LC/DBM provides landscape contractors with Educational, Imaginative and Practical information about their business, their employees, their machines and their projects.
Issue link: https://landscapecontractor.epubxp.com/i/210216
Volume 16, No. 11 • www.landscapeonline.com LC DBM Commentary Equipping Landscape Professionals for Success www.LandscapeOnline.com 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 Publisher/Editor-in-Chief George Schmok gschmok@landscapeonline.com Editor Mike Dahl mdahl@landscapeonline.com Greening Naturally 6 LC DBM the very least it can't hurt to try to be more green. The problem is that there are so many advocates for this or that that the message becomes so messy it seems only the extreme positions are getting any attention. So, is it a good thing to try and conserve water? Absolutely. Is it a good thing to try and cut emissions and conserve fuel sources? You bet it is. But is it a good thing to shut down the coal mines, stop exploration, or tax fuels out of existence? I am just not as sold on those tactics. Nope, I'm more in favor of finding natural ways to conserve, trim, and take advantage of resources. When you can save time and money composting green waste to use on future projects, that's a natural solution. When you need to conserve water and can do it through smart irrigation, who wouldn't do that? Things like landscaped rooftops are not only pretty, they actually save energy (and $$$) and that's why they are becoming so popular. However, being forced into adopting every solution is not only unnatural, it can detract from the ultimate goal. Is ethanol good for the green? It might be good for the corn farmers, but it wreaks havoc on small engines, and wouldn't that corn be just as valuable to the starving people around the world . . . or here in America? And does it really save the environment when you take into account all the pollution produced making and shipping replacement parts? Innovation is born from necessity, not government mandate. The point is that going green means going green naturally. Once a problem is identified, humans activate to find the solutions . . . And the good solutions stick . . . Naturally. So when government gets involved and says we have to do this or we must stop doing that, there is no way of telling up front whether that is really a need or whether it is influenced by some lobbyist, pushing 'Skynets'. The better solution is to let the market and the natural nature of mankind find the solutions, act on them, figure out what works and then let nature take its course . . . And who better than landscape professionals, who have always been on the forefront of the Green industry, to improvise, save time, save money and save the environment . . . Now that's a green movement I can get behind . . . Assitant Editor/Economic News Kyle Cavaness kcavaness@landscapeonline.com Product Editor Larry Shield lshield@landscapeonline.com Editorial Administrative Assistant Amy Deane adeane@landscapeonline.com Editorial Contributors Brenda Bredahl, Versa-Lok; Alan Weene, BioNova® Natural Pools; Neal Shapiro, ARCSA; Brent Green, GreenArt Landscape Design Inc.; Leslie Nistico, Green Concepts, LLC; Daniel Currin, Greenscape, Inc. Associate Editors Arboriculture/Horticulture Assistant CE Specialist, University of California Riverside Deborah Mathews, PhD 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 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 IT Department Web / Tech Manager Jerry Short jshort@landscapeonline.com Chief Operations Officer C.O.O. Mark O'Halloran moholloran@landscapeonline.com Sales Administration Cynthia McCarthy cmccarthy@landscapeonline.com Advertising/Marketing 714-979-LASN (5276) x113 • 714-979-3543 (Fax) Print Advertising Sales Vince Chavira vchavira@landscapeonline.com Matt Henderson mhenderson@landscapeonline.com Kip Ongstad kongstad@landscapeonline.com Trade Show Manager Cheryl Raver craver@landscapeonline.com Trade Show Sales Jared Lutz jlutz@landscapeonline.com Jessica Willshire jwillshire@landscapeonline.com Online Advertsing Sales Tim Obrero tobrero@landscapeonline.com God bless . . . 1 John 2:12 ... "I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name." George Schmok, Publisher LC DBM Man, have we been busy over here at LC/DBM. First of all, the magazine has been growing consistently ever since the recession took a slice off the top. And as construction is beginning to turn around and pick up, things are really starting to pop. When you throw in the fact that four of the biggest industry trade shows are held within a month of each other, you just have to sit back and wonder what happened to all the time. Now, as daylight savings time ends, which means the kids are no longer leaving for school before the sun rises, we're already working on the January issue of 2014, gearing up for the LA Design Expo in Long Beach, Calif., this February, and beginning to work on a new Landscape Expo in San Jose, Calif., which is scheduled for October 8th and 9th. Yep . . . It's already almost 2014 . . . At least it seems that way. But here and now is still here and now and that means we are still in the waning months of lucky '13, this is the Annual Green Issue and there are still lots of green issues to discuss . . . I mean, I guess all that effort put into stopping global warming has worked, as the new report is that over the past 15 years, temperatures have been flat. And while more glaciers up north are retreating than are growing, this past August the Arctic ice cap had some 39 percent more ice than it had a year ago. At the same time, Antarctica has been growing at a record pace; hurricane season came and went with barely a breeze; and ice flows in the Bering Sea (at least according to the guys on Deadliest Catch) are covering more water than anyone can remember. Ok . . . I guess you can call me a cynic in that I have always been a bit on the disbelieving side of the Al Gore story. I guess I find it hard to believe someone who yells that the sky is falling while that person quietly is in the business of selling Skynets. But I also do believe some of the science out there that says the climate has changed . . . Just not all of it . . . I mean in Southern California over the past several years we have definitely not had our normal summer heat, instead it has been mostly a lot cooler. On our annual summer trips to the Colorado River, we are seeing more green in the desert, even in late August, with rain and clouds occurring way more frequently than I remember them in the 70s, 80s and 90s. I know my observations are not scientific, but I do believe my eyes and believe that while some areas are warming, others are cooling. I also believe that a lot of the effort put into controlling pollution and exhaust and striving to make things more green may actually be working . . . At Assistant Editor/Education Michelle Medaris mmedaris@landscapeonline.com 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.