I don't know about burning leaves, (remember the smell?) In Alabama when areas are cleared, they burn the debris. They also replant after the construction, they are not as they are stereotyped. An RV park owner there has a campfire each night for the guest campers. In Michigan, each campsite has a fire pit, on weekend nights, most are ablaze.
I find in my gypsy travels that there are still many out of the way places where society is good and over population of the urban areas is not too bad. But the ominous trend is still there. the places left are rural, but housing is making inroads. Immigration for the purpose of saving the social security system is driving into all areas. (MALDEF has told the mexicans to head for the heartland, and they are.)
I believe optimistically, that each generation will find a satisfactory quality of life, but each may look at the previous generation with envy.
Oh yeah.
I also remember the steamy gray smoke everywhere.
Beautiful.
Falls not fall without it.