Green Gone

Over the last week or so, some bright spark, for reasons unknown, has decided to completely destroy a nearby field. This field has not been 'developed' or managed in any way since I can remember, and that's several decades. I remember playing there as a kid, amongst the tree trunks, stinging nettles and grass. That doesn't sound appealiong, but it's nature; wild and free! In all seriousness, while such places might not sound appealing, I like how they look. It is how they were meant to look; not manicured and manufactured artificial environments. 

It saddens me to see someone come along and tear it all down. Now it's a muddy field, the treeline that has demarcated this environment around me like a swaying comfort blanket has been torn down. All that remains is a grotty brown field, left for purposes unknown. There was no consultation or even information. I rang the parish council but they seemed neither to care nor know. All they could say was that there are no official planning applications involving that field, but I doubt anyone would go to the expense of demolishing a field were it not worth their while. 

I have no idea who the landowner is and no idwea what their plans are. Perhaps they intend to plant grass and trees anew, though that would be even more expense. Unfortunately this has come at a cost to the wildlife that flourished there. But nobody cares about these things. The only valid fauna these days is a tractor and a thresher.

The area looks exposed and vulnerable. This is not unlike how I feel these days. It is sad to see the land constantly subjugated in this way. It is not, I feel, necessary. The council are quick to respond, and make a fuss, when land is threatened by housing developers, but here they didn't seem to care. It's just a patch of unused field, it doesn't matter.

Well it does to me. It has character. It was a window into another world. A place of timeless natural beauty with a wonder all its own. A realm one can refresh oneself in a world gone mad. A place free from judgement yet with a charm and a depth unmatched by the artifice of society, with its stage managed show gardens and shrubbery. This is how the world is meant to look even if stinging nettles are a pain in the arse. But that pain is a good thing (perhaps!), it is humbling. We are not meant to be masters of all things, we are meant to have a place within the ecosphere of this planet, yet all we do is destroy it.

In other news, the Paris climate change talks seem to be indicative of these attitudes: so much hot air. Nothing will change, we are too far gone to turn back from the brink. With a world dependent on fossil fuels and little desire amongst the leaders of the world to change this, despite the rhetoric of the talks it is clear we had best prepare ourselves for the climate that is to come. 

Here in Britain we are experiencing what I can only describe as the warmest December I can remember. Further north the country is under water. Floods are threatening to become the new winter and yet what is done about this? People will be forced to spend Christmas in temporary accommodation fighting not the cold weather but the insurance industry while the Tories and their capitalist chums cluck their tongues and sit on their hands. Winter isn't coming.