To the editor:

Scott Rothschild writes in Monday’s Journal-World (1B), “Wider roads and good coffee. What more could a driver want?” Thanks for asking.

Instead of more asphalt, I want a world in which hawks have places to nest and hunt. I want my grandchildren to know firsthand living woods, wetlands and wildlife.

Instead of more impermeable surfaces and water contaminated by runoff, I want clean water. Instead of more emissions, less ozone and global warming, I want clean air and a stable climate. Instead of more dependence on fossil fuels, I want mass transit and clean, renewable, affordable energy that I can count on long into the future.

Instead of flavorless food, grown at great distances and shipped over our ever-expanding highway system, I want local, family-owned farms to thrive so I can buy fresh, healthy produce from local markets or directly from growers’ own hands. Instead of transient, corporate chains, I want an economy based on locally owned businesses with strong ties to northeastern Kansas.

Instead of sprawl, I want to work close to home and spend less time in my car, not more. I want time to know my neighbors, and to work with them from a shared commitment to each other and to the future.

We do not need more and wider roads that will destroy biodiversity and undermine the social fabric of our community. We need a sane vision for the future, one driven not by whatever makes money, but by concerns for long-term social, economic and environmental health.

Jane Gibson,

Lawrence