Confessions of a Reformed Tree Hugger

I could leave the subject to scientists and politicians but, what the heck?  While the alarmists are threatening us with the collapse of the world or destruction of Biblical proportions because we are slow to switch light bulbs or we put a plastic jug in the regular trash, cooler heads maybe will prevail.

I have had about all the global warming speak that I care to hear.   We had temperatures below freezing for about 2 weeks.  That is saying something for southern Mississippi.  It was cold!  The weather we are experiencing now is delightful.  It is a breezy 72 degrees.

I moved to Mississippi 20 years ago from the New Orleans area.  Prior to that I lived and worked in Boston and Philadelphia and Washington, DC.  These were all large cities with lots of concrete, asphalt, tall buildings and, in general, very little grass.  I grew up in semi-country settings with green pastures and lots of forests and sparkling waters.

The reality of going from one space to another without thinking about it is that one tends to take on the ideas and mindset of whatever prevails in that area.  It happens without any thought whatsoever.  Your mind just wraps itself around the idea du jour and we adapt what is necessary to our everyday existence.  It is simply a matter of self-preservation without the benefit of thought.

I was raised with the idea of conservation of natural resources.  There was the monthly paper drive at school and pop bottles were redeemed everywhere for 2 to 5 cents.  We shut off water not in use.

Living in the cities for 15 or more years I was lulled into believing that the world was in danger by the worst of all offenders - human beings.

I moved to Mississippi and that has all changed.  Living in the concrete jungle, I was abhorred by the thought of using chemicals or herbicides to control weeds.  After all we are being overrun by concrete jungles everywhere.  When in groups, I kept silent about my aversion to herbicides.  I watched as people liberally applied weed killers to the side of the road, along fence rows and around buildings and houses.  The mosquito spray truck was the most shocking thing of all.  The first time I saw the truck spewing its insecticide throughout the city streets, I was stunned.

It took about 2 years to realize that the grass down here will grow over concrete, asphalt, bricks and gravel and totally engulf it in about 3 years.  You can literally sit and watch the grass grow.  It takes several days to remove the grass from any spot that is to be used for anything other than a golf course.

The mosquitoes will over-populate a dog's water bowl if left unattended for just a few days.  They carry several life-threatening illnesses and parasites as well as their bites causing us sensitive souls a great deal of discomfort.

Fire ants, although not indigenous to the area are very prolific.  They reside underground until the rainy season and then they build their mounds above ground.  Left to their own devices, those mounds become huge eyesores and anyone who happens to have an allergy to their poison has a miserable time getting around outside.

Wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, bumble bees and other flying stinging things will form their nests anywhere and everywhere.  The handles of garbage cans, the undersides of lawn furniture, the corners of rooftops, even underground is not immune from nests of stinging things.  That last one makes mowing the lawn an adventure.

Herbicides have to be re-applied every few weeks.  It is not a "one application destroys everything forever" type of thing.  Stuff grows back - over and over and over again.  The wasp nests and fire ants return over and over and over again.

I now have a fondness for chemicals.  They have their place.  Used properly, they are worthwhile to have.

For almost 17 years, I worked in an industry that cuts down pristine forests decimating habitats, cutting down majestic pines and mighty oaks creating jobs for the local economy while lining the pockets of the owners.  The EPA has even created a need for crane and dragline mats in order to keep surrounding waterways clean, unsullied by the mass of humanity that needs electricity carried by the immense power lines.  The irony of it all is that there are alternative materials that can be used, but none are biodegradable.  The only thing that can be used to protect the waters of the earth is wood which means that the forests must be decimated in order to adhere to the governments standards (government standards - oxymoron).  And so it goes.

The new squiggly bulbs that everyone has been pushed to replace our incandescent bulbs with are actually more hazardous than the incandescent bulbs we are replacing.  What happens when all those bulbs go into a landfill?

While we are busy trying to figure out how to SAVE THE PLANET, we must realize that we have no way to destroy a planet that GOD created.  If it will be remade, it will be HIS doing, not ours.  HIS return is soon.

Shalom.  Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.