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When you live in the Great Smoky Mountains, it’s easy to take green for granted.

In South Florida, where I lived for 56 years, the dominant color is the blue of sky and sea. In the Smokies, it is the myriad shades of green of an incredibly diverse biosphere. The national park alone accounts for some 100 species of native trees.

“Great Smoky Mountains is the most biodiverse park in the national park system,” according to the National Park Service. “Biological diversity, or ‘biodiversity’, means the number and variety of different types of animals, plants, fungi and other organisms in a location or habitat.

“Encompassing over 800 square miles in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, no other area of equal size in a temperate climate can match the park's amazing diversity. Over 19,000 species have been documented in the park and scientists believe an additional 80,000-100,000 species may live here.”

Not all of those species are green, but enough of them are. This point was driven home as I was returning to Bryson City from a medical appointment in Sylva. At one point I looked up to see nothing but green from roadside to skyline. I felt comfort, a reaction I share with a lot of people.

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“Green is a cool color that symbolizes nature and the natural world” according to psychosocial rehabilitation specialist Kendra Cherry. “Perhaps because of its strong associations with nature, green is often thought to represent tranquility, good luck, health, and jealousy.

“Researchers have also found that green can improve reading ability. Some students may find that laying a transparent sheet of green paper over reading material increases reading speed and comprehension.”

You don’t have to be a scientist to appreciate green. As environmentalist John Muir once put it, “Nature in her green, tranquil woods heals and soothes all afflictions.” Poets also have weighed in. Robert Frost said, “Nature’s first green is gold,” Ezra Pound said, “Learn of the green world what can be thy place in scaled invention or true artistry.”

Is it any wonder green is the color of environmentalism? Phrases such as “green environment,” “green energy” and “green technology” are commonplace in discussions of a sustainable future.

“Going green helps the environment by reducing the amount of pollution that enters the soil, water and air,” says Rebecca Lake on sciencing.com. “By using alternative energy sources and avoiding the burning of fossil fuels, recycling and reducing waste and driving more efficiently, fewer pollutants are released into the environment.”

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 One word I would not apply to green-clad mountains is “majestic”. I reserve that for peaks that soar above the tree line, capped by rocks and snow. I have driven through the Rockies in Colorado and Canada and along the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. These vistas are majestic, but I don’t find them peaceful.

The closest I have come to the Smokies experience is in the Black Forest of Germany. But, in the portion I visited, the valleys are much tighter and thus the views are not as expansive.

Lord Byron once said, “To me high mountains are a feeling, but the hum of human cities torture.” I’m not sure he meant that, and I know I don’t believe it. There is beauty everywhere, be it in the seemingly endless high desert of Arizona or the man-made canyons of Manhattan.

Evert time I visit South Florida, I make a point of driving along the ocean in order to watch the waves complete their journey from Africa, crashing onto the beach with varying degrees of fury. There is majesty in this, as in every view of nature.

Nevertheless, any time I travel it doesn’t take me long to look forward to the mountains. The first time I see them stretching to the sky in north Georgia, I know I am within reach of the beautiful green land I have chosen to call home. And I feel at peace.

This is the opinion of Bill McGoun, a contributing editor on the Citizen Times Editorial Board. He lives in Bryson City.

Read or Share this story: https://www.citizen-times.com/story/opinion/2020/08/13/mcgoun-living-great-smokies-its-easy-take-green-granted-smoky-mountains-forest/3327789001/