Crossings

How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet

By: Ben Goldfarb

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

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 US 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.

©2023 Ben Goldfarb (P)2023 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Eye-opening

Really puts into perspective the effect of human sprawling has on the ecosystems around us. Very good. Was super interesting the whole way through!

Homer says "Doh" not "Duh" !

"Duh a deer a female deer." is just gibberish. It ruins the song and it completely ruins the joke! So either Malcom has never seen the Sound of Music or the Simpsons or Ben made the mistake and put duh instead of doh.
I'm sixty percent sure that the reader also Butchered a Yogurt Spaceballs reference in another book, and the rest of the book was phenomenal!

Definitely looking forward to another Ben Goldfarb book!

So Glad I Read This

I loved the examples and stories the author chose to highlight in this book. Each chapter was interest8ng and approachable for a layman. I also really appreciated the narration. I saw other reviewers disliked his tone and approach, but I thought it was the perfect blend of seriousness and humor, with the author's frequent tongue-in-cheek remarks shining through.

the rich history of the relationship between roads and fauna

I loved the rich immersion and broad reach of the subject matter discussed. The perfect intersection between the interests of civil engineers and ecologists.

Outstanding!

The writing, the use of language, the interesting way that all of the information that was thoughtfully researched weaved into a captivating narrative was spectacular! The reader did an excellent job! I love this authors’ books and listening to them being read brought them to life even more! Bravo!