The Soil Will Save Us

How Scientists, Farmers, and Ranchers Are Tending the Soil to Reverse Global Warming

By: Kristin Ohlson

Narrated by: Dina Pearlman

Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Thousands of years of poor farming and ranching practices—and, especially, modern industrial agriculture—have led to the loss of up to 80 percent of carbon from the world’s soils. That carbon is now floating in the atmosphere, and even if we stopped using fossil fuels today, it would continue warming the planet. In The Soil Will Save Us, journalist and bestselling author Kristin Ohlson makes an elegantly argued, passionate case for "our great green hope"—a way in which we can not only heal the land but also turn atmospheric carbon into beneficial soil carbon—and potentially reverse global warming.

As the granddaughter of farmers and the daughter of avid gardeners, Ohlson has long had an appreciation for the soil. A chance conversation with a local chef led her to the crossroads of science, farming, food, and environmentalism and the discovery of the only significant way to remove carbon dioxide from the air—an ecological approach that tends not only to plants and animals but also to the vast population of underground microorganisms that fix carbon in the soil. Ohlson introduces the visionaries—scientists, farmers, ranchers, and landscapers—who are figuring out in the lab and on the ground how to build healthy soil, which solves myriad problems: Drought, erosion, air and water pollution, and food quality, as well as climate change. Her discoveries and vivid storytelling will revolutionize the way we think about our food, our landscapes, our plants, and our relationship to Earth.

©2013 Kristin Ohlson (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

A must read!

If everybody in the world would read this book, and 25% would attempt these solutions, the planet would be a much better place!

excellent

really informative. lots of detail but written in a very engaging manner. Narator good but her Australian accent needs a lot a work :-)

Easy to Digest Science

If you could sum up The Soil Will Save Us in three words, what would they be?

This author writes about carbon sequestration and climate change in a a logical and easy to understand way. The scientific explanations provided are both accurate and surprisingly (for a non-science writer) thorough. The Soill Will Save Us should be required reading for high school students and freshman science majors. It's also great for those starting to learn about climate change too. And for the more advanced, this book is a great instructional tool for students, as well as vindication to know that the message is tricking out to non-scientists. Ohlson does a great job presenting complex ideas - making it easy to digest for us all.

What did you like best about this story?

Structure

If you have a problem with is amazing book it's not the book

This book functions as an elegant and exceptionally persuasive argument for completely rethinking our relationship with the earth and how we grow what we need to exist. Bravo!

A book vital to the human species

The more people read this book and act on it, the less disastrous the 21st century will be for us all.

Motivating

For someone who is environmentally conscious, this was a great book. Some parts get redundant but I feel it really helped shape the larger picture. It is interesting how concepts from this book are popping up in other areas I've been learning about. I recommend this listen.

This book gives me hope for the future.

This is a great overview of regenerative agriculture. I recommend it to anyone who cares about the environment.

An amazing book

While the subtitle of this is about reversing global warming I really believe that this is about sustainable farming and the side benefit is that if also reduces greenhouse gases. You don't have to be a scientist to get this. I call it beyond organic farming and gifted it to the farmers in my family. Truly a wonderful book.

Hopeful news is so rare. This book is a gem.

I previously reviewed this audio book, because I found the narration so intrusive. Please. Don’t. Do. Accents (trained professionals excepted).
That aside, this book is like a good soaking rain after a bushfire. Regardless of whether or not you believe humans have contributed to the increased carbon in the atmosphere, if we are going to continue living comfortably here, we need to reduce it pronto. This book shows an easy way to do that, and feed the population using existing tech, without breaking the bank. Bacteria, fungi, and nematodes are the key. Feed them and rescue our biosphere.

The book is great; the performance is amazing!

the book is great and the performance is amazing making learning an even greater experience.