Like the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield, dirt doesn't get much respect. It's walked on, kicked at, stomped on, and generally regarded as a nuisance whenever we think about it -- which is usually when it turns up where it shouldn't be: in our water, on our floors, on our clothes, in our air.

Soil is one of the most precious of all natural resources. Like so many other items of great value, it is slow to develop and difficult to replace. Yet, in Hawai`i as in most other places, soil is managed as though it were, well, dirt cheap.