Unchecked Development Means Destruction For Wildlife

The front page headlines of the Sunday (1/8) Register-Guard provide a classic, if bitter, example of unintended irony. “Growth on the Horizon” gushes about eight development projects in the area. “Is Winter Miserable for Wildlife?” asks a dumb question. News flash to local humans: It’s not the cold that makes wildlife miserable, it’s the growth of human civilization. One species calls these projects “development.” Many other species-herons, egrets, harriers, kestrels, red-tailed hawks — call them “destruction.” One development project not mentioned is at Golden Gardens Park, where a sports complex may threaten wildlife habitat.

Remember the first thing to do when you’re digging yourself into a hole: stop digging! Well, the first thing to do when you’re causing (and becoming part of) the sixth global extinction event is, stop growing! Sustainable development is an oxymoron. Planning endless growth on a finite (and increasingly poisoned) planet is planning for collapse. Read William Catton’s book Overshoot. 

There was one other article in that Register Guard’s front section — about wolverines, which are going extinct in the contiguous U.S. due to habitat loss.

Jere C. Rosemeyer

Eugene

Editor’s note: To make matters worse, the RG doesn’t note that its Jan. 8 article “Is Winter Miserable for Wildlife?” was originally published in 2019 in The Conversation.