Courtney White is a former archaeologist and Sierra Club activist who dropped out of the “conflict industry” to cofound the Quivira Coalition, a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to building a radical center among ranchers, conservationists, and public land managers around practices that improve resilience in Western working landscapes. In 2005, Wendell Berry included Courtney’s essay “The Working Wilderness” in his collection titled The Way of Ignorance. He is the author of Revolution on the Range; Grass, Soil, Hope; The Age of Consequences; and Two Percent Solutions for the Planet; and coauthor of Fibershed with Rebecca Burgess. He is also the author of The Sun, a mystery novel set on a working cattle ranch in northern New Mexico. He lives in Santa Fe.
Foreword Reviews- “Optimism about scientific observations and what
people can do to improve the environment makes this book inspiring.
In Grass, Soil, Hope: A Journey through Carbon Country, Courtney
White provides a compelling and practical account of how carbon—an
essential element and building block of life—may hold the answer to
many pressing issues. Smart land use that captures carbon in the
soil can enhance the climate, plant and animal diversity, our
waterways, the quality of our food, and our quality of life in
general. An engaging storyteller, White describes farmers,
ranchers, scientists, artists, and many “everyday” people who are
putting these ideas into action. White has crafted a
challenging, engaging narrative that will compel many readers to
reconsider the link between our soil and the future of our
planet.”
Kirkus Reviews-
White (Revolution on the Range: The Rise of a New Ranch in the
American West, 2008 etc.) shows how taking measures to increase the
carbon content of the soil can help mitigate global warming.
'Around 30 to 40 percent of the carbon created by photosynthesis
can be exuded directly into soil via plant roots to nurture the
microbes that help plants grow and build healthy soil,” writes the
author. The author traveled to speak with soil scientists and
visited ranches in the American Southwest and Australia to witness
how modern, high-tech ranches were using satellite monitoring and
on-the-ground scrutiny to check the condition of the land. He
discovered massive ranches that were divided into continually
monitored small plots, where farmers tested the soil and ground
cover condition and moisture in order to determine where and when
to rotate cattle, which were contained by solar-powered, mobile
fencing. White also spoke with scientists at the University of
California whose experimental data buttressed his hypotheses about
carbon soil capture. The author reports efforts to restore wetlands
that “can sequester carbon at rates up to fifty times those of
tropical forests.' White concludes that some sort of
incentive-based carbon offset market is required to encourage
high-tech investment in soil management. An inspiring can-do
approach to the threat of global warming.”
Choice- “When one thinks of climate change, soil generally is not
the first thing that comes to mind. White (Revolution on the Range,
2008), however, takes readers on a journey demonstrating the carbon
sequestration power of dirt. He visited ranchers, farmers, urban
agriculturists, restoration ecologists, and scientists across the
US and in Australia and outlines approaches that not only decrease
carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere but also improve ecosystem
and human health. Though the case studies clearly show the myriad
benefits of these techniques, which include no-till agriculture,
pasture cropping, planned grazing systems, and wetland restoration,
White also acknowledges challenges that might arise in implementing
them. Other books extolling the importance of soil have come out
recently and cover much of the same ground. White's background as
the cofounder of the Quivira Coalition, a nonprofit that brings
together ranchers, environmentalists, and scientists to work to
improve land health and build resilience, gives him an inside
perspective on the issues he presents and makes the book more
accessible to ranchers. Although he sometimes strays off on
unrelated tangents, overall, this is an engaging and hopeful read
of how humans can work with nature for a brighter future. Summing
Up: Recommended. Students of all levels, general readers, and
professionals/practitioners.”
“A great practical book that I hope will be read by many people in
all walks of life, even those who still doubt human-induced climate
change. No technology even imaginable can restore nature’s past
healthy functioning over the Earth’s greatest land areas--its vast
grasslands. The solutions Courtney illustrates can and will do what
is required, and he tells the story well.”--Allan Savory, president
and founder of the Savory Institute
“This is a book to read for many reasons: to learn about the
Earth’s carbon cycle; to glimpse ways ‘conservation’ is evolving,
especially in the semi-arid West; and to understand the future of
ranching and sustainable agriculture. It’s also a book to read if
you want to be infused with hope, and inspired to play a broader
role in the face of climate change. For many of us who think about
ways to create a more resilient world for future generations, it
pays to think more about carbon. This book will get you
started.”--Jonathan Overpeck, co-director, Institute of the
Environment; professor of geosciences and atmospheric sciences,
University of Arizona, Tucson
“Grass, soil, hope: three simple words with the power to tackle
society’s most challenging problems. A ray of sunshine, converted
by grass into carbon and stored in the soil, represents the
possibility of a brighter future. Courtney White takes us on an
enlightening journey to farms, ranches, and ecosystems around the
world to show us where the most important molecule of
life—carbon—is regenerating landscapes. An empowering and uplifting
read!”--Gabe Brown, owner, Brown’s Ranch, Bismarck, North
Dakota
"Grass, Soil, Hope is not just another gloom-and-doom composition
about global climate change. Courtney White takes the reader
back to earth's beginnings to help illustrate the vital role of
carbon in sustaining life and then gives real-life, real-time
examples of agricultural practitioners who are using creativity and
common sense to grow food, restore watersheds and wildlife habitat,
and, yes, sequester lots of carbon.”--William McDonald,
fifth-generation cattle rancher; founder and director of the Malpai
Borderlands Group
“Grass, Soil, Hope is a wonderfully accessible account of the
promise of soil and agriculture for a better climate and better
future.”--Thomas E. Lovejoy, professor of environmental science and
policy, George Mason University, and senior fellow, United Nations
Foundation
“This delightful diamond of a book is a tour-de-force that covers
the story of carbon from the Big Bang to your backyard. It’s a
must-read for anyone interested in how carbon endlessly cycles from
soil into plants and animals (including humans), most of the things
we create, and then on into the atmosphere that blankets our
planet. At a time when environmental narratives have become gloomy,
this book is a breath of optimism exhaled with practical
recommendations for moving carbon from the air back into the soil,
for the health of the planet and every creature on it.”--Fred
Provenza, professor emeritus, Department of Wildland Resources,
Utah State University
“Courtney White employs a masterful blend of storytelling and
science to communicate a most hopeful message: that building
healthy soils – in some surprising and creative ways – can help
solve our food, water, and climate challenges all at the same time.
The carbon-capturing farmers, ranchers, and conservationists
whose work White so elegantly describes form the vanguard of a new
movement of regenerative production that deserves society’s
attention and support. Inspiring, thought-provoking,
energizing, and—at bottom – full of hope.”--Sandra Postel,
Freshwater Fellow, National Geographic Society
“Courtney White's journey was sparked by a question: What if we
looked at carbon not just as a ‘pollutant’, but from the standpoint
of its role as the building block of life? What he found across the
country and abroad were farmers, ranchers, and scientists who are
working with the carbon cycle to build soil, restore ecosystems,
and bolster productivity--in short, embracing life to generate more
life. At once plain-spoken and radical, this book promises to stir
up hope even among those made cynical by relentless bad news. White
has made the case for hope. Whether this is turned to action is up
to us.”--Judith D. Schwartz, author, Cows Save the Planet
“Courtney White’s book offers refreshing insights on
‘climate-smart’ agriculture. In an era when farmers and ranchers
are often vilified for environmental disruptions, this analysis
gives an optimistic contrast: It’s a well-grounded practical
outlook of the win-win outcomes of management practices by ranchers
who are good stewards of soil carbon.”--L. Ann Thrupp, PhD,
executive director, Berkeley Food Institute, University of
California, Berkeley
“As anyone paying attention now knows, we will be facing numerous
new challenges in our agriculture and food system in the near
future. The most important ‘journey’ we all need to
make in preparing for that future is, as Courtney White points out,
to restore the biological health of our soil. The hopefulness
in Courtney’s journey comes from his demonstration of the practical
ways in which we can accomplish this task. Anyone interested
in the future of food should read this remarkable, heartwarming
book.”--Frederick Kirschenmann, author, Cultivating an Ecological
Conscience: Essays from a Farmer Philosopher
“Grass, Soil, Hope takes us on a journey from one fascinating
topic—and one inspirational, hardworking individual—to another.
The exciting concept of 'carbon farming', which Courtney
White clearly articulates both with theory and with practical
examples, could revolutionize our entire approach to
environmental restoration. If widely applied, these techniques
would reverse climate change, and reestablish health to the land,
to ourselves, and to our communities. This is an important book
that is filled with hope.”--Larry Korn, translator and editor of
Masanobu Fukuoka’s The One-Straw
Revolution and Sowing Seeds in the Desert
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