Squirrel Path (Daramjwi Gil) had been one of my favorite sites on the Korea University (KU) campus. Perhaps, I felt so because of its environmentally friendly atmosphere. Despite the fact that the path had been covered with asphalt since before I entered KU, the greenness of the plants and trees along the path always gave me the impression of strolling through a trail in a forest. All the moment, however, I am not sure if I can view the route the same as before - after the incident.
The incident was not earth-shattering and probably not many people even noticed it. One end of the path leads to the Female Students' Hall, which will be replaced by the Leadership Center. The trees in front of the Female Students' Hall had been cut down in preparation for the construction. Thus, one end of my beloved path lost its beauty. Its scar was too glaring to overlook. I am sure that the people who ordered the trees cut can give me rational and economic reasons (too costly to replant them elsewhere, etc.) for doing so.
Whatever the reasons may be, the mowing down of the trees evoked the longtime argument in my mind: Should the environment be sacrificed for development? No one yet knows the ultimate answer. We cannot all of a sudden stop development and go back to prehistoric times. Nor can we continue development without reflecting on nature. Thus, as I cannot give a radical answer to the question, I will give a moderate answer - a compromise of the two perspectives - that we should continue development and at the same time exert our full efforts to preserve the Earth.
Now let's narrow down our view to our school and talk about the development and environment of our campus. I mentioned what had happened to the trees in front of the Female Students' Hall. The trees, our oxygen providers, were razed to the ground for the construction of the new building. I am sure that KU students will greatly benefit from the new structure. However, I hope they will have in mind that numerous trees had to be sacrificed as a result.
What can the students do as a way of saying sorry? They can definitely prevent more trees from being cut down by saving paper. Many students seem to use paper for granted: they throw paper away even when room is left for more usage; they print on one side and completely ignore the other side; and they ignore the recycle bin and dump used paper into the trash can. Of course, this is not the case of all students. However, take time to look back at and change yourself if you have been indirectly cutting down trees through wasting paper.
Now let's take a larger view. Saving the Earth means much more than just saving trees. There are various measures for us to take to save the environment, which includes air, water, soil, and so on. You have learned the measures to save the Earth from your early childhood days. Now put those measures into action! It would be ridiculous to stop all our activities for our environment's sake. However, if we do not start looking back at the environment, it will boomerang back. Before that day comes, we must act now. No one is exempt from the obligation to save our Earth.
The Granite Tower, October 2006
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현대의 직업활동이 발전시킨 가족의 독특한 모양새 
