BookBrowse Reviews Crossings by Ben Goldfarb

BookBrowse:

A globe-trotting, expansive examination of how roads have irrevocably changed ecosystems, and how they can coexist with the natural world going forward.

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We've all seen it—a dead animal carcass on the side of the road, clearly mowed down by a car. Many of us have been the ones responsible for such carnage, and we've come away from those collisions frightened, upset, and relieved that we weren't the ones injured or killed.

The ubiquity of this violence makes us numb to it. That's why Ben Goldfarb's Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet is so valuable. It reveals in devastatingly clear detail just how much roads have warped and damaged the natural world, while weaving in cautiously optimistic ideas for a better way forward.

The term "road ecology" may seem like an oxymoron, but it's the study of how "life changes for plants and animals with a road nearby." In his panoramic, multi-faceted exploration of those changes, Goldfarb starts with the most noticeable one—roadkill. He interviews scientists on the subject and combs through data on animals struck by vehicles. He also studies the unseen effects of roads on the life around them, such as how they disrupt migration patterns.

Charismatic mammals like deer and mountain lions get plenty of attention here, but Goldfarb also examines less photogenic species, like frogs and toads, who suffer from road damage in even greater numbers than their furry co-victims. Figures on deaths and disruptions are disheartening, but the author shows how scientists are actively working on meaningful improvements to help animals and roads better coexist, such as wildlife crossings, from passages in Canada's Banff National Park to the famous Liberty Canyon Overpass in Los Angeles. With its veritable mascot, P-22, a celebrity mountain lion who died of injuries sustained from being hit by a car, this project shows it is possible for humans to enact major infrastructure changes for wildlife's benefit.

It also encapsulates one of the book's strengths—introducing us to the people working in obscurity to make the paved world less deadly for other species. There's Beth Pratt, who led the massive awareness and funding campaign for the Liberty Crossing, and Matthew Aresco, who carried thousands of turtles across Southern highways with his bare hands. We meet Charlene Krise, who fought legal battles to protect salmon habitat damaged by road culverts in the Pacific Northwest, and Cory Young, a "carer" in Tasmania who rescues and rehabilitates a staggering number of car-struck animals. It's this incredible cast of characters, largely unsung heroes pushing back against the ever-growing tide of highways and sprawl, whose perspectives allow Goldfarb to provide a reporter's-eye view.

He also digs into larger questions about patterns of development to examine why roads are so pervasive and so deadly. We learn how the U.S. Forest Service, ostensibly a wilderness-centric department, actually manages thousands of miles of roads, largely for logging. Similarly, the National Park Service allows Americans to view the country's natural wonders on its roads, but the noise from them damages the very ecosystems people come to see. Then there are the ecosystems that manage to thrive near roads, namely prairie remnants that make precarious homes for monarch butterflies (see Beyond the Book). All of these contradictions show how development and conservation are two sides of the same coin, and that we collectively need to achieve a balance between the two for sustainability and survival.

The scale of destruction and the thorniness of the issues covered in Crossings could be just plain depressing, but Goldfarb presents a positive outlook alongside harsh reality, and his pop-culture-infused prose, even lighthearted at times, prevents the book from becoming a slog (The Daily Show and The Simpsons both garner mentions).

Goldfarb's other masterstroke is to never lose sight of roads' impacts on the species Homo sapiens. The ramifications of our choices on our own societies are never lost or subsumed in a simplistic argument for or against roads. He explores how Brazil, a developing country, oscillates between pursuing economic growth and protecting its rainforest with better road designs. He explains the legacy of roads enforcing segregation and tearing apart Black communities in Syracuse, New York, where racist building and land-use practices have harmed human health, economic prospects, and the community fabric.

Taken together, these many strands create a rich narrative of roads' impacts on the Earth and all its creatures. Goldfarb provides lucid explanations of complex concepts, ranging from habitat fragmentation to AI's recognition capabilities on autonomous vehicles. Along the way, the reader is constantly challenged to examine their assumptions about the nature of freedom, the value of wilderness, and humanity's place in the larger web of life. As Goldfarb summarizes, "A road is never just a road."

This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in September 2023, and has been updated for the September 2024 edition. Click here to go to this issue.