Making a mountain out of a mogul

Shaun Mehaffey

I have to put my two-cents in on Jenny Marder’s May 15th “Sensitive

habitat a secret battleground” and Danette Goulet’s response to the

codes of law as referencing trespassing.

First, I do not condone destruction of sensitive or public

property. But, as a father of four, and a 40-year resident of

Huntington Beach, I sympathize with the kids that are using some of

the last open spaces in this city. My father moved to Huntington

Beach in 1943 and was able to grow up on “the hill” of this town.

I was able to visit the cows at Ed’s Dairy or go to the old

bunkers at the end of Bolsa Chica and ride my stingray down beaten

paths without having to worry about environmentalist or

weak-backboned local politicians screaming for the police to write

stiffer fines. We’d fall, we’d limp home, we’d get our share of

stitches. It was part of what was great about growing up here. It

wasn’t Long Beach or Los Angeles where all the playgrounds were

asphalt. It was good old dirt.

I do think that there are too many environmentalists who preach

their moral high ground after they have driven their environmentally

wrenching cars to their locations of protest to do so. Or, in your

case, used the vast resources required to print a newspaper with your

(and my) opinions.

Such as the paper mills, utilities, delivery methods (cars -- no

longer kids on bikes. Have to get it to the consumer faster.) We have

a tendency, as we grow older to jump right up on that soapbox and

condemn others while blindly looking the other way when it comes to

how we ourselves live or justify why we should be able to do what we

want at the “accepted” expense of our Earth.

In Marder’s article, the emphasis is placed on the environmentally

sensitive area that these hoodlums are destroying. Yet in that same

article, it references that the area may be harmful to kids playing

in the area because of PCBs that might be in the area.

In Goulet’s article, her stance is “if it’s trespassing, it’s

trespassing” therefore they should be punished. Yet again in Marder’s

article it talks about Mark Bixby making his rounds in the area. Has

he been given the right to walk around that area or is he too

trespassing? Or is that OK, because it’s for a just cause? Orange

County Sheriff Sgt. Mark Levy states that, “It’s an attractive area

for someone who wants to do something illegal” It’s an attractive

area for those that just want to be kids, too. Away from the concrete

jungle we have created in our community.

At the end of Marder’s article there is a quote from Bolsa Chica

Environmental Zen Master herself Adrianne Morrison: “There’s a lot of

damage going on,” said Morrison, who estimates the activity has been

occurring for the past two to three years. “You can see that where

they are [building] moguls, they had thrown dirt on top of plants.

They’re decimating vegetation in the area.”

I know my father used to ride his bike back there in the ‘40s and

‘50’s. I know I used to ride my bike back there in ‘60s and ‘70s.

Let’s get real here. Then she goes on to end her rally call by

saying, “The package of paintballs may say it’s biodegradable, but so

is my car.” How fitting. The No. 1 reason for global decimation --

our cars. But let’s throw kids in the clinker for making moguls for

their bikes or playing paintball in the area.

I do understand that we need to preserve our land for our

children, but lets not do it at the expense of our children at the

same time.

* SHAUN MEHAFFEY is a Huntington Beach resident. To contribute to

“Sounding Off,” e-mail us at hbindy@latimes.com or fax us at (714)

965-7174.