Saving South Burlington and ourselves

To the Editor:

As a little girl growing up in Scranton, Penn., I dreamed of living in Vermont. It would take me over 49 years, but I finally moved to the place I’d idolized my whole life.

On my way to Vermont, I lived in seven other states (New Jersey, Texas, Colorado, Nebraska, Maryland, Alabama and Virginia) and five other countries (Thailand, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and England).

After retiring from serving 30 years in the Air Force, I was finally able to move to the place I’d long considered my real home — Vermont.

I think that what drew me to Vermont is the same thing that draws many other “flatlanders”: the natural scenic beauty of the land, and the way Vermonters treasure and preserve those environmental natural gifts. When I was a child I thought and felt as a child. But, now after having spent most of my life living in other places, I realize that my childhood attraction with Vermont was an instinctual yearning for beauty, health, well-being and goodness. It wasn’t just a childhood fantasy, nor a superficial fascination. It was a biological longing for a place that could nourish body and soul. Turns out that science confirms that.

Scientists report that our natural environment has the power to save us. In fact, despite all of the destruction human beings continue to inflict on the environment, nature still has the ability to restore itself and us. But that can happen only if we stop destroying the source of our salvation: the trees, the meadows, the waterways, the soil. Yes, scientists are telling us that even the soil has powers to save us.

And this is why it is so upsetting to read all of the opinion pieces and letters touting the “need” for more housing complexes, all of which destroy more of the natural world — the very things we need to survive.

There is no “need” for another housing complex. That is a “want” on the part of the privileged few who will benefit financially from the construction of more developments.

Anyone who reads, thinks and relies on science, knows the difference between “wants” and “needs,” between the superficial and the essential.

Preserving nature is an essential need. People who spend time in nature can appreciate the science and recognize what being outside in nature does for them physically, mentally and spiritually. It heals and refreshes and rejuvenates. There is a huge and distinct difference between walking on sidewalks in built-up housing developments and walking in the woods or fields.

For too long those who benefit financially from the destruction of the environment, whether by the extraction of fossil fuels, or the construction of buildings, have been perpetuating the myth of a “thriving” community as one which has lots of houses, cars, traffic, congestion and consumption. However, those are the very things which have caused our climate crises and keep it accelerating.

My heart breaks when I see my chosen city of South Burlington looking more and more like other places I have lived: sprawling suburbs with cookie-cutter housing complexes and miles of asphalted roads leading to concrete jungles. The life-saving natural resources of our city are being sacrificed on the altar of development.

This is why I devote so much of my time trying to get city officials to enact regulations which will prevent the environmental treasures in South Burlington from being bulldozed and paved over for more housing developments.

If you too accept the science, realize the power of nature to save us, and want to preserve it — and all of us — please join me. Mother nature can’t speak for herself; but we can be her voice. rosanne05403@aol.com

Rosanne Greco

South Burlington