Sycamore Tree

I would like to respond to the Irvine Co.’s “open-minded” plans for the historic sycamore tree that has the misfortune of standing in the middle of its planned 7,110-acre housing and commercial development project in Orange (Dec. 26).

Irvine Co. urban planner Steven Ross says the company is considering several “options” in deciding the fate of this historical landmark, such as “photographing or documenting the tree before cutting it down” or preserving part of the trunk and placing it in a museum and then erecting a monument in its place.

Since the Irvine Co. obviously sees no difference between a photo and life itself, I would like to suggest that we photograph and document the lives of land developers, document their complete indifference to the needs of the environment and the community in their pursuit of profit, and then place them all in museums.

We wouldn’t even need to build a monument to them; the scars they have left on the environment and their featureless, alienating cities will remind us for generations of their passing.

KYMM GAUDERMAN

Irvine