I am upset. Angry. Righteously furious. Out-right pissed. Why? Short-sighted politicians and city planners.
Several blocks from my house, there was a beautiful section of woods. At one corner of the woods was a house, metal-link fence around the yard, with a sign that reads: "Wild-Life Habitat" and a number, showing that it is a state-certified wild-life habitat. I'd thought that the lady who owns the property inside the fence also owned the woods outside the fence, too. Turns out she didn't.
I discovered this several weeks ago when the bulldozers showed up and started knocking over trees, raping the land. True, I'd seen several trees with tape around them, indicating "Do Not Touch". But I'd figured that maybe some of the underbrush was being cleared. Not much, mind you, just cleared a little to allow new, healthy growth through. Silly me.
Several days into the plowing, etc., I saw a man whose back yard abutted the alley across from the horror. "What is this?" I asked him. "Broderick is putting up condos," he tells me. "Bought the land from the city. They even gave him the retention pond over there," he points. They'd be walling off the alley, destroying woods for profit. According to the man, everyone whose house backs against the alley had recieved a notice telling them about this and that if they objected, to show up for a city council meeting. They'd showed up, alright, for what good it did. The plans had already been drawn up, approved, the whole works. The citizens were told that if they could pull together enough money to buy the land, the developer would back off.
Such short-sightedness is crazy. I remember reading a quote from a Native American Chief that said something along the line of "When the last tree is cut down and the last bird is killed and the last lake and ocean are gone, we will realize we can't eat money."
So now, I've picked up books. Enviornmental books. Rachel Carson's Silent Spring tops the stack. I intend to write a report, confront City Hall at one of their meetings. It might not bring back this particular stand of woods, but it might save others.
Be forewarned: An intelligent, really pissed feminist-activist is one to be reckoned with.
Several blocks from my house, there was a beautiful section of woods. At one corner of the woods was a house, metal-link fence around the yard, with a sign that reads: "Wild-Life Habitat" and a number, showing that it is a state-certified wild-life habitat. I'd thought that the lady who owns the property inside the fence also owned the woods outside the fence, too. Turns out she didn't.
I discovered this several weeks ago when the bulldozers showed up and started knocking over trees, raping the land. True, I'd seen several trees with tape around them, indicating "Do Not Touch". But I'd figured that maybe some of the underbrush was being cleared. Not much, mind you, just cleared a little to allow new, healthy growth through. Silly me.
Several days into the plowing, etc., I saw a man whose back yard abutted the alley across from the horror. "What is this?" I asked him. "Broderick is putting up condos," he tells me. "Bought the land from the city. They even gave him the retention pond over there," he points. They'd be walling off the alley, destroying woods for profit. According to the man, everyone whose house backs against the alley had recieved a notice telling them about this and that if they objected, to show up for a city council meeting. They'd showed up, alright, for what good it did. The plans had already been drawn up, approved, the whole works. The citizens were told that if they could pull together enough money to buy the land, the developer would back off.
Such short-sightedness is crazy. I remember reading a quote from a Native American Chief that said something along the line of "When the last tree is cut down and the last bird is killed and the last lake and ocean are gone, we will realize we can't eat money."
So now, I've picked up books. Enviornmental books. Rachel Carson's Silent Spring tops the stack. I intend to write a report, confront City Hall at one of their meetings. It might not bring back this particular stand of woods, but it might save others.
Be forewarned: An intelligent, really pissed feminist-activist is one to be reckoned with.
posted by feminist writer - Robin Shwedo at 7:37 AM
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