Preserve N. Shore's untamed nature

North Vancouver - Dear Editor: We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, but is it not sad that we insist on turning this beauty into the banal and boring? The big trees in North and West Vancouver have given way to endless oversized homes and highrise towers. The mayors will insist that they are replacing trees, but we need to ask ourselves with what? Ornamental shrubs and pretty cherry trees, that if you travel can be found in any large city on the planet.The very beauty of nature that defines a place is removed and "tamed" so that everything looks like anywhere else. I have never understood this need in us, to sink to the lowest common denominator. I believe that it is easier to deal with a cherry tree than a majestic Douglas fir.We allow the developers to remove every plant when they build and there are no consequences for their removal. These trees are as important as our lungs, they clean the air we breathe and make it bearable on a hot day to walk down the sidewalks, as well as aiding with runoff water on rainy days.What about the views people whine on endlessly about, such as the Burrard with its busy shipping lane. What we really see are big tankers and soon to be more, belching yellow plumes of bunker fuel that create pretty sunsets. The denuded Cypress Mountain, or the twinkly lights of Downtown Vancouver through a haze of smog. If you want a view to wake you up, go down Third Street towards Park Tilford and take a long, hard look at what is left of that area.Every year the air quality deteriorates; if you do not believe me just gaze out your window on a hot day. It is time that we grew up as a species and realized that we are our environment. The cities could easily supply tax incentives, to those homeowners who green their properties and give the indigenous species an opportunity to return.Let those of us who are still able get out of our artificial lifestyles and begin to change our environment and our health.Margot BrassilNorth Vancouver