The silent crisis

“I wrote this book because the world’s soil problems constitute a silent crisis.
Most people are unaware that the soil beneath our feet is disappearing at an alarming rate. The ground we all walk on, which we call ‘land’ and often expose to great harm, is at risk.
Soil erosion destabilizes food production and environmental health.
If the world acts now, we can manage our soil so that it will persist into the future, continuing to produce food for an expanding population and being used to sequester carbon, reducing greenhouse gases and slowing climate change.”

With these words, biologist Jo Handelsman explains the powerful motivations that led her to write “A World Without Soil.” This invaluable book helps us recognize what we often overlook: soil erosion, a silent global crisis that threatens our very existence.
With an engaging and informative style, rich in examples, the author explains that what we call soil is a complex and fascinating ecosystem, and its health determines agriculture (and therefore our food resources), the filtration and availability of clean water, and the absorption of carbon from the atmosphere … The outermost layer, the topsoil, has formed over thousands of years, but it takes very little to destroy it and render it infertile.

ISPRA data indicate that in Italy, in 2023 alone, construction led to a net land consumption of 64.4 km² (equivalent to 17.6 hectares per day). This rate is unsustainable.
At the same time, intensive agricultural practices worldwide, involving the excessive use of synthetic chemicals (fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides) and invasive mechanical processing, are making the soil increasingly less productive and more vulnerable to erosion by rain and wind.

The author explains that the ways to solve the soil crisis are well known.
We know how to mitigate these two great threats—soil erosion and climate change—which endanger our species and the Earth.
Can human ingenuity, combined with the regenerative power of our planet’s ecosystems, save us from a precarious future?

If you are a member of EARTH GARDENERS APS you can purchase this book with a 5% discount at the “Messaggerie sarde” bookshop in Sassari, in Piazza Castello 11. If you don’t have your 2026 membership card yet, you can pick it up at the bookshop when you go shopping!

Credits

Author: Anna Lacci is a science communicator and expert in environmental education, sustainability, and place-based teaching. She is the author of documentaries, nature books, workbooks, interdisciplinary teaching resources, and multimedia informational materials.

Translated by Maria Antonietta Sessa