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

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Copies of Crossing ($30, hardcover) can be purchased online from CW here or by calling the store to order (505) 988-4226. Signed copies will be available after the event.

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.

About the Authors

Ben Goldfarb is an environmental journalist whose work has appeared in publications including National Geographic, the Atlantic, and High Country News. His most recent book, Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet, was published in September 2023 by W.W. Norton & Company. His previous book, Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter, received the 2019 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. He lives in Colorado with his wife, Elise, and his dog, Kit — which is, of course, what you call a baby beaver.

Laura Paskus is an environmental journalist and a correspondent whose work has been widely published. She is the producer of New Mexico In Focus's series "Our Land: New Mexico's Environmental Past, Present, and Future."