If cars did not exist, I would be healthier, able to walk and run many times further due to constant cardio exercise.
I would still travel much less distance.
And just like cars, LLMs will reshape the world to the point that our brains could not even get us to the supermarket because soon it will be 5 miles away and require a car ( or at least a local LLM bike )
I agree in principle that reuse is the best imaginable outcome... but You underestimate the labor and cost of machines. I bet it costs $200 to pluck a single tree let alone ship it somewhere else usable.
It's probably blasting related to prepping for the eventual revival of an underground test platform.
I don't know all the logistics, but they probably don't detonate them directly under the base, and subterranean drilling might be less evident from satellite than top side wells.
Obviously a static sign is not aware of your current state, so it's message can only be interpreted as relevant to your likely state... i.e. the posted speed limit.