Crossings Book Explores Road Ecology Paths to Save Wildlife: With Journalist Ben Goldfarb

Conservation Journalist Ben Goldfarb explains stories and lessons from his fantastic book "Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet" It examines how our vast system of roads and all our car and truck traffic is dissecting landscapes and making life dangerous and often lethal for other animal species (to bypass the "moving fence" of traffic) – and what we can do about it to support biodiversity and to share our planet more equitably with other animal individuals striving to thrive and survive amongst the noisy and dangerous new roadway 'ecosystems.'

I found "Crossings" so eye-opening and so comprehensive –it's about every aspect of road and vehicle impacts you could ever think of and for all kinds of animals from bears to butterflies to frogs and fish--  and so many interesting and well written stories. It’s heartbreaking to hear about this constant mass killing of animals and infringement upon their freedoms, migration, and lives, but also heartwarming due to all the people (from engineers and biologists to animal activists) trying to help other animals and find solutions like building wildlife crossings and rewilding older roads in public forests.

In this 34-minute interview host Carrie Freeman asks Ben Goldfarb why our road systems have such an extremely negative effect on wildlife and ecosystems, how various animal species have different ways of dealing with roads (some more cautious and some more cavalier), how wildlife overpasses over highways are helping larger mammals like mountain lions out west connect to other habitats/mates, and how underpasses are helping some smaller animals like turtles in Florida get to other habitats without getting squashed by the thousands. We also discuss the surprising effects of road noise on animals' ability to thrive and communicate, and we conclude with a variety of solutions, including more roadless areas in national forests and more carpooling in buses in national parks, slowing down speed limits, and building safe wildlife road passages in key migration sites (a bipartisan win/win issue as it pays for itself).

Conservation journalist Ben Goldfarb has other great books and articles. See his work at his website  www.bengoldfarb.com/ 

In Tune to Nature is a weekly show airing on Wednesdays from 6:30-7pm EST on Atlanta indie station WRFG (Radio Free Georgia) 89.3FM hosted by Carrie Freeman or Melody Paris. Please consider donating to support this 50plus-year old independent, progressive, noncommercial Atlanta radio station at www.wrfg.org 

Take care of yourself and others, including other species...by driving less often and slower and advocating for roadless spaces and wildlife crossings.