mine or national park?
From open-pit mines such as
the one in the top picture, we get a useful and important
metal—copper. But this kind of mine destroys both land and plants. The
bottom picture shows a place where valuable metals have been found. Some
people want to dig an open-pit mine here. Others, who want to see the
land stay the way it is, are trying to have the area declared a national
park.
The most dangerous enemies
Plants and animals have enemies that are more dangerous than any others.
Their most dangerous enemies are people.
People are the only living creatures that have ever caused other living
creatures to become extinct. The dodo, the passenger pigeon, and the
great auk, all hunted and killed by people, are gone forever.
Now, the same kind of thing is happening in the Green Kingdom. Plants
need land to grow. But people need roads, houses, factories, mines,
shopping centers, and parking lots. So trees are chopped down, and land
is cleared and built on and paved. Little by little, the great forests,
the coastal marshlands, and the wide, rolling prairies are disappearing.
We need the things that can be built on the land or taken out of it. But
if we change too much land, we may upset the balance of nature. If this
happens, people might someday become extinct. People also need the
natural beauty of unspoiled land. Without this beauty, people might lose
their very love of life.
How can we solve this problem? In one way, the answer is simple. We must
save some land and use other land. But which land should we save, and
which land can we use? People in government, industry, and private
groups are trying to find a good answer to this difficult question.
