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Global hunger, pollution, and water scarcity – how are these interrelated? Courtney White, a former archeologist and a Sierra Club activist, connects the dots for us in his book
Grass,Soil, Hope: A Journey Through Carbon Country.

Growing up in Phoenix, Arizona, he first became concerned about some of the environmental issues going on in the 1990s, at which time he joined the Sierra Club.

“I met a rancher at a Sierra Club meeting in 1996. His name was Jim Winder… This was back in the mid-’90s when ranchers and environmentalists were going after each other in court, in public opinions, in newspapers, and all kinds of things.

Jim said, ‘Let’s find some common ground between ranchers and environmentalists.’ He said, ‘I ranch differently. I move my cows around the ranch in a certain way trying to mimic natural grazing behavior of wild animals – bison, for example.’

I said, ‘That’s interesting.’ I went to his ranch and saw what he was doing. He’s growing grass. He had water, wildlife, and all these things.”

The Quivira Coalition

In 1997, the activist and the rancher formed a non-profit organization called The Quivira Coalition, along with conservationist Barbara Johnson. Together, they advocated land management practices that help restore land back to health.

One of the keys to land restoration is carbon sequestration. Carbon is the most abundant element on Earth after oxygen. Dark, rich soils contain high amounts of carbon. This element is the tie that binds grazing management, land health, food, water, and rising carbon dioxide pollution levels together.

“I read a publication in 2009 that said that we can pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” Courtney says. “We have too much of it right now.

Through plants, through photosynthesis, and into the soils through the roots, where it’s stored, we can actually pull down carbon dioxide and store the carbon in the soils. I didn’t know that. We had been involved in land management practices for about 10 years up to that point.

All the practices these ranchers, gardeners, restorationists, and farmers were doing all have a positive impact potentially on the climate. They also could produce more food and more water.”