ABSTRACT
Each day, vast swaths of soils are crushed beneath multiton vehicles and sealed beneath multistory skyscrapers. Soils that once were protected by meadows and renewed by trees are now exposed to winds and washed away by rain. Nasty concoctions of sewage, pesticides, herbicides, industrial effluents, medical waste, spilled oil, and chemical substances seep into its crevices. A common perception of soil is that it is so abundant it can be squandered without consequence. This perception is false. While fertile soils are becoming increasingly rare, this shrinking resource has never been abundant on our planet:
3/4 of Earth is water and 1/4 of Earth is land.
1/2 of land is available for human use.
3/4 of land available for human use is too rocky, too wet or too dry, or too hot or too cold for food production.
Only 1/32 of the earth's surface is available for food production.1
