To the editor:

Just wanted to share my views on the environment and our future survival – in particular, logging practices and the increased rate and style of housing development.

I believe razing land, chopping down healthy trees (which are necessary to prevent further global warming and desertification), is akin to digging a mass grave. Also, the inefficient and expensive ways we use energy to run our homes further saps the Earth’s resources, which are becoming scarcer by the second. We can only sustain ourselves by tending the land. The dollar cannot feed us if we irresponsibly neglect the earth; however, we can grow food in our backyards – if the land is healthy.

If we put monetary greed aside and brainstorm more about implementing smarter development, we can turn things around. A move toward “underground” housing – building into hillsides, retaining trees, installing passive solar panels, planting rooftop gardens and taking advantage of the Earth’s natural heating/cooling tendencies – might very well prevent impending disaster and serve as a model for future “subdivisions.” Alternative building materials and designs can provide safety from all sorts of inclement weather and save on energy costs.

Communicating to real estate developers about the consequences of their current practices and educating them about these alternatives could give us a chance to live, breathe and thrive without taxing our land, our planet, our children and our future. The real key is an openness to a new paradigm.

Jillian J. Sheridan,

Lawrence