Recently, there has been a proposal by one of our local ski resorts to install a roller coaster in Little Cottonwood Canyon. The coaster would start near the base of the iconic Mt. Superior, cross the canyon road on a bridge, and end up back at the resort. The coaster would surely provide casual amusement for resort goers and would no doubt be a tremendous source of revenue for the resort during the summer months…But at what cost? Is it worth defacing a beautiful landscape to fatten the wallets of an entity that has already taken so much? Is it worth destroying nature for someone’s casual amusement? I firmly and passionately believe this proposal is wrong and only serves the interests of a resort that has already irreparably damaged so much of the canyon. Furthermore, I don’t believe this type of recreation aligns well with the environment of Little Cottonwood Canyon and only detracts from the natural beauty the canyon so readily offers. I would hope that people visiting such a place would do so to take advantage of the natural environment instead of seeking some cheep amusement.

Fortunately, there is a group of good people vehemently fighting this proposal. Save Our Canyons has been actively involved in stopping the roller coaster from being built and has acted as the voice of all of us who oppose this development. To find out more about the mountain coaster proposal and what you can do to help stop it, visit their website, www.saveourcanyons.org.

For those of you who feel inclined to do so, the Red Cross has set up an easy way to donate money directly to the recovery efforts. Simply text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10. It’s a little bit that will go a long way toward helping members of our world community recover from this tragedy. For more information or to find out additional ways to help visit www.redcross.org.