Ever Green: Saving Big Forests to Save the Planet

Five massive forests, including the Taiga, Amazon, Congo, and New Guinea, are vital to preserving global biodiversity, thousands of cultures, and a stable climate. They hold 1.8 trillion metric tons of carbon and can be saved by expanding protected areas, supporting Indigenous forest stewards, and planning smarter road networks.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 22 April 2022
Publisher: WW Norton & Co

Five remarkable forests still exist on our planet: the Taiga, spanning from the Pacific Ocean across vast regions of Russia and northern Europe; the North American boreal, stretching from Alaska's Bering Sea coast to Canada's Atlantic shoreline; the Amazon, covering nearly the entire bulge of South America; the Congo, occupying parts of six nations in Africa's humid equatorial region; and the island forest of New Guinea, twice the size of California. These colossal forests hold immense importance in safeguarding global biodiversity, supporting countless cultures, and maintaining a stable climate. Economist John W. Reid and renowned biologist Thomas E. Lovejoy make a compelling case in Ever Green for the preservation of these megaforests. Megaforests play a crucial role in mitigating climate change by storing significant amounts of carbon in their deep soils and peat layers. The boreal forest alone contains 1.8 trillion metric tons of carbon, equivalent to 190 years of global emissions at 2019 levels. Therefore, protecting and expanding these forests is considered the most immediate and cost-effective solution to address the most pressing crisis facing our planet today. Reid and Lovejoy propose practical solutions to address the challenges these forests face. These include the expansion of protected areas, supporting Indigenous forest stewards, and implementing smarter road networks. Through captivating prose that evokes the awe-inspiring beauty of these ancient forests and the diverse array of people and animals that inhabit them, Reid and Lovejoy take readers on an exhilarating global journey.

Weight: 564g
Dimension: 160 x 238 x 31 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781324006039