Road through fynbos

Without roads people will trample and ruin the veld. Roads remove veld from designated areas, the parts cleared involving some plant destruction. This constitutes an inevitable, necessary loss, given that people are still necessary.

Better roads take more space, offering safer rides at higher speed, but destroying more nature. Road maintenance is costly, even in the case of a rudimentary road through the fynbos such as this one. Without road maintenance tarred roads become filigreed with potholes, an art form appreciated by only some South Africans. Without road maintenance dirt roads become ditches untraversable even by donkeys and other pedestrians. Consider the great standstill after road transport.

One of the insurmountable design errors of humanity is the tendency to bury roadsides under a sediment of litter. Some believe that this is a good practice, creating jobs needed in times of unemployment.

Unproductive work reduces capital and destroys the soul that searches for meaningful life. Littering destroys nature and quality of life. Roadsides and road reserves are often the only places where a citizen may observe some of the countrys plant species… a very important consideration!

In short, drive safely, as slowly as road conditions, vehicle characteristics and driver skills dictate and don’t mess up the world.