Paul Koberstein is the editor of Cascadia Times, which he co-founded in 1995. He was previously a staff writer for The Oregonian and for Willamette Week. In 2016 he won the Bruce Baer Award given annually to an Oregon journalist for excellence in investigative journalism and, in 2004, the John B. Oakes Award for the most distinguished environmental journalism in the United States.

Jessica Applegate is managing editor and photographer for Cascadia Times. A lifelong environmental activist, she works with special needs young children and is a founding member of Eastside Portland Air Coalition, a grass roots group that spurred creation of statewide air toxics regulatory overhaul, Cleaner Air Oregon.

The Amazon of the North

In 2020, when we were in the midst of writing Canopy of Titans, an unprecedented ring of deadly firestorms engulfed the giant conifer rainforest surrounding our hometown of Portland, Oregon, packing blood-red skies with a thick grit. Our lungs filled with smoke. We ached with every labored breath.

Some of the most severe wildfires ever in the American West torched the parched landscape with great fury, but we weren’t alone in the crosshairs. Forests burned everywhere: the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The most intense fires burned through the giant eucalyptus forests of southern Australia. Australians called the season their “black summer,” the smoke so thick it triggered home fire alarms in Sydney. Smoke also smothered Africa from the Sahel to South Africa. And in South America, more than 80,000 fires blazed through the Amazon rainforest, many ignited by humans clearing land for agriculture.

Forests were supposed to be our last line of defense against climate chaos, but instead have morphed into an existential threat. Fires and deforestation have transformed damaged forests worldwide into big polluters, alongside coal and other carbon-belching industries.

Over the last decade, people died by the thousands in heat waves, fires, hurricanes, floods, and famine – all supercharged by the chaotic climate. But the rampaging climate is just getting started on its fiery path of destruction. Severe weather events rarely seen in normal times are now seasonal menaces. Seasonal menaces are now the new normal. We decided to write Canopy of Titans to see what must be done to get back to the old normal, or if it’s even possible.

Paul Koberstein is the editor of Cascadia Times, which he co-founded in 1995. He was previously a staff writer for The Oregonian and for Willamette Week. In 2016 he won the Bruce Baer Award given annually to an Oregon journalist for excellence in investigative journalism and, in 2004, the John B. Oakes Award for the most distinguished environmental journalism in the United States.

Jessica Applegate is managing editor and photographer for Cascadia Times. A lifelong environmental activist, she works with special needs young children and is a founding member of Eastside Portland Air Coalition, a grass roots group that spurred creation of statewide air toxics regulatory overhaul, Cleaner Air Oregon.

The Amazon of the North

In 2020, when we were in the midst of writing Canopy of Titans, an unprecedented ring of deadly firestorms engulfed the giant conifer rainforest surrounding our hometown of Portland, Oregon, packing blood-red skies with a thick grit. Our lungs filled with smoke. We ached with every labored breath.

Some of the most severe wildfires ever in the American West torched the parched landscape with great fury, but we weren’t alone in the crosshairs. Forests burned everywhere: the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The most intense fires burned through the giant eucalyptus forests of southern Australia. Australians called the season their “black summer,” the smoke so thick it triggered home fire alarms in Sydney. Smoke also smothered Africa from the Sahel to South Africa. And in South America, more than 80,000 fires blazed through the Amazon rainforest, many ignited by humans clearing land for agriculture.

Forests were supposed to be our last line of defense against climate chaos, but instead have morphed into an existential threat. Fires and deforestation have transformed damaged forests worldwide into big polluters, alongside coal and other carbon-belching industries.

Over the last decade, people died by the thousands in heat waves, fires, hurricanes, floods, and famine – all supercharged by the chaotic climate. But the rampaging climate is just getting started on its fiery path of destruction. Severe weather events rarely seen in normal times are now seasonal menaces. Seasonal menaces are now the new normal. We decided to write Canopy of Titans to see what must be done to get back to the old normal, or if it’s even possible.