[garyrichardson]

A common flaw I see with "Save our X" type campaigns is the lack of knowledge of the history of our places. We all tend to remember a place the way we first encountered it. And conversely we also tend to fetishize how people lived before us.

A short anecdote, I live in the PNW. There are plenty of places that are 3rd generation logging sites. I live in a neighborhood that since the 1800's was logged, homesteaded, reforested, logged again (possibly 2x?) and in the last 30-40 years has become an attractive semi-rural place to live. I've been in the area for about 20ish years, my partner her entire life. People who have recently come to the community and complain about new development don't understand the history of the place and that the homes they live in are new development to us. What they see as old growth forests are 50 year old sick and polluted monoculture tree stands that were abandoned by the forestry industry.

There is great depth to how humanity has impacted our planet and this article touches on some of it. It's easy to forget that humans bring change to places, even 5000+ years ago. I think your comment also points out some of the longer term impact humans have had. What state of planet earth are we trying to lock in? What are we trying to save? Humans are part of nature. How do we find balance to participating in the world?