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Good-Bye Habitat
by Jeff Cubbison
What has happened to all the
wonderful country fields, sagebrush, and steep natural
hills? As life goes on, Carmel Valley has gone from a
beautiful country to a crowded city. If you look at it
today, just imagine what it will look like two decades
from now.
Too much of our outstanding town is
covered with shopping malls, offices, and apartments.
At many nature sites, the developers have sent their
men to start grading roads for future homes. The
animal and plant habitats will disappear, and if the
plants and animals don’t have their proper habitats,
then they won’t be able to survive. Tractors,
bulldozers, and excavators have been grading through
sage, and killing anything that lies in their paths,
and leaving it for the crows to swoop down and eat the
carcasses. If this process continues, Carmel Valley
will soon look like downtown San Diego!
There are many people, however,
that clearly believe that more homes build a larger
community, which is true. These people are willing to
sacrifice parts of the environment for their new
homes. Remember, most new residents aren’t
interested in used homes, but most are
interested in new designs.
If we persuade developers to do the
right thing, then our valley could possibly stay as it
is now. Just go down to the construction sites and see
the disgusting scene! The newcomers are finding new
homes, while the animals are losing theirs.
Jeff is 11 years old and a 6th grader at Carmel Del
Mar School. As a class assignment, he was instructed
to create a political cartoon and an editorial on a
subject that was important to him. Jeff, his brother
Chris, and their parents live on Del Mar Mesa, which
is the south mesa between Carmel Valley and
Penasquitos Canyon. He spends a great deal of time
outdoors on the trails with his brother and their
ponies and has a deep respect for our native wildlife
and the environment.
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