Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
40th out of 114 books
—
9 voters
Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis
With Soil Not Oil, Vandana Shiva connects the dots between industrial agriculture and climate change. Shiva shows that a world beyond dependence on fossil fuels and globalization is both possible and necessary.
Condemning industrial agriculture as a recipe for ecological and economic disaster, Shiva’s champion is the small, independent farm: their greater productivity, thei...more
Condemning industrial agriculture as a recipe for ecological and economic disaster, Shiva’s champion is the small, independent farm: their greater productivity, thei...more
Paperback, 144 pages
Published
October 1st 2008
by South End Press
(first published 2008)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
601)
Firstly, this book corrected my misconception that chemical fertilizers contained oil, in some form. I now understand that the production and transport of chemical fertilizers rely on oil. An important difference.
Vandana Shiva writes very clearly about the costs being accrued with relying on reductionist solutions, ignoring the systems involved. The most distressing (for me) being the Intellectual Property Rights, and the associated reduction in biodiversity.
I am convinced that the issues of soc...more
Vandana Shiva writes very clearly about the costs being accrued with relying on reductionist solutions, ignoring the systems involved. The most distressing (for me) being the Intellectual Property Rights, and the associated reduction in biodiversity.
I am convinced that the issues of soc...more
A must-read for anyone who takes the future of the planet seriously, Soil Not Oil dare us to imagine a world where people matter more than profits.
With Soil Not Oil, Vandana Shiva brilliantly reveals what connects humanity's most urgent food crises--food insecurity, peak oil, and climate change--and why any attempt to solve one without addressing the others will get us nowhere.
Condemning industrial biofuels and agriculture as recipes for ecological and economic disaster, Shiva champions the smal...more
With Soil Not Oil, Vandana Shiva brilliantly reveals what connects humanity's most urgent food crises--food insecurity, peak oil, and climate change--and why any attempt to solve one without addressing the others will get us nowhere.
Condemning industrial biofuels and agriculture as recipes for ecological and economic disaster, Shiva champions the smal...more
Aug 29, 2009
Valerie
marked it as to-read
I haven't read this book yet, but went to see Dr. Vandana Shiva speak at the University of New Mexico last night. Farmers in the state of New Mexico are trying to preserve their natural, heirloom seeds for the state's very unique crop: the New Mexico chile.
Corporations and federal government are trying to include unique crops such as the New Mexico chile in a program for genetic modification to make them climate hardy and pest resistant with petrochemicals and genetic mutations, all the while i...more
Corporations and federal government are trying to include unique crops such as the New Mexico chile in a program for genetic modification to make them climate hardy and pest resistant with petrochemicals and genetic mutations, all the while i...more
This book is a must-read for everyone. It provides compelling data and profound insight into the damage waged upon our world by non-sustainable farming, trading, energy, and economics. The book covers the negative impacts of globalization in terms of poverty, exploitation, food prices, energy prices, pollution, etc. It is only about 150 pages long, but it is as comprehensive as it is terse. Shiva makes a compelling and passionate argument for adaptation of sustainable, earth-friendly farming, tr...more
I was drawn to read this book when the State Government of Western Australia announced to convert vast tracks of land into sugar cane plantation-- as if the State is not satisfied with the expansive mining operations going on there. The plantation is not intended to produce food, but rather to produce bio-fuels. Agricultural crops are turning into bio-fuels.
From Asia to South America to Africa, farms are converted into industrial purposes-- which according to Shiva has been creating food shorta...more
From Asia to South America to Africa, farms are converted into industrial purposes-- which according to Shiva has been creating food shorta...more
It was a bit slow for me to get into this book, but it's really a good one, especially if you already know some basic facts about Monsanto, the WTO, the World Bank, etc. Shiva is a former nuclear physicist from India who has turned into an activist for agrarian reform, an outspoken critic of globalization and carbon trading, and the founder of Navdanya (http://www.navdanya.org/), a project that helps farmers in India achieve Earth Democracy. Awesomeness!
If you have trouble getting into the book...more
If you have trouble getting into the book...more
love this book. Using India as a kind of case study, Shiva gives a brilliant critique of industrial agriculture and the failures of many forms of “development” to improve the lives of the poor or address climate change. She also explains how our current crisis also provides an opportunity to establish what she calls “Earth Democracy,” a truly democratic society that values the earth and the local independent farmer.
Aug 06, 2011
Stacey Molina
added it
She just repeats herself over and over. She uses too many numbers and percentages, so I kept losing interest. And while it had many interesting facts, the way it was written is not going to prove beneifical beacuse the people who should read it, who can make changes, will not be able to understand it with the language she uses. It could have been done so much better.
A favorite author and leading ecofeminist thinker, activist, and speaker, Shiva's recent move from general ecofeminist organizing to specific intersections of the military-industrial complex and food security & preservation issues utilizes her usual concise, clear, and demanding tone for a more just vision of the future.
There are a lot of interesting things in this. Shiva tends to use emotive language rather than letting the facts speak for themselves, which can be quite jarring. She is on firmest ground when describing injustices against rural Indian tribalists and smallholders.
Another good book by Vandana Shiva. She has such great ideas and sees that what we are doing to earth thru reduction and exploitation with great solutions. It is just so hard to see her solutions as attainable because of our reliance on oil I regards to energy, food ect
A serious must read for anyone who loves being alive. We are in fact in a crisis and the knowledge is out there and can be accessed. Shiva's writting is both unique and heartfelt.
Vadana Shiva has a knowing voice throughout the book. If you're completely clueless about global climate issues, this is easy to pick up to begin educating yourself.
Only the most amazing feminist scientist in the world could explain why the "Green Revolution" is killing the planet *and* give so many simple alternatives, like seed saving and crop rotation, backed up with evidence. I didn't know how many healthy soil bacterias were in a cubic inch of soil, and that industrial fertilizers are reducing plants abilities to get the right minerals from the soil, which means we may be eating mineral deficient food. I didn't realize how much energy is actually waste...more
Shiva has lots of say...an interesting story to tell.
Aug 14, 2011
Ck Rathi
added it
i want to downlod it
A wake up call. Good book.
Really need to read this!
Very good book. Always interesting to read something from a global perspective. Author makes a powerful case for change, paints a pretty dire picture. Should be required reading. Love the last line in the book, "We can either keep sleepwalking to extinction, or wake up to the potential of the planet and ourselves."
Nov 04, 2009
Wizzard
marked it as to-read
I am enjoying reading this book. Although she is writing from a "Third World" perspective it is relevant to Detroit. Surprise Surprise.
I hope this book helps influence my vision of the 2010 US Social Forum and helps it become responsive to today's economic and ecological crises.
I hope this book helps influence my vision of the 2010 US Social Forum and helps it become responsive to today's economic and ecological crises.
Shiva re-frames the environmental issues in a brilliant new way. Though I read a lot of environmental literature, she dealt with familiar issues in an illuminating new way. Important work.
Just started reading will post soon
May 22, 2013
Ashley
marked it as to-read
May 20, 2013
Jenna Cook
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Rachelle Ternier
marked it as to-read
May 18, 2013
Sarah
marked it as to-read
May 17, 2013
Sash
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
A major figurehead of the alter-globalization movement as well as a major role player in global Ecofeminism, Dr. Vandana Shiva is recipient to several awards for her services in human rights, ecology and conservation. Receiving her Ph.D in physics at the University of Western Ontario in 1978, Dr. Vandana Shivas attentions were quickly drawn towards ecological concerns.
More about Vandana Shiva...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Nature shrinks as capital grows. The growth of the market cannot solve the very crisis it creates.”
—
50 people liked it
More quotes…
Nov 10, 2009 07:42am