Ever Green

One of Kirkus Review's Best Nonfiction Books of 2022Clear, provocative, and persuasive, Ever Green is an inspiring call to action to conserve Earths irreplaceable wild woods, counteract climate change, and save the planet.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 Alaskas Bering seacoast to Canadas Atlantic shore; the Amazon, covering almost the entirety of South Americas bulge; the Congo, occupying parts of six nations in Africas 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 atmospherethe 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 levelsand saving them is the most immediate and affordable large-scale solution to our planets 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.