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Saturday, January 26, 2008
What Will The Earth Look Like For Our Grandchildren?
When I hike in the mountains and foothills of Colorado, I often look across valleys and wonder what they used to look like before we came along and plastered roads, houses, and big box stores everywhere they would fit. In my mind I can still see the wild lands that lie underneath all that we've done.
I put myself in the place of someone a hundred years ago and imagine how my breath would be taken away at the sight in front of me. The pristine majesty, the peace, the awe.
There is still so much beauty around us. Many people are working hard to protect it, and I am grateful for that.
(And there are those who are also working hard to rape the earth for profit.)
Now, in addition to the imbalance that we have created in our Rocky Mountains, we are facing a huge change as our mountain forests face their demise. Within the next five years, the pine beetle will have killed off most of our forests. I can't imagine our mountains with only a few trees. The Forest Service states that this deforestation will increase fires and flooding and affect our water supply.
I didn't read any mention of the loss of habitat for animals.
They also don't mention the changes that occur when the forests no longer cool the land or give our souls a place to rest and rejuvenate.
Will we soon only have photos of our beloved forests?
I put myself in the place of someone a hundred years ago and imagine how my breath would be taken away at the sight in front of me. The pristine majesty, the peace, the awe.
There is still so much beauty around us. Many people are working hard to protect it, and I am grateful for that.
(And there are those who are also working hard to rape the earth for profit.)
Now, in addition to the imbalance that we have created in our Rocky Mountains, we are facing a huge change as our mountain forests face their demise. Within the next five years, the pine beetle will have killed off most of our forests. I can't imagine our mountains with only a few trees. The Forest Service states that this deforestation will increase fires and flooding and affect our water supply.
I didn't read any mention of the loss of habitat for animals.
They also don't mention the changes that occur when the forests no longer cool the land or give our souls a place to rest and rejuvenate.
Will we soon only have photos of our beloved forests?
Labels: Forests, grieving, pine beetle
posted by Carol at 8:33 PM
4 Comments:
This is a fabulous post, Carol. Thank you.
Your words remind me of a song by John Denver that old tree-hugger me used to play on my guitar and sing with other similar folks years ago. It you don't mind, I'll share the lyrics:
Whose garden was this
It must have been lovely
Did it have flowers
Ive seen pictures of flowers
And Id love to have smelled one
Whose river was this
You say it ran freely
Blue was its colour
And Ive seen blue in some pictures
And Id love to have been there
Tell me again, I need to know
The forest had trees, the meadows were green
The oceans were blue
And birds really flew
Can you swear that its true
Whose grey sky was this
Or was it a blue one
You say they were breezes
Ive heard records of breezes
And Id love to have felt one
Tell me again, I need to know
The forest had trees, the meadows were green
The oceans were blue
And birds really flew
Can you swear that its true
Whose garden was this
It must have been lovely
Did it have flowers
Ive seen pictures of flowers
And Id love to have smelled one
Tell me again, I need to know
Tell me again, I need to know
Tell me again, I need to know
Ah, Nick... I am crying.
I have attachment to the blue sky, the forests and meadows. I can't imagine life without them.
Thank you for sharing these words.
I have always loved John Denver - and I always will...
Thank you, thank you.
Thank you, Carol. In northern New Mexico we still have some wilderness areas, but we have lost lots of trees too.
You're right--it's frightening to envision what it might look like two hundred years from now.
The Native Americans have this beautiful belief that a person should, in her own lifetime, be mindful of how her actions will affect the next several generations. This isn't just a spiritual point of view. It makes perfect rational sense. How we came to feel that what we do doesn't matter shows how detached we've become from ourselves.
Hello San!
It is always nice to hear from you!
You said, How we came to feel that what we do doesn't matter shows how detached we've become from ourselves.
Yes!
We have forgotten who we are. But we can still choose to remember... and I hope we will.
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