Vanishing Greenspace
24 July 2003, 3:20 PM

Every time I drive around one corner of the University I can't help but feel sad. For the longest time this spot was home to several enormous old oak trees, probably at least 100 years old each. One grand specimen was home to a large and active beehive. The whole corner was shady, green and inviting.

Then one day I turned that corner to find them all gone. In their place was a massive bulldozer, pounding away at the shattered remains of one of the trees, right where the beehive had been. Bees swarmed everywhere while the machine mashed their home to tiny bits. Everywhere there bare soil, upturned roots and debris of the old trees.

I had known they were going tear down the old house that stood at that corner. That in and of itself was a tragedy, since the house dated to the 19th century and still retained turn of the century wallpaper, not to mention loads of history. But down it came. And I knew they were going to be tearing up the adjacent parking lot. But I had no idea that they actually lay waste to the entire corner.

It's downright awful to look at now. The university side of that corner is a complete concrete jungle. There's almost no vegetation to speak of. That doesn't help things when the mercury soars to 113 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.

And that's not the only example of bewildering destruction of green-space. Our local farmer's market had to move when its usual location was chosen for a new memorial to war veterans. That was okay - the memorial itself isn't destroying any of the lovely greenery around that area. But before the farmer's market moved to its new location, a grassy field by one of the local hardware stores, the city paved the grassy field. All of it. Now, I could understand paving a small portion for better parking, but ALL of it? With black asphalt? For a farmer's market that operates during summer months?

Ah yes, the lovely small of fresh asphalt while you're strolling along the blacktop in 90 degree heat for your organic veggies. *sigh* Would it have killed 'em to leave a little *grass*?

Gutenberg Bible online
24 July 2003, 8:00 AM