Paul Koberstein and Jessica Applegate

Canopy of Titans

Right in our own backyard sits the largest, most carbon-dense forest in the world: the Pacific coastal temperate rainforest. Although the solution to climate change must include ending the burning of fossil fuels, we must also remove the excess carbon from our atmosphere and find a place to store it. Only forest ecosystems can remove carbon from the air and store it for centuries at the necessary scale. Nothing else comes close, other than oceans. In their ground-breaking work, Canopy of Titans, Paul Koberstein and Jessica Applegate advocate for protection of the Pacific temperate rainforest and expose government policies and industry practices that have greatly diminished the forest’s capacity to store carbon. Additionally, they shine a light on the Indigenous communities and the impact forest policies have had on their lives. Paul is editor and co-founder of Cascadia Times, and has won awards for investigative journalism (e.g., the John B. Oakes Award for the most distinguished environmental journalism in the United States). He’s an Oregon native who currently resides in Portland. Jessica Applegate is managing editor and photographer for Cascadia Times and works with young children with special needs. As a lifelong environmental activist and public servant, she also owns an organic vineyard in Douglas County, Oregon. Jessica resides in Portland. You can meet them on Sunday, November 19.