Murdering Habitats

I live in a small town southwest of Pittsburgh. There is a farmer’s field directly across the street from my bedroom window. For years I have watched corn, soy beans, and wheat grow and be harvested in this field. It is how I internally judge the seasons.

The problem: This field is slowly disappearing. Even though I live in a small town, the metropolis of my hometown is no longer big enough to house the families that continue to grow from generation to generation. Each year I see another plot of farm land being sold to build houses or even entire housing projects.

Not only is the farming land being affected, but the forests are disappearing as well. My house is surrounded on the three sides by woods. Each year these woods seem to grow smaller as people build houses from the south, north, east, and west – slowly chipping away at this natural habitat.

On top of the housing industry, gas wells are also popping up everywhere destroying farmland and forests. I’m not even sure what these wells are used for. It takes months for developers to drill these wells wreaking havoc on local residents – humans and non-humans alike. Then, the developers leave, and I don’t see anyone coming back to check on these wells. It is like they drill and then abandon their handiwork. I’m looking at an abandoned well right now outside my window in the middle of the farmer’s field.

Is the disappearance of farmlands and forests for societal purposes supposed to now be considered a part of nature? Is this murdering of natural habitats supposed to become a common occurrence that we should just passively accept? With all the technological advances of modern society, why can’t we find a less harmful solution to these environmental issues?