Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet maps the hidden catastrophe running beneath every highway and back road — Ben Goldfarb's investigation into road ecology reframes 40 million miles of infrastructure as one of the most consequential forces reshaping the natural world.
About This Book
A million animals are killed by vehicles each day in the United States alone, yet roadkill is merely the most visible symptom of a far deeper crisis. In Crossings, environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb travels across the US and around the world to document how roads fragment habitats, block migration corridors, seed invasive species, and flood ecosystems with noise and chemical contamination. But this is not purely a book of reckoning — Goldfarb also charts the emerging science of road ecology and the conservationists, engineers, and community organisers devising solutions, from wildlife overpasses for mountain lions to toad tunnels in England. Essential reading for anyone concerned with landscape, infrastructure, and the future of biodiversity.
Key Features
- 384 pages of investigative narrative spanning field reporting across the United States, Tasmania, England, and beyond
- Written by environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb
- Case studies include wildlife bridges for California mountain lions, toad tunnels in England, logging road deconstruction in national forests, and wallaby rehabilitation in Tasmania
- Published by W W Norton & Company
What You'll Discover
- How road noise alone displaces songbirds across vast swaths of habitat — a harm entirely distinct from collision mortality
- The mechanisms by which roads sever migration routes for species from pronghorn antelope to Pacific salmon, threatening genetic diversity and population viability
- How invasive plant species exploit road corridors and how road salt contaminates freshwater systems far from the road edge
- The practical toolkit of road ecology: wildlife crossing design, road decommissioning strategies, and community-led campaigns to reverse the damage highways have inflicted on urban neighbourhoods
About the Author
Ben Goldfarb is an environmental journalist whose work examines the intersection of human infrastructure and ecological systems. Crossings draws on reporting across multiple continents, engaging scientists, conservationists, engineers, and community advocates working at the frontier of road ecology.
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 384
- Dimensions: 25.5 x 16 x 2.8 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781324005896
- Publisher: W W Norton & Company
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Landscape architects, urban planners, infrastructure designers, environmental scientists, and design practitioners with an interest in the relationship between built systems and ecological resilience.