Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet

Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet

Author: Ben Goldfarb

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2023-09-12

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 1324005904

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Shortlisted for the NYPL's 2024 Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism A New York Times Notable Book of 2023 and an Editors' Choice • A Science News Favorite Book of 2023 • A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2023 • A Smithsonian Staff Favorite of 2023 • A New Yorker Best Book of 2023 • A Booklist Top 10 Book on the Environment & Sustainability for 2024 An eye-opening account of the global ecological transformations wrought by roads, from the award-winning author of Eager. Some 40 million miles of roadways encircle the earth, yet we tend to regard them only as infrastructure for human convenience. While roads are so ubiquitous they’re practically invisible to us, wild animals experience them as entirely alien forces of death and disruption. In Crossings, environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb travels throughout the United States and around the world to investigate how roads have transformed our planet. A million animals are killed by cars each day in the U.S. alone, but as the new science of road ecology shows, the harms of highways extend far beyond roadkill. Creatures from antelope to salmon are losing their ability to migrate in search of food and mates; invasive plants hitch rides in tire treads; road salt contaminates lakes and rivers; and the very noise of traffic chases songbirds from vast swaths of habitat. Yet road ecologists are also seeking to blunt the destruction through innovative solutions. Goldfarb meets with conservationists building bridges for California’s mountain lions and tunnels for English toads, engineers deconstructing the labyrinth of logging roads that web national forests, animal rehabbers caring for Tasmania’s car-orphaned wallabies, and community organizers working to undo the havoc highways have wreaked upon American cities. Today, as our planet’s road network continues to grow exponentially, the science of road ecology has become increasingly vital. Written with passion and curiosity, Crossings is a sweeping, spirited, and timely investigation into how humans have altered the natural world—and how we can create a better future for all living beings.


Book Synopsis Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet by : Ben Goldfarb

Download or read book Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet written by Ben Goldfarb and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2023-09-12 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shortlisted for the NYPL's 2024 Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism A New York Times Notable Book of 2023 and an Editors' Choice • A Science News Favorite Book of 2023 • A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2023 • A Smithsonian Staff Favorite of 2023 • A New Yorker Best Book of 2023 • A Booklist Top 10 Book on the Environment & Sustainability for 2024 An eye-opening account of the global ecological transformations wrought by roads, from the award-winning author of Eager. Some 40 million miles of roadways encircle the earth, yet we tend to regard them only as infrastructure for human convenience. While roads are so ubiquitous they’re practically invisible to us, wild animals experience them as entirely alien forces of death and disruption. In Crossings, environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb travels throughout the United States and around the world to investigate how roads have transformed our planet. A million animals are killed by cars each day in the U.S. alone, but as the new science of road ecology shows, the harms of highways extend far beyond roadkill. Creatures from antelope to salmon are losing their ability to migrate in search of food and mates; invasive plants hitch rides in tire treads; road salt contaminates lakes and rivers; and the very noise of traffic chases songbirds from vast swaths of habitat. Yet road ecologists are also seeking to blunt the destruction through innovative solutions. Goldfarb meets with conservationists building bridges for California’s mountain lions and tunnels for English toads, engineers deconstructing the labyrinth of logging roads that web national forests, animal rehabbers caring for Tasmania’s car-orphaned wallabies, and community organizers working to undo the havoc highways have wreaked upon American cities. Today, as our planet’s road network continues to grow exponentially, the science of road ecology has become increasingly vital. Written with passion and curiosity, Crossings is a sweeping, spirited, and timely investigation into how humans have altered the natural world—and how we can create a better future for all living beings.

Road Ecology

Road Ecology

Author: Richard T.T. Forman

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 496

ISBN-13: 9781559639330

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A central goal of transportation is the delivery of safe and efficient services with minimal environmental impact. In practice, though, human mobility has flourished while nature has suffered. Awareness of the environmental impacts of roads is increasing, yet information remains scarce for those interested in studying, understanding, or minimizing the ecological effects of roads and vehicles. Road Ecology addresses that shortcoming by elevating previously localized and fragmented knowledge into a broad and inclusive framework for understanding and developing solutions. The book brings together fourteen leading ecologists and transportation experts to articulate state-of-the-science road ecology principles, and presents specific examples that demonstrate the application of those principles. Diverse theories, concepts, and models in the new field of road ecology are integrated to establish a coherent framework for transportation policy, planning, and projects. Topics examined include: foundations of road ecology roads, vehicles, and transportation planning vegetation and roadsides wildlife populations and mitigation water, sediment, and chemical flows aquatic ecosystems wind, noise, and atmospheric effects road networks and landscape fragmentation Road Ecology links ecological theories and concepts with transportation planning, engineering, and travel behavior. With more than 100 illustrations and examples from around the world, it is an indispensable and pioneering work for anyone involved with transportation, including practitioners and planners in state and province transportation departments, federal agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. The book also opens up an important new research frontier for ecologists.


Book Synopsis Road Ecology by : Richard T.T. Forman

Download or read book Road Ecology written by Richard T.T. Forman and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A central goal of transportation is the delivery of safe and efficient services with minimal environmental impact. In practice, though, human mobility has flourished while nature has suffered. Awareness of the environmental impacts of roads is increasing, yet information remains scarce for those interested in studying, understanding, or minimizing the ecological effects of roads and vehicles. Road Ecology addresses that shortcoming by elevating previously localized and fragmented knowledge into a broad and inclusive framework for understanding and developing solutions. The book brings together fourteen leading ecologists and transportation experts to articulate state-of-the-science road ecology principles, and presents specific examples that demonstrate the application of those principles. Diverse theories, concepts, and models in the new field of road ecology are integrated to establish a coherent framework for transportation policy, planning, and projects. Topics examined include: foundations of road ecology roads, vehicles, and transportation planning vegetation and roadsides wildlife populations and mitigation water, sediment, and chemical flows aquatic ecosystems wind, noise, and atmospheric effects road networks and landscape fragmentation Road Ecology links ecological theories and concepts with transportation planning, engineering, and travel behavior. With more than 100 illustrations and examples from around the world, it is an indispensable and pioneering work for anyone involved with transportation, including practitioners and planners in state and province transportation departments, federal agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. The book also opens up an important new research frontier for ecologists.

Eager

Eager

Author: Ben Goldfarb

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 160358739X

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Our modern idea of what a healthy landscape looks like and how it functions is distorted by the fur trade that once trapped out millions of beavers from North America's lakes and rivers. Goldfarb shares the powerful story about one of the world's most influential species. He explains how North America was colonized, how our landscapes have changed over the centuries, and how beavers can help us fight drought, flooding, wildfire, extinction, and the ravages of climate change. -- adapted from jacket


Book Synopsis Eager by : Ben Goldfarb

Download or read book Eager written by Ben Goldfarb and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2018 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our modern idea of what a healthy landscape looks like and how it functions is distorted by the fur trade that once trapped out millions of beavers from North America's lakes and rivers. Goldfarb shares the powerful story about one of the world's most influential species. He explains how North America was colonized, how our landscapes have changed over the centuries, and how beavers can help us fight drought, flooding, wildfire, extinction, and the ravages of climate change. -- adapted from jacket

The Humane Gardener

The Humane Gardener

Author: Nancy Lawson

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Published: 2017-04-18

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1616896175

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In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.


Book Synopsis The Humane Gardener by : Nancy Lawson

Download or read book The Humane Gardener written by Nancy Lawson and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2017-04-18 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.

Win-Win Ecology

Win-Win Ecology

Author: Michael L. Rosenzweig

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2003-04-24

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 0198035454

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As humanity presses down inexorably on the natural world, people debate the extent to which we can save the Earth's millions of different species without sacrificing human economic welfare. But is this argument wise? Must the human and natural worlds be adversaries? In this book, ecologist Michael Rosenzweig finds that ecological science actually rejects such polarization. Instead it suggests that, to be successful, conservation must discover how we can blend a rich natural world into the world of economic activity. This revolutionary, common ground between development and conservation is called reconciliation ecology: creating and maintaining species-friendly habitats in the very places where people live, work, or play. The book offers many inspiring examples of the good results already achieved. The Nature Conservancy, for instance, has a cooperative agreement with the Department of Defense, with more than 200 conservation projects taking place on more than 170 bases in 41 states. In places such as Elgin Air Force Base, the human uses-testing munitions, profitable timbering and recreation--continue, but populations of several threatened species on the base, such as the long-leaf pine and the red-cockaded woodpecker, have been greatly improved. The Safe Harbor strategy of the Fish & Wildlife Service encourages private landowners to improve their property for endangered species, thus overcoming the unintended negative aspects of the Endangered Species Act. And Golden Gate Park, which began as a system of sand dunes, has become, through human effort, a world of ponds and shrubs, waterfowl and trees. Rosenzweig shows that reconciliation ecology is the missing tool of conservation, the practical, scientifically based approach that, when added to the rest, will solve the problem of preserving Earth's species.


Book Synopsis Win-Win Ecology by : Michael L. Rosenzweig

Download or read book Win-Win Ecology written by Michael L. Rosenzweig and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2003-04-24 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As humanity presses down inexorably on the natural world, people debate the extent to which we can save the Earth's millions of different species without sacrificing human economic welfare. But is this argument wise? Must the human and natural worlds be adversaries? In this book, ecologist Michael Rosenzweig finds that ecological science actually rejects such polarization. Instead it suggests that, to be successful, conservation must discover how we can blend a rich natural world into the world of economic activity. This revolutionary, common ground between development and conservation is called reconciliation ecology: creating and maintaining species-friendly habitats in the very places where people live, work, or play. The book offers many inspiring examples of the good results already achieved. The Nature Conservancy, for instance, has a cooperative agreement with the Department of Defense, with more than 200 conservation projects taking place on more than 170 bases in 41 states. In places such as Elgin Air Force Base, the human uses-testing munitions, profitable timbering and recreation--continue, but populations of several threatened species on the base, such as the long-leaf pine and the red-cockaded woodpecker, have been greatly improved. The Safe Harbor strategy of the Fish & Wildlife Service encourages private landowners to improve their property for endangered species, thus overcoming the unintended negative aspects of the Endangered Species Act. And Golden Gate Park, which began as a system of sand dunes, has become, through human effort, a world of ponds and shrubs, waterfowl and trees. Rosenzweig shows that reconciliation ecology is the missing tool of conservation, the practical, scientifically based approach that, when added to the rest, will solve the problem of preserving Earth's species.

Buzz Books 2023: Fall/Winter

Buzz Books 2023: Fall/Winter

Author: Publishers Lunch

Publisher: Publishers Lunch

Published: 2023-05-08

Total Pages: 913

ISBN-13: 1948586592

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Buzz Books 2023: Fall/Winter is the 23rd volume in our popular sampler series. This Buzz Books presents passionate readers with an insider’s look more than sixty of the buzziest books due out this season—our largest collection to date. Such major bestselling authors as Naomi Alderman, Yangsze Choo, Kiley Reid, and Tia Williams are featured, along with literary greats Lauren Groff, Sigrid Nunez, Etaf Rum, C Pam Zhang, and more. Buzz Books has had a particularly stellar track record with highlighting the most talented, exciting and diverse debut authors, and this edition is no exception. Comedian and TV star Cedric the Entertainer’s novel is about close-knit black families and tightly woven communities during the Depression and World War II. Jazmina Barrera, a Mexican nonfiction author, offers her first novel. Two YA authors, Ashley Elston and Emma Noyes, debut their first adult books. Among the others are Isa Arsén, Inci Atrek, Anna Bliss, Kim Coleman Foote , Madeleine Gray, Molly McGhee, Nishita Parekh, and Anise Vance. Our robust nonfiction section covers such important subjects as addiction, forgiveness, lying, and grief; several memoirs about harrowing childhoods; and a definitive biography of John Lewis. Finally, we present early looks at new work from young adult authors, including the New York Times bestselling Roshani Chokshi, Jason June and Melinda Salisbury, along with a YA debut by Court Stevens, who is a bookseller at Parnassus Books in Nashville. Be sure to look out for Buzz Books 2023:Romance, coming in late May.


Book Synopsis Buzz Books 2023: Fall/Winter by : Publishers Lunch

Download or read book Buzz Books 2023: Fall/Winter written by Publishers Lunch and published by Publishers Lunch. This book was released on 2023-05-08 with total page 913 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Buzz Books 2023: Fall/Winter is the 23rd volume in our popular sampler series. This Buzz Books presents passionate readers with an insider’s look more than sixty of the buzziest books due out this season—our largest collection to date. Such major bestselling authors as Naomi Alderman, Yangsze Choo, Kiley Reid, and Tia Williams are featured, along with literary greats Lauren Groff, Sigrid Nunez, Etaf Rum, C Pam Zhang, and more. Buzz Books has had a particularly stellar track record with highlighting the most talented, exciting and diverse debut authors, and this edition is no exception. Comedian and TV star Cedric the Entertainer’s novel is about close-knit black families and tightly woven communities during the Depression and World War II. Jazmina Barrera, a Mexican nonfiction author, offers her first novel. Two YA authors, Ashley Elston and Emma Noyes, debut their first adult books. Among the others are Isa Arsén, Inci Atrek, Anna Bliss, Kim Coleman Foote , Madeleine Gray, Molly McGhee, Nishita Parekh, and Anise Vance. Our robust nonfiction section covers such important subjects as addiction, forgiveness, lying, and grief; several memoirs about harrowing childhoods; and a definitive biography of John Lewis. Finally, we present early looks at new work from young adult authors, including the New York Times bestselling Roshani Chokshi, Jason June and Melinda Salisbury, along with a YA debut by Court Stevens, who is a bookseller at Parnassus Books in Nashville. Be sure to look out for Buzz Books 2023:Romance, coming in late May.

Slippery Beast

Slippery Beast

Author: Ellen Ruppel Shell

Publisher: Abrams

Published: 2024-08-06

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 164700893X

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Ellen Ruppel Shell’s Slippery Beast is a fascinating account of a deeply mysterious creature—the eel—a thrilling saga of true crime, natural history, travel, and big business. What is it about eels? Depending on who you ask, they are a pest, a fascination, a threat, a pot of gold. What they are not is predictable. Eels emerged some 200 million years ago, weathered mass extinctions and continental shifts, and were once among the world’s most abundant freshwater fish. But since the 1970s, their numbers have plummeted. Because eels—as unagi—are another thing: delicious. In Slippery Beast, journalist Ellen Ruppel Shell travels in the world of “eel people,” pursuing a burgeoning fascination with this mysterious and highly coveted creature. Despite centuries of study by celebrated thinkers from Aristotle to Leeuwenhoek to a young Sigmund Freud, much about eels remains unknown, including exactly how eels beget other eels. Eels cannot be bred reliably in captivity, and as a result, infant eels are unbelievably valuable. A pound of the tiny, translucent, bug-eyed “elvers” caught in the cold fresh waters of Maine can command $3,000 or more on the black market. Illegal trade in eels is an international scandal measured in billions of dollars every year. In Maine, federal investigators have risked their lives to bust poaching rings, including the notorious half-decade-long “Operation Broken Glass.” Ruppel Shell follows the elusive eel from Maine to the Sargasso Sea and back, stalking riversides, fishing holes, laboratories, restaurants, courtrooms, and America’s first commercial eel “family farm,” which just might upend the international market and save a state. This is an enthralling, globe-spanning look at an animal that you may never come to love, but which will never fail to astonish you, a miraculous creature that tells more about us than we can ever know about it.


Book Synopsis Slippery Beast by : Ellen Ruppel Shell

Download or read book Slippery Beast written by Ellen Ruppel Shell and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2024-08-06 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ellen Ruppel Shell’s Slippery Beast is a fascinating account of a deeply mysterious creature—the eel—a thrilling saga of true crime, natural history, travel, and big business. What is it about eels? Depending on who you ask, they are a pest, a fascination, a threat, a pot of gold. What they are not is predictable. Eels emerged some 200 million years ago, weathered mass extinctions and continental shifts, and were once among the world’s most abundant freshwater fish. But since the 1970s, their numbers have plummeted. Because eels—as unagi—are another thing: delicious. In Slippery Beast, journalist Ellen Ruppel Shell travels in the world of “eel people,” pursuing a burgeoning fascination with this mysterious and highly coveted creature. Despite centuries of study by celebrated thinkers from Aristotle to Leeuwenhoek to a young Sigmund Freud, much about eels remains unknown, including exactly how eels beget other eels. Eels cannot be bred reliably in captivity, and as a result, infant eels are unbelievably valuable. A pound of the tiny, translucent, bug-eyed “elvers” caught in the cold fresh waters of Maine can command $3,000 or more on the black market. Illegal trade in eels is an international scandal measured in billions of dollars every year. In Maine, federal investigators have risked their lives to bust poaching rings, including the notorious half-decade-long “Operation Broken Glass.” Ruppel Shell follows the elusive eel from Maine to the Sargasso Sea and back, stalking riversides, fishing holes, laboratories, restaurants, courtrooms, and America’s first commercial eel “family farm,” which just might upend the international market and save a state. This is an enthralling, globe-spanning look at an animal that you may never come to love, but which will never fail to astonish you, a miraculous creature that tells more about us than we can ever know about it.

Handbook of Road Ecology

Handbook of Road Ecology

Author: Rodney van der Ree

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2015-06-15

Total Pages: 562

ISBN-13: 1118568184

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Winner of the IENE Project Award 2016. This authoritative volume brings together some of the world’s leading researchers, academics, practitioners and transportation agency personnel to present the current status of the ecological sustainability of the linear infrastructure – primarily road, rail and utility easements – that dissect and fragment landscapes globally. It outlines the potential impacts, demonstrates how this infrastructure is being improved, and how broad ecological principles are applied to mitigate the impact of road networks on wildlife. Research and monitoring is an important aspect of road ecology, encompassing all phases of a transportation project. This book covers research and monitoring to span the entire project continuum – starting with planning and design, through construction and into maintenance and management. It focuses on impacts and solutions for species groups and specific regions, with particular emphasis on the unique challenges facing Asia, South America and Africa. Other key features: Contributions from authors originating from over 25 countries, including from all continents Each chapter summarizes important lessons, and includes lists of further reading and thoroughly up to date references Highlights principles that address key points relevant to all phases in all road projects Explains best-practices based on a number of successful international case studies Chapters are "stand-alone", but they also build upon and complement each other; extensive cross-referencing directs the reader to relevant material elsewhere in the book Handbook of Road Ecology offers a comprehensive summary of approximately 30 years of global efforts to quantify the impacts of roads and traffic and implement effective mitigation. As such, it is essential reading for those involved in the planning, design, assessment and construction of new roads; the management and maintenance of existing roads; and the modifying or retrofitting of existing roads and problem locations. This handbook is an accessible resource for both developed and developing countries, including government transportation agencies, Government environmental/conservation agencies, NGOs, and road funding and donor organisations.


Book Synopsis Handbook of Road Ecology by : Rodney van der Ree

Download or read book Handbook of Road Ecology written by Rodney van der Ree and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-06-15 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the IENE Project Award 2016. This authoritative volume brings together some of the world’s leading researchers, academics, practitioners and transportation agency personnel to present the current status of the ecological sustainability of the linear infrastructure – primarily road, rail and utility easements – that dissect and fragment landscapes globally. It outlines the potential impacts, demonstrates how this infrastructure is being improved, and how broad ecological principles are applied to mitigate the impact of road networks on wildlife. Research and monitoring is an important aspect of road ecology, encompassing all phases of a transportation project. This book covers research and monitoring to span the entire project continuum – starting with planning and design, through construction and into maintenance and management. It focuses on impacts and solutions for species groups and specific regions, with particular emphasis on the unique challenges facing Asia, South America and Africa. Other key features: Contributions from authors originating from over 25 countries, including from all continents Each chapter summarizes important lessons, and includes lists of further reading and thoroughly up to date references Highlights principles that address key points relevant to all phases in all road projects Explains best-practices based on a number of successful international case studies Chapters are "stand-alone", but they also build upon and complement each other; extensive cross-referencing directs the reader to relevant material elsewhere in the book Handbook of Road Ecology offers a comprehensive summary of approximately 30 years of global efforts to quantify the impacts of roads and traffic and implement effective mitigation. As such, it is essential reading for those involved in the planning, design, assessment and construction of new roads; the management and maintenance of existing roads; and the modifying or retrofitting of existing roads and problem locations. This handbook is an accessible resource for both developed and developing countries, including government transportation agencies, Government environmental/conservation agencies, NGOs, and road funding and donor organisations.