Judith D. Schwartz is a journalist whose work explores nature-based solutions to global environmental and economic challenges. She writes on this theme for numerous publications and speaks at venues around the world. She is the author of Cows Save the Planet and Water in Plain Sight. A graduate of the Columbia Journalism School and Brown University, she lives in southern Vermont.
Permaculture- Cows Save The Planet is a wonderfully
comprehensive book, challenging some of the current popular theory
relating to climate change and the mending of our damaged planet.
Judith D.Schwartz has travelled to meet and interview an impressive
mix of people, some well known names from around the world (Allan
Savory, Christine Jones for example), and many who I have never
heard of prior to reading her book. All, however, in some way, are
undertaking a wealth of inspirational and essential work relating
to healing the world's soil. At its core, Schwartz's work provides
us with solutions and hope, for spiraling environmental and social
destruction, through the rehabilitation of the earth beneath our
feet. Each chapter of the book is a work in itself but there is
also a natural flow and progression in the writing as Schwartz
invites us to witness her journey, addressing climate change, loss
of biodiversity, desertification, droughts, floods and human
health. The new thinking and new understanding you gain from
reading and then rereading Schwartz's work gives us motivation and
determination to want to make some very real positive changes in
our communities and lands. I can recommend it to all."
"Here's a secret climate-change activists and energy-efficiency and
renewable-energy promoters neglect: Nature is designed to be
self-healing, and her most profound 'tool' is photosynthesis.
'Free' sunlight is the best energy source to extract carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere, while also producing organic matter and
oxygen—and a by-product is healthier soil, forests, wetlands, and
ecosystems. When politicians, policy leaders, and activists get
serious about cost-effective solutions to climate change, then a
top priority will be ecological restoration to harvest and store
carbon naturally, and Judith Schwartz's new book will provide a
destination and map."--Will Raap, founder, Gardener's Supply and
Intervale Center
ForeWord Reviews- "Could it really be this easy? Improve soil
fertility, preserve biodiversity, reduce obesity, and halt climate
change by having more cows graze more land to help 'fix' more
carbon into the soil? Well, solving the world’s problems
may not be quite that easy, but journalist Judith Schwartz
raises these and many equally intriguing questions in Cows
Save the Planet: And Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil
to Heal the Earth. Her book focuses on sustaining and improving the
quality of soil, as well as the economic, environmental, and
societal benefits we could realize by making that change. Around
the globe, topsoil is lost at an alarming rate: up to 40 times
faster than we’re generating it (in China and India, particularly).
The consequences include a rapid increase in deserts, droughts,
floods, and wildfires, not to mention a loss in the fertility of
soil and the nutritional quality of food. The losses occur rapidly,
but the solutions can work almost as quickly. The soil can be
rebuilt from the bottom up, and nature can heal itself with
surprising efficiency. For instance, undergrazing can damage the
soil as much as overgrazing. study the historical movements of
herds of grazing animals over the grasslands and plains of much of
the globe, and adjust livestock and land management principles
accordingly, the author suggests. Allow for the organic material,
natural microbes, and insect life that facilitate plant diversity
and soil enrichment. The resulting impact will be far-reaching and
transformational on the land, climate, and crops. Schwartz refers
frequently to the holistic management principles outlined by
agriculturist Allan Savory, views that some consider controversial.
Schwartz does not attempt to bridge the gap between these holistic
ideals and current practices in the industrial food complex but
instead grounds her view in narratives of earnest farmers and
ranchers from Australia to Vermont who put these soil management
principles into practice. A journalist who has written on marriage,
therapy, and other diverse topics, Schwartz tackles complex topics
such as the chemistry of the carbon cycle and photosynthesis and
counters the myths about cows and methane with an accessible,
conversational voice. Her study is lucid, enlightening, and
often surprising. It is also an enjoyable, compelling read that
will appeal to a wide audience, offering hopeful and creative
solutions to some of the most daunting questions of our day."
Booklist- "The earth beneath our feet is something most of us
acknowledge is important for raising crops and nourishing lawns,
yet few of us realize just how vital it is to our planet's overall
health. Inviting readers to roll up their pant legs and wade with
her into the dirt, veteran journalist [Judith] Schwartz reveals a
wealth of detail about soil's beneficial properties and presents a
compelling case that proper soil management can end escalating
worldwide desertification and slow, or even arrest, global warming.
While these assertions may sound surprising, Schwartz collects
abundant testimony from leading-edge soil scientists and activists,
such as noted Zimbabwe biologist and rancher Allan Savory, whose
sophisticated sheep- and cow-herding methods in several countries
have completely restored arid grasslands in less than a decade. She
also highlights evidence from little-known studies demonstrating
that soil restoration techniques can sequester about a billion tons
of atmospheric carbon per year, potentially neutralizing damaging
greenhouse gases. A well-written and persuasive manifesto for
healing earth's environmental woes with one of its most
underappreciated resources."
“Judith Schwartz’s book gives us not just hope but also a sense
that we humans—serial destroyers that we are—can actually turn the
climate crisis around. This amazing book, wide-reaching in its
research, offers nothing less than solutions for healing the
planet.”--Gretel Ehrlich, from the foreword
“Judith Schwartz takes a fascinating look at the world right
beneath our feet. Cows Save the Planet is a surprising,
informative, and ultimately hopeful book.”--Elizabeth Kolbert,
author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate
Change
“In Cows Save the Planet, Judith Schwartz takes us on a
fascinating, John McPhee-style journey into the world of soil
rehabilitation. The eclectic group of farmers, ranchers,
researchers, and environmentalists she visits have one thing in
common: they all believe in the importance of organic matter in the
soil for solving our most pressing environmental issues. Some of
the innovative techniques they use to increase the vitality of
their soil include no-tillage, using deep-rooted perennial grasses,
cover crops, mulching, and, surprisingly, grazing large herds of
animals according to a program called 'holistic management.'
Imagine, a book about soil that’s a real page turner!”--Larry Korn,
editor of The One-Straw Revolution and Sowing Seeds
in the Desert, by Masanobu Fukuoka
“Judith Schwartz reminds us that sustainable range management is as
much about the microbes in the soil and their feedback loops with
cattle as it is about the cattle themselves. When I finally go home
on the range to be composted, I want to be part of the miraculous
cycle of rangeland renewal that is managed in the way that Schwartz
describes so well.”--Gary Nabhan, author of Desert Terroir, Kellogg
Endowed Chair in Sustainable Food Systems, University of Arizona
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