Progress??

5/6/2019

I live in the town just east of Toronto, on the edge of suburbia, just south of a sprawling green space. At least that's what it's always been. But for forty years they've been planning a whole new stand-alone city north of us, with over 100,000 homes, malls, and everything a city needs. And they have finally started work on it.

I used to love going for a drive in the country, just minutes north of us, but everything is changing. This is the kind of scene I'd use up there for doll photos.....taken just two years ago....

But this is what it looked like this past weekend.....

The woods and tree-lined roads have been clear-cut....with the bigger logs piled up....

...and anything small enough to go through a shredder, turned into mulch.....

The boys couldn't believe their eyes....

They walked down what was left of the road in the fall photo above....

Normally I wouldn't take photos with my dolls so out of scale, but I had to show them in relation to the reality of the situation.....

"Look at that...."

"Look at how old these trees were....hundreds of years old!"

Ringo felt angry, and was fighting back the tears....

"So much for 'progress' !!"

Donna

5/6/2019 09:14:29 pm

That is heartbreaking. I know people need places to live, but isn't there are more environmentally and aesthetically pleasing way to make that happen??

Your photo sequence speaks volumes. It should be in the news!!

I'll wipe your tears, Ringo, but you'll have to share my handkerchief with my own.

Martha

5/7/2019 12:11:18 pm

Unfortunately, this is the reality of 'urban sprawl', when cities are located along a lake, and there's no place to expand but north. It's necessary, but very hard to watch.

And it's only 'newsworthy' when people are doing something illegal, which they are not.

Dorothy

5/6/2019 09:51:29 pm

Oh my goodness! It is hard to believe. I feel like the environment is falling apart and some selfish people are helping it along.

I echo Donna. Your photos should be in the news. I bet a local environmental group would be interested in them.

Martha

5/7/2019 12:13:10 pm

Environmental groups have been fighting to keep the land as green space for decades, but the reality of the situation is that there's nowhere else to build new homes. People want to live in the city, and the only place to expand is northward, away from the lake where it's already completely built up.

Sara

5/6/2019 11:13:06 pm

My heart goes out to you over this. I understand “progress” but what angers me is that there are plenty of places in current towns and city that stand empty, and still they build more, tearing up anything and everything natural for more concrete and steel. My city’s been expanding a lot lately too, and is beginning to feel crowded, and all the natural fields and such are going away piece by piece. I am so sorry you lost a beautiful natural space for photos. Hopefully you’ll find lots of other nice places to go, but they can’t replace what is lost in “progress.” What a waste!

Martha

5/7/2019 12:15:35 pm

Actually, there are no places in town left to develop. We are just one of a string of cities located along the shore of Lake Ontario, and the only place left to expand is northward.

It almost sounds like I'm defending the development, but I'm not. I just know it's necessary, and I really regret losing the peace and quiet of the farms and woodlands just to our north.

earthspirits

5/7/2019 09:26:38 pm

This breaks my hearts. The loss of so much natural beauty cannot be replaced - and the animals that lived there are now displaced too.

Laura J Underwood

5/9/2019 04:46:44 pm

So sad. That is happening around where I live too. What used to be a wonderful ride through the woods to get to a favorite camping area in the National Park is going overboard with cottages and RV parks to the point that you can't see the mountains until you get into them. My heart bleeds for little Ringo.

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