” she says. “Until you can show people that they’re losing profits, you can’t get them to change.” — Judith D. Schwartz Copy Share
“According to Christine Jones, soils hold more carbon than the atmosphere and all the world’s plant life combined—and can hold it longer, in a… — Judith D. Schwartz Copy Share
“from a soil microorganism point of view, a crop monoculture is akin to junk food: “If there’s just wheat or any one thing, it’s… — Judith D. Schwartz Copy Share
“Organisms we can’t see are accorded the same respect as those that are big and flashy or promise to give a nice immediate kick… — Judith D. Schwartz Copy Share
“One farmer I met, Gene Goven of Turtle Lake, North Dakota, put it more succinctly: “You build soil where the roots go—down!” — Judith D. Schwartz Copy Share
“Every field that’s turned into a parking lot or industrial park means more water siphoned off into gutters and culverts and less water in… — Judith D. Schwartz Copy Share
“the problem isn’t the amount of carbon per se—the quantity of carbon on earth is constant—but where that carbon is.” — Judith D. Schwartz Copy Share
“understand that the greatest danger to wildlife was not poaching but habitat destruction—the same thing that ultimately threatened humans.” — Judith D. Schwartz Copy Share
“Slaps in the face like this provide opportunities for change. A drought definitely gets people thinking about how they can manage resources better. It’s… — Judith D. Schwartz Copy Share
“the planet’s current vegetative cover captures around 3000 EJ of the sun’s energy. This photosynthetic capacity would appear to be sufficient to feed only… — Judith D. Schwartz Copy Share
“The use of chemical fertilizers and other treatments has increased worldwide as large tracts of agricultural land are turned over to commodity mono-crops. And… — Judith D. Schwartz Copy Share
“Consider that farmers are sued when genetically manipulated seeds they don’t even want sprout on their soil. (The pretext: This is “patent infringement” and… — Judith D. Schwartz Copy Share
“The concept of the biotic pump, if correct, brings a new urgency to the need to conserve forests.” — Judith D. Schwartz Copy Share
