To the editor:

Upon driving past K-10 in east Lawrence the other day, I did a double take. Like an alien invasion from “War of the Worlds,” giant metal cranes stuck their heads out of the forest like extraterrestrial invaders. And like said invaders, these cranes encroached upon the land, ready to clear it for the South Lawrence Trafficway.

On the other side of the road, steady plumes of hazy smoke slowly drifted up toward the sky; the trees below seemed to suffocate in response. A few days later, I saw that the vegetation was gone as the bare, pavement-ready ground replaced it. The environmental destruction along K-10 makes the $174,723,000 South Lawrence Trafficway seem meager; after all, how can you put a price tag on Mother Earth?

Infrastructure development is very important. At the same time, it must be compatible with environmental conservation, since our natural surroundings also play a crucial role in our standard of living. Infrastructure isn’t all about roads and buildings; it’s also about the environment and, more importantly, coexisting with our surroundings. Razing parts of a forest takes only a few months or years, while regrowing it takes decades and generations.

The vegetation in our world is decreasing, so do your part in conserving it! After all, unlike the aliens in “War of the Worlds,” we have no other planet in which to take refuge.