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6 LC DBM Spring is in the Air . . . At least I think it will be by the time you actually get to read this. However, that may very well de- pend on where you are in this great nation. Out here in the West, with the much antici- pated, and even more hoped for, El Niño deciding to not show up, we are bracing for water restric- tions, while everyone north of the Mason-Dixon line and east of the Mississippi is either still under a blanket of snow or now hoping everything doesn't melt so fast as to bring about massive flooding. Heck . . . This past winter there was even snow in Birmingham, Dallas and in Southern California. I guess that's why they shifted from calling it global warming to now calling it climate change. I wonder which political party Mother Nature belongs to? It is becoming so hard to tell whether we are warm- ing, cooling or staying the same that we may have to stop relying on CNN and MSNBC for our climate news and start relying on our own lying eyes. That said, what I know for sure is that water, in all of its forms, is a force that needs to be reckoned with. While those along the Mississippi, the North- east and throughout the Midwest will be bracing for flooding, in the Southwest and central South (meaning in and around Texas), water will be a commodity short on supply and long on demand. A few years ago I mentioned the nation needed to be plumbed. That sure went over well . . . Not! I did receive a bunch of comments that we, in the dry states, were being irresponsible and should leave others' water alone. Funny, no one suggested that we should keep all of our fruits and vegetables in the arid west. Nebraska is the nation's third largest corn pro- ducer (behind Iowa and Illinois and just ahead of Minnesota) while Kansas is the nation's largest producer of wheat. These states are being irrigated in large part with water from the Ogallala Aquifer that sits under Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. According to the Washington Post, "As a result, the aquifer is slowly getting depleted, with the water table dropping by as much as two feet per year in some counties. And once they drain, it could take hundreds or thousands of years for those ancient aquifers, which were first formed millions of years ago, to fully recharge with rainfall." And just because they aren't in the top two or three, don't forget Texas, Oklahoma and eastern Colorado. These are all dry Midwestern states that supply food to the masses. Then there are the arid lands of California. Ac- cording to Bloomberg News, California is now the nation's top dairy producer and grows half the country's fruits, vegetables and nuts. Naturalnews. com reports that, "California is considered our na- tion's agricultural powerhouse, yielding a third of all produce grown in the U.S." However, right now field after field lie dry and untilled throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Yet when you ask people in water-rich states or along flourishing rivers if they'd be willing to divert some of their water to the West . . . Gasp! Choke! Horror! No way!!! Believe me when I say that I am absolutely for a smaller government. Groups like the NEA, EPA, FCC et al., have acquired way to much unfettered power and influence for nonelected agencies. How- ever, I do believe the government has a definite role in things like the military, aviation, highway devel- opment and water management. Whether or not you believe the Keystone Pipe- line is something we should move forward with, there is one pipeline or system that needs to be discussed . . . That would be a system of pipelines, plumbing the nation. There are options though . . . We could stop growing fruits and vegetables. We could export Californians to the East and North- west and stop all building and growth in the West. We could just grow fruits and vegetables for our- selves out here. Unrealistic . . . Unfair . . . Not going to happen? Of course, those things are not going to happen. But for a nation looking to bolster employment . . . For a nation that is still the leader in technology and innovation . . . For a nation that is growing and yet can't seem to open the borders fast enough, espe- cially in the arid states, managing water distribution should be as high a priority as there is. Building a system for water distribution, especially to the food producing areas, is not only doable, but necessary. Who's going to argue that a pipeline spill of fresh water is going to ruin the environment? This isn't rocket science. Some states provide food; some states provide water. Unfortunately the states that provide food don't generate a lot of wa- ter. If we don't realize this one simple fact, there will come a time when those two commodities will have to be traded. Let's not wait until we absolutely have to before we begin . . . God Bless . . . Find Us Online: @LandscapeComm @landscapeonline @LandscapeOnline.com Publisher / Editor-in-Chief George Schmok gschmok@landscapeonline.com Editor Mike Dahl mdahl@landscapeonline.com Assistant Editor / Education Michelle Medaris mmedaris@landscapeonline.com Product Editor Larry Shield lshield@landscapeonline.com Editorial Administrative Assistant Alli Martin amartin@landscapeonline.com Editorial Contributors Jason Pontbriant, The Gardeners Landscape; Terry Sims, The Garden Artist; Debra McNamara, Xeripave; David Aquilina, Strategic Storyteller; David Schwartz, Rockmolds.com; Randy Bach, Epic Land Design; Christina Luizzi, Marmiro Stones; Juan Ospina, Scenic Landscaping: Carol Kinsley, Mid-Atlantic Grower Associate Editors Arboriculture/Horticulture Erosion Executive Director, IECA Russ Adsit, FASLA Pesticides Business Manager, Target-Specialty Products Will Harrison Water Resources Program Specialist, Texas A&M; University Dotty Woodson, PhD (In Memoriam) David Linstrum Otto Edward Schmok Art Director Nicole Miller nmiller@landscapeonline.com Graphic Designer Matthew Medeiros mmedeiros@landscapeonline.com Ad Coordinator Oliver Calonzo ocalonzo@landscapeonline.com Circulation / Fulfillment Edward Cook ecook@landscapeonline.com Ana Linares alinares@landscapeonline.com Likkien Ralpho lralpho@landscapeonline.com Kosol Chim kchim@landscapeonine.com IT Department Web / Tech Manager Jerry Short jshort@landscapeonline.com Web / Graphic Assistant Sam Roe sroe@landscapeonline.com Chief Operations Officer C.O.O. 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Landscape Contractor Design Build Maintain and/or the publisher is a member of or financially supports the following associations: APA, CLCA, The Library of Congress Association, IAAPA, ASLA, NRPA, National Wildlife Association, IES, IALD, IA, ISA, IECA, BPA, APLD, National Parks and Conservation Association, IRLA, TPI, National Trust for Historic Preservation, LAF/CLASS Fund, American Rivers and the American Institute of Architects. D E S I G N • B U I L D • M A I N T A I N • S U P P L Y Equipping Landscape Professionals for Success w w w.LandscapeOnline.com Volume 18, No. 03 • www.landscapeonline.com George Schmok, Publisher DBM LC Commentary