March 28, 2009

deforestation blues
I have a concern that I can't seem to shake. It's about deforestation and development in northwest Indiana, where I grew up. This is NOT just about NW Indiana but the world at large, and it affects everyone on the planet. My friend Simon recently told me that while driving through the town of Portage he saw a coyote as road kill. A coyote! Another time, he saw a little baby coyote all alone, trotting along the highway. Humans are not supposed to see these critters! They are meant to be protected by the cover of forests, forests which are being cut down alarmingly fast, blindly, and for profit. At this moment, I hate greedy land developers. HATE. It is an unevolved and ignorant perspective, but unfortunately it's something I am feeling now. I am going to sound like an opinionated bitch here, but oh well. Like the Lorax, I speak for the trees and animals, and a peace loving, everything's just jim dandy persepective AIN'T gonna cut it - no pun intended.

When I see these housing developments go up, I get a nauseous feeling in my stomach. Those ugly, cookie cutter, imagination-less, creativity-killing developments make me want to scream, thrash my body on the floor, pound my fists and cry. Too harsh a reaction? I don't think so. If you think it too harsh, you are not getting enough forest in your life, and your life is worse for it. It is a completely natural and human reaction! Human beings are not supposed to live this disconnected from nature, and I'm afraid we are tipping the balance to a point of no return when we cut down this precious green land. This is happening everywhere in suburban America. People want the fancy house, and then they have to get the fancy stuff to go inside it. I am attaching a couple pics of the Atlanta burbs that I took last year on my flight to a conference in Atlanta:


These photos make me wonder where the animals went that once used to roam this developed land . Animals need a range to wander, and so now they probably wander across roads and backyards, possibly getting squished by SUVs.

But, you may ask, what about your friends and relations who want (or live in) one of these abominable places? Well...this is my blog. My place to spew my opinion. When (and now if) I am invited to someone's development home, I will make a valiant effort to keep my opinions to myself.

I am trying to tell myself that there is no point in being angry about this phenomenon. My brother told me yesterday that all I can really do is focus on my own environmental radius. This is true, I suppose, and I like to think that I do that. But these deforestation blues are sparking a sense of activism in me, and I hope it will spark something in more of my fellow humans as well. Spending time in wild expanses increases your sense of creativity, gives you a sense of peace and well being, infuses your lungs with fresh tree-filtered air, and so much more.

I have to figure out an action plan that won't require me tying myself to a tree. The pen may just be mightier than the sword, or in this case, the saw.

My purpose in writing this blog today is more to motivate people to do whatever they can to protect the forests that harbor and protect the human creative spirit than to offend someone living in a development that already exists. What's done is done. I am not a better person than you, just a person who loves the trees and the little critters that depend on them!

Peace.