The Truth About "Protected" Land

When it comes to the environment, people are making huge leaps and bounds on finding alternative energy resources. However, the undisturbed ecosystems existing on Earth have gotten pushed to the back burner amongst all the chaos based around global warming. On November 4^th the UK Times reported that the Scottish government has accepted Donald Trump’s $1.5 billion plan for a golf resort along the Aberdeenshire coastline. The land that the golf resort will be built on was previously allocated as a “Site of Special Scientific Interest” (SSSI). Despite environmentalists’ pleas, the government did not attempt to compromise with Mr. Trump. Many hoped that the golf resort could be built with the environment in mind but “the government has essentially given Trump free reign to do what he’d like with the land with little-to-no environmental supervision” (PlanetSave.com). Reasons for the government allowing this could include the $100 million in revenues generated from the resort. A portion of the money is said to be “… for the Aberdeenshire community” (PlanetSave.com). Many residents including Michael Forbes, who owns a farm in the middle of the proposed area, are outraged at Trump’s plans. He downright refused the money Trump offered to him earlier this year. Protests and attempted lawsuits are expected throughout the two year project.

If an area is deemed the “Site of Special Scientific Interest”, wouldn’t you expect people to respect that designation? I can understand what the Scottish environmentalists are going through at this point. All Trump had to do to keep everyone happy was accept some environmental supervision during the construction of the project. The worst thing that could happen is he would have to find a new place to dump the waste from the construction. It’s ridiculous that he can’t simply make a little compromise so that everyone can get what they want. The Earth has been running out of undisturbed wildlife ever since the Industrial Revolution. To build in one of the last preserved lands is outrageous. It’s not like Trump really needs another source of income in the first place. Hopefully he will rethink his environmental decision and learn to compromise at some point in the construction process. The Earth is a sacred thing that we should learn to protect, not take advantage of.