Ever Green: Saving Big Forests to Save the Planet
Description
Five stunningly large forests remain on Earth: the Taiga, extending from the Pacific Ocean across all of Russia and far-northern Europe; the North American boreal, ranging from Alaska's Bering seacoast to Canada's Atlantic shore; the Amazon, covering almost the entirety of South America's bulge; the Congo, occupying parts of six nations in Africa's wet equatorial middle; and the island forest of New Guinea, twice the size of California.
These megaforests are vital to preserving global biodiversity, thousands of cultures, and a stable climate, as economist John W. Reid and celebrated biologist Thomas E. Lovejoy argue convincingly in Ever Green. Megaforests serve an essential role in decarbonizing the atmosphere--the boreal alone holds 1.8 trillion metric tons of carbon in its deep soils and peat layers, 190 years' worth of global emissions at 2019 levels--and saving them is the most immediate and affordable large-scale solution to our planet's most formidable ongoing crisis.
Reid and Lovejoy offer practical solutions to address the biggest challenges these forests face, from vastly expanding protected areas, to supporting Indigenous forest stewards, to planning smarter road networks. In gorgeous prose that evokes the majesty of these ancient forests along with the people and animals who inhabit them, Reid and Lovejoy take us on an exhilarating global journey.
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Reviews
Five giant forests--Amazon, Congo, New Guinea, and two taigas--holding carbon, diverse life, and the fate of the planet. This is a profoundly important, fresh-minded, deftly written, and constructive book. Therefore it's also thrilling.--David Quammen, author of The Tangled Tree and Spillover
A very clear-eyed, practical and persuasive plan for how to save these forests, and maybe the rest of us in the process.--Richard Powers "The Ezra Klein Show"
John Reid and Thomas Lovejoy's compelling and crucial narrative takes us to the astonishing intact cores of these lungs of our planet, these libraries of life that harbor diverse Indigenous peoples and multitudinous other-than-human beings. That so much remains is a welcome and uplifting revelation.--Carl Safina, ecologist and author of Becoming Wild and Beyond Words
John Reid and Thomas Lovejoy make clear that the only way the world can prevent the worst of the coming climate disaster is by preserving and restoring its remaining megaforests.... Ever Green is a blueprint for saving megaforests, and saving ourselves.--Scott Weidensaul, author of A World on the Wing
In the preservation of the remaining great forest landscapes of the world lies the very hope and perhaps the only hope of humanity to find a new way of living on this planet.... Ever Green itself is a prayer for the well-being of the earth.--Wade Davis, author of Magdalena and Into the Silence
[Reid and Lovejoy] convincingly argue in this trenchant work that preserving Earth's five megaforests is vital to stop climate change.... The authors depict the flora and fauna of these far-flung locations in vivid descriptions that chart how each species is part of a vast ecosystem, and make a strong case for the inherent value of the plants, animals, and people that live in the megaforests. This clarion call should have a spot on the shelves of climate-minded readers.-- "Publishers Weekly"
Captivating.... A highly readable, eloquent reminder of the dire importance of our forests.--Kirkus, starred review
The authors expertly and enthusiastically illuminate the intricately webbed fecundity of these vast forests.... With stunning photographs, lively anecdotes, fresh perspectives, spirited prose, and realistic and just solutions, this is deeply informative and inspiring forest advocacy.--Booklist, starred review
