Back to the Ground: Knowledge, Politics and Practices of Remaking Earth Strata

This book brings together perspectives from the social sciences and humanities on how soils and subsoils are increasingly mobilized to tackle climate change and ecological issues. Carbon capture and storage, the extraction of energy and non-energy minerals, geothermal energy, biofuel production, organic waste recycling and soil remediation are central to the hoped-for green transition. Through an interdisciplinary lens, the book examines the social and ecological implications of these ground-based technological promises, addressing how they both dwell upon and reorient the joint becoming of social and geological strata in the Anthropocene. It is structured into three sections: Inhabiting a de-stratified Earth, Earthly re-stratifications, and Emerging practices and sensitivities to the Earth. Each section explores key aspects of contemporary efforts to reshape the Earth’s strata and examines how these processes intersect with shifts in knowledge, power, practices, and our relationship with the planet. The book features case studies from Europe, North America, and South America that provide grounded insights into soil- and subsoil-based developments and initiatives and unpack their social, political, and ecological consequences.

Olivier Labussière, CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research), PACTE - Social Sciences Research Center, Grenoble, France

Germain Meulemans, CNRS, Centre Alexandre-Koyré, Aubervilliers, France

Céline Granjou, INRAE (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment), LESSEM, Grenoble, France

Adrien Baysse-Lainé, CNRS, PACTE - Social Sciences Research Center, Grenoble, France

Pierre-Olivier Garcia, Université Grenoble Alpes, PACTE - Social Sciences Research Center,

Grenoble, France