Cows Save the Planet

And Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth

By: Judith D. Schwartz

Narrated 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.

©2013 Judith D. Schwartz (P)2017 Chelsea Green Publishing

Wow!

I blew through this book in record time because it's fantastic. As a soil nut I added to my knowledge in her connection to the water cycle & meteorology. I really appreciated the reference to even more fathers of healthy soil understanding from the early 20th century that I hadn't heard of. Great minds as well that understood connections to our own health. I was left wondering if bison grazing sovereignty is our only choice at this point in civilization's experiment. Loved it, highly recommend it, especially if you feel you've learned all there is to know about soil and her connections to all life.

Let the Soil Restore Us

Letting the Earth heal itself while feeding us. Life style changing book. I will be changing my gardening and livestock management.

Beautiful book!

Inspiring, Informational, Powerful book about how stewarding our land with ruminants will help us form the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible. Will be sharing with Friends and Family! Awesome book

Good information, monotonous reading

The information in the book is good, but the narrators is tedious to listen to.

The story is incredible!

This story is worth sharing and inspired me to do what I can on my small property to manage soil better. I wish it included more info on currency and economic solutions, but the included discussion on Fiat currencies and alternative currencies was incredible.
The reader changes cadence from very slow at the beginning, to faster at the beginning and then slow again toward the end.....a small annoyance.

Must read !

What a great informative book this should be a mandatory for all school age children to read !!
Thank you !!

so what part of this politicians don't get?

we talk about climate change but no lawmaker I believe have listen to this to make an actual change

Important, moreover instructive for survival

Soil is essential and too other ignored, abused and trashed. The absence of life cannot replenish the earth. What can literally eat carbon like a caterpillar eats a leaf, good soil literally scrubs the air clean of carbon and holds the rain like a sponge! With good soil we can ground our planet in a renewable garden of Eden. Grasslands potential for carbon storage can be achieved by using large herds of hooved animals.

The writer reads her own book, an adequate choice, but this book is more than worthy of a professional reader.

Worth the effort to listen to this choppy, slow paced, droning performance. Chooses the faster playback option.

Good information

Informative and educational, with inspiring content, but read so slowly it is agonising to listen to. I had to speed up the audio in order to finish it.

A Must Read for Sustainable Agriculture Students

Water in Plain Sight and Cows Save the Planet goes into detail with facts and experiences to develop a lot on the concepts I learned in my Sustainable Agriculture and Agroecology in university. If I didn’t take the classes and only studied this book and Water in Plain Sight I’d probably get a passing grade (above 50%) on a written exam.
I pray that regenerative livestock management is a lost skill in many countries and there needs to be more effort into bringing these essential skills back into the mainstream in the US and Mexico.