Canopy of Titans

Extensively investigated with years of boots-on-the-ground journalism, Canopy of Titans provides readers easy-to-grasp insights into the science behind carbon sequestration and the value of forests as climate mitigation. Canopy of Titans examines these themes through the lens of an enormous forested ecosystem it calls the Pacific Coastal Temperate Rainforest, though the ecosystem has no officially designated name. The book pulls back the curtain on policies that enable governmental bodies to pursue destructive practices that crippled the Pacific Coastal Temperate Rainforest's capacity to store carbon, and uncover industry practices that led to the destruction of critical swaths of this important ecological resource. Additionally, the book shines a light -- using an environmental justice perspective -- on the indigenous communities living in the Pacific Coastal rainforest for millennia, and the impact forest policies have had on their lives. Canopy of Titans is organized along two major narrative arcs. A geographical arc runs from south-to-north beginning with the redwood forest of California and ending in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. A temporal arc starts with wildfires raging across the American West in the summer of 2020 and ends at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November 2021, with many historical flashbacks. Each chapter tells a unique story connected to the overarching themes of forests, carbon, and climate. The book will help readers connect with nature to counterbalance the pandemic and other traumas of modern life, including a collective grief over environmental devastation.