Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations

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Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations

Dirt, soil, call it what you wantâ€”it's everywhere we go. It is the root of our existence, supporting our feet, our farms, our cities. This fascinating yet disquieting book finds, however, that we are running out of dirt, and it's no laughing matter. An engaging natural and cultural history of soil that sweeps from ancient civilizations to modern times, Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations explores the compelling idea that we areâ€”and have long beenâ€”using up Earth's soil. Once bare of protective vegetation and exposed to wind and rain, cultivated soils erode bit by bit, slowly enough to be ignored in a single lifetime but fast enough over centuries to limit the lifespan of civilizations. A rich mix of history, archaeology and geology, Dirt traces the role of soil use and abuse in the history of Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, China, European colonialism, Central America, and the American push westward. We see how soil has shaped us and we have shaped soilâ€”as society after society has risen, prospered, and plowed through a natural endowment of fertile dirt. David R. Montgomery sees in the recent rise of organic and no-till farming the hope for a new agricultural revolution that might help us avoid the fate of previous civilizations.

Country	USA
Author	David R. Montgomery
Binding	Kindle Edition
Edition	2
EISBN	9780520952119
Format	Kindle eBook
Label	University of California Press
Manufacturer	University of California Press
NumberOfPages	306
PublicationDate	2012-04-10
Publisher	University of California Press
ReleaseDate	2012-04-18
Studio	University of California Press

Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations

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