Paul:
>Gene, what's the moral or environmental difference between cutting an acre
>or less of forest to build a sunny house and a garden and mowing a huge
>yard that would have reverted to forest long ago if not for your mowing?
Pretty big question. Hemingway said what's moral is what you feel good
after. Others have other definitions. Seems to me that morality beyond laws
is a matter of personal experience and judgements.
Environmental differences could probably be computer modeled to measure
results from one or another activity. Lacking that facility, my personal
feeling is that the key question is change. We humans have already changed
the nature of this land immensely. Vast forests are no longer. All of us
here and many of the masses have come to recognize the value of forests.
The rub is between desired human activities and natural ecosystems.
I think we need more trees, not fewer. When I moved to these 130 acres
there was more cleared land than now. This was an original homestead, was a
subsistence farm for many decades. I have allowed two former farm fields to
grow back to forest. I mow several acres of former pasture around the house
for fire safety, erosion control, tick and chigger reduction and to improve
bird habitat. From those acres I collect clippings and leaves for garden
mulch which of course becomes soil food, thereby avoiding importation of
soil food substances, which require expensive production and shipping, all
of which use oil. I feel good about having a closed loop.
>From my research I know that there are thousands of abandoned old
homesteads of an acre or two up to small farm size. Most have wells, many
have usable buildings. These make ideal spots for those wishing to live an
eco-friendly rural life. For new habitations, the ecovillage design is
superior to individual new homesteads carved out of forests. As you know,
that design clumps dwellings close together yet retains most of the land
for common garden and natural areas.
Abandoned homesteads are less likely to exist in the East. We can move. You
did. Would it not be more eco-sensible to reinhabit abandoned places before
we carve new ones out of the few forests we have left?
Gene GeRue, author,
How To Find Your Ideal Country Home: A Comprehensive Guide
http://www.ruralize.com/
