[snordgren]

Of course we need to cut down trees that are older than we are. The alternative to development is stagnation and poverty. It's medieval Europe where the social status of your parents decided your social status and that of your children.

Change is always hard, but the alternative is so much worse. There is no terra nullius that we can develop without anyone being bothered by it. Every house ever built does not have to be a museum to those who once lived there. We have too much of that thinking in Europe, where cultural conservation takes precedence over economic development, and as a consequence the economic wellbeing of the population suffers. It's great for tourists, but you can't live and do business in a city-sized museum.

[zahma]

Careful what you wish for. You might end up with endless strip malls, cookie-cutter buildings, and concrete cathedrals instead of beautiful forests and neighborhoods with a soul.