Land Use

Before European settlers came to the US the land consisted of forests, shrublands, grasslands, deserts, and wetlands. Now hundreds of millions of acres are “developed” for residential, urban, industrial, recreational, and transportation use. With the building of this infrastructure came the destruction of animal habitats, mass soil wasting from clearing land, and the disruption of surface water pathways.

Land is also lost to the incursion of open water. This is particularly a problem in Louisiana where more than 600,000 acres of coastal, vegetated wetlands have already been lost. The loss of these wetlands is expected to continue at a rate of 16,000 to 19,000 acres per year. Part of this loss of land is due to subsidence from fluids being pumped out by the oil industry.

After the arrival of European settlers, the average topsoil thickness across the US went from nine inches to three inches. A lot of this came from poor farming practices. Unwise management of one’s own land has too often led to mass erosion (for example, Providence Canyon near Columbus, Georgia) with its concomitant loss of topsoil. With this host of problems already in place, Southerners will have to deal not only with damage already done, but also with present processes and actions.

Solutions

Solutions to many environmental and ecological problems are obvious to anyone with even rudimentary common sense. Most such solutions have been widely published, and need not be detailed here. Simply put, we can not continue “business as usual,” or the very world in which we live will be poisoned beyond recognition. We must practice protection, restoration, and preservation.

Prevention includes a host of activities, chief of which is to not manufacture products that cause environmental damage. This means the product itself as it is used, or once it is used-up and becomes a waste. It also means waste generated by the manufacture of any product. Recycling is a critical practice here.

Prevention means not using land, water and air as a dump zone for wastes. While some manufacturers, consumers and governmental entities have done this to save costs, it increases costs in the long run as individuals, companies and governments have to pay a higher cost for clean-up.

One idea not readily fostered is for humans to move away from the antiquated practice of living in large cities. Cities are a relict of the industrial age, and are no longer financially self-supporting. They are essentially artificial entities, concentrating human problems of every sort, especially environmental. With city living comes a disconnection with nature and Nature’s God, to the ruination of the quality of human life.

A better idea is for the human race to disperse back to smaller towns where a greater sense of community is developed and practiced. In smaller towns people would be better served to have their own gardens where the wholesome natural therapy of growing plants (and raising animals) leads to a world where a connection to the soil is maintained and a focus towards God is sharpened.

We should also take a lesson from nature, and utilize underground space as much as possible. This does not mean taking over existing natural spaces such as caves whose wonder and beauty have often been destroyed by humans. Instead, it means putting as many buildings underground as reasonably possible For example, why should movie theatres (which have no windows) be wasting valuable land surface and habitats? The same applies to a host of other buildings such as store-it-yourself buildings, manufacturing facilities, etc. If these kinds of buildings were built underground they would require much less energy for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. This would save on land and fuel.

In conclusion, with the freedom to act in our own interests and not compelled to serve the selfish interests of the Federal government and the vast corporations, the Southern People would do more than develop a balanced environmental approach to living for ourselves. We would create healthy relationships with the various tribes within our borders, and with all other nations. A newly independent South would work diligently with the other nations of the world to protect the oceans we all share and the atmosphere we all breathe.

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