When we “improve” a road, what exactly are we improving?This is a reflection on improving roads, both actual and metaphorical, in Death Valley and Yosemite and the slow loss of “natural” places with every “improvement.”
The Last-Straw Ratchet
We have good camels in our caravan. Maybe not great, but good. But then we pile on too much, so the good camels leave and get replaced by slightly worse camels and we ratchet down, because too many camel drivers think their job is to make the camels adjust to the load, when usually their job is to adjust the load to the camels.
Farmers and Miners
A farmer works the land for generations and, if careful, the land is worth more with each passing year. A miner extracts what he can from the land and, when done, it’s worthless. Most business people are either farmers or miners and we need both. The problem is miners who mistake themselves for farmers.