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Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations

Name: Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations
Brand: University of California Press
SKU: 9780520272903
Price: 21.99 USD
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Contributors:

David R. Montgomery

Publisher:

University of California Press

Binding:

Paperback

Book Category:

Nature, Technology & Engineering, Science

Book Subcategory:

Agriculture, Earth Sciences

Book Topic:

Agronomy, Geology

Edition Description:

2nd Second Edition, Edition

Shipping & Return +

The product is eligible for a complimentary return within 30 days from the date of purchase. Furthermore, individual items are shipped within 24 hours of receiving the order.

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Specifications +

Release Date:

2012-04-10

ISBN 13:

9780520272903

Weight:

1.05 lbs

Size:

8.90 x 6.00 x 0.70 inches

Pages:

296

Mint Condition +

product description

Description

Dirt, soil, call it what you want--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 are--and have long been--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 soil--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.

About the Author
David R. Montgomery, Professor of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington, is author of King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon.

Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations

Description

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