Readin' Vegans -- Crossings

Our discussion July 22 will be on Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet, by Ben Goldfarb (W.W. Norton, 2023). You need not have attended a previous discussion to join us for this one. We'll discuss the book until about 8:00, followed by open conversation.

The Zoom link to the discussion is posted on the right, visible to those who RSVP. PLEASE NOTE: THIS LINK DISAPPEARS AT THE MEETUP START TIME, THAT IS, 7:00 PM. We'll be available from 6:50 on to help anyone who might need extra time to connect. If you can't get on, call us at 303-300-2368.
We hope you can join us!

If you'd like to read ahead:
August 26 -- The Impactful Vegan: How You Can Save More Lives and Make the Biggest Difference for Animals and the Planet, Robert Cheeke
Sept. 23 -- Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History, by Keith O'Brien
Oct. 28 -- Three Bags Full (Sheep Detective Story #1), by Leonine Swan (fiction)
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About Crossings:
A New York Times Notable Book of 2023 and Editors' Choice • A Science News Favorite Book of 2023 • A New Yorker Best Book of 2023 • Finalist for the Reading the West Award • Finalist for the Colorado Book Award • Winner of the Sierra Club's Rachel Carson Award for Excellence in Environmental Writing

Crossings is 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.