Mixed Blessings
It becomes more difficult for me as I grow older to ignore the destruction of green habitat in the name of economic progress, and to quietly accept it. The developers have "opened up" another heavily wooded tract by knocking down all the trees growing in the area. You get a pretty good idea of what used to grow over the denuded land at the far edge of the plot.
And yet, this is a sign of economic recovery in the area. Pretty soon a new store or office complex will rise on this land, supporting more businesses that employ more people. Or so we all hope. But there's still a lot of empty buildings in Research Park or large empty sections of half-filled buildings along Corporate Blvd, which is where this "prime" piece of property is close to.
If there's any beauty, it was the blooming azaleas that stood on the edge of the road next to where they'd cleared the land. Azaleas that have bloomed very early this year, even for Florida.
If it makes you feel any better, I've seen the opposite end of economic development here in the upper midwest, and it's not pretty, to say the least. What I'm referring to is the the end of so much light and heavy manufacturing that was so very common when I was a kid growing up.
ReplyDeleteBut I've also seen something very interesting happen to the old steel mill sites and coke ovens, that I really should document on film/digital one of these days: Mother Nature quickly moves in, and takes it back.
What's amazing is that steel mills and coke ovens are some of the nastiest industries in terms of pollution you will ever find, and yet despite all the heavy chemical use and Lord know what else, trees, grass, plants of all kind start sprouting up within a year of these places closing up & being torn down, despite no clean-up what-so-ever. It's actually quite amazing.
There's even an old fuel depot a few blocks from my house, that went out of business decades ago. The rail spur that served it, along with some of the concrete infrastructure is still there -- but you'd have a very hard time finding it if you weren't looking for it, as the whole area is completely covered in trees and shrubs!
Mother Nature always wins in the long run--always. She's a lot tougher than she gets credit for.