Enhance Your Environment

Zero Sum Environment

Why is there so much interest in previously mentioned utility concern TXU?  Why are private-equity firms racing to snatch them up in a leveraged buyout?  They are making money - and plenty of it!  I'm not an expert in regulatory affairs, just the environment.  Yet, as a small business owner who is continuously challenged with eliminating waste to generate greater value for my customers and a reasonable profit,  I'm especially interested in TXU's fat 25% net margin.  How is this possible for an organization that presumably is operating within the constraints of regulators?

Well, it's very simple.  This is only a snapshot in time of the true picture.  You see, there is an Intelligence to Nature - everything balances over time - it's a zero sum game.  The true margins for a concern that pushes out millions of tons of pollutants annually won't be fully realized by our society for some time.  The reason is the opportunity cost of cleaning up our environment will be incurred by future generations and likely won't be traced back to TXU's ledgers.  Case closed, right?

I hope not.  After watching the Oscars last night it's evident there is at least a small movement that will over time generate the awareness necessary to strike a balance between the needs of humanity and the environment which sustains us.  In fact, TXU has even agreed to table plans for eight new coal plants in order to appease environmentalists so they might surmount regulatory hurdles.  Sometimes selfish needs serve a purpose for the betterment of the greater whole.  Hey, sometimes you have to take whatever progress you can get.  Let's take this small victory and run with it. 

There’s Only One Environment – Let’s Take Care of It

First, kudos to Dell Computers for arranging to have trees planted for customers who pay $2 to offset the CO2 generated when a computer is plugged into the power grid. 

Unfortunately, their Dallas based neighbor – TXU – is a company that wants to build  8 -15 coal burning electric facilities in Texas that will generate 78 million tons of CO2 each year!  This is more emissions than the country of Sweden creates in a year. In the United States, 55% of the electricity we use is generated by burning coal.  If you think ethanol is the solution, think again.  You’re still burning a carbon fuel.  Moreover, you’re now creating an arena where food supplies have an alternate energy value and are likely to increase in demand, and therefore price – exacerbating existing food shortages.

It’s time for our leaders to wake up to the fact that we need to start considering a source of energy that is safe for our environment.  Did you know there are abundant supplies of uranium that could fuel the power needs of the world for the next several hundred years if enough effort was focused on mining them?  It’s a clean source of energy – and we certainly have the increased technology and know how to not repeat the isolated accidents that occurred in the seventies.  It gets even better. Most of the uranium supplies are in countries devoid of international conflict –  Canada and Austraila.  And Canada is our friendly neighbor! Can I suggest a meeting – you have the resources and we have technological know how – what do you think?

What does this have to do with your personal environment?  Well, it’s all one environment isn’t it?  It’s really our children’s environment we're playing with. Let’s work together to maintain what we’ve got and create even more beautiful environments that support the quality of life we’ve all come to enjoy. While we feel we’re doing our part here at Treemendous Landscape Company®, our little company can only do so much.  However, organizations like PLANET – The Professional Landcare Network – of which we are a member – is helping to spread the word about the benefits of living environments that enhance the quality of life in the communities we all live in.

Landscape Friends – Plants, Ponds, Pools and Patios

My family recently returned from a vacation in Mexico where me and my son Zak scuba dived for the first time and even earned our scuba diver certifications.  We discovered an amazing world of brightly colored fish – thousands of them - and so friendly in their environment that they swim within inches of your touch! We also encountered a couple of sting rays, trumpet fish, and many other interesting creatures whose names escape me. This fascinating experience gave me a new perspective on the ponds and landscapes Treemendous® creates in the Naperville area.

We probably underestimate the value nature brings to our lives if we don’t spend time immersed in it and hopefully learning how it works. You don’t need to understand the natural interrelationships in your personal landscape to enjoy it, but it can give you a greater appreciation for its value in your life.  Beautiful landscapes are a joy to admire. Yet, they also bring a balance to our lives by reminding us of our role as creatures of nature.  Being the highest on the food chain, we have a responsibility to preserve and protect our environment so that future generations can benefit from it.   

These days suburban landscapes are predominantly comprised of hardscapes – patios, terraces, pools and ponds.  Yet, these man-made elements lose some of their appeal if they are not balanced and accentuated with natural elements like plants and fish that we intuitively connect with.  If you aren’t getting the enjoyment you expect from your landscape, you may be missing one of nature’s ‘friends.’ This spring when you venture out and enjoy the fresh fragrance of nature, think about what’s next in enhancing your environment.

Natural Balance is All Your Plants Want From You

Chicago'€™s cold temperatures and beautiful, fluffy snowfall yesterday are some indication that our environment isn'€™t too out of whack.  I'€™ve have been wondering about this for years as the amount of snowfall we receive has dropped off considerably.  In the last five years we'€™ve been lucky to get more than two decent snowfalls.  What'€™s the importance of this?

Snowfall is a protective blanket that helps to "€œlock-in"€ the frozen soil that your plants are accustomed to.  Your dormant trees and shrubs and perennials need exactly that - “ dormancy -€“ a rest.  This used to be the norm in the Midwest this time of year.  When temperatures frequently fluctuate from significantly above freezing to slightly below, plants don'€™t get the "€œwinter rest" they expect. This need is wired into their DNA so to speak.  This stresses plants. Aren'€™t you stressed the day after being up most of the night when you can'€™t sleep?

This is the same during the summer.  Plants are accustomed "€œby nature" -€“ pun intended -€“ to have a blanket of mulch that minimizes temperature fluctuations and holds in moisture.  This is a naturally occurring situation on the forest floor or the prairie meadow where the ancestors of many of our suburban plants came from.

It's one thing to design and install a magnificent landscape, but "€œcreated"€ or abstracted nature -€“ your landscape -€“ needs to be properly maintained. If you intuitively understand nature or enlist a professional, this is much easier. Regardless of your skills, we all know with 100% certainty -€“ regardless of what some of our political leaders are suggesting -€“ that emissions from burning all types of carbon fuels is affecting the balance in our global environment.  This of course affects your personal environment, so you need to be even more diligent in caring for it -€“ or place your confidence in a company you know and trust.

Enhance Your Environment - Let Nature Melt Away Your Stress

Do you find yourself surrounded by stressful influences? Many of these influences are unavoidable.  Yet, you can choose to reduce your stress by creating an environment at your own home that offers a respite from those conditions that are largely beyond your control. 

Nature reduces stress.  It reminds you that you are part of nature, something that came naturally to human beings when our society was closer to the land.  Your energy is balanced by nature through its balance.  While there are many ways to achieve balance in our lives, one of them is to immerse ourselves in natural environments that feed our senses with wonderful sights and fragrances and textures – and rejuvenating energy.

Treemendous Landscape Company® is presently working with several clients that specifically selected us for our understanding of the principles of Feng Shui.  Feng Shui is a time honored science that respects the flow and circulation of energy for the benefit of people in practically any physical space.  I became a Feng Shui practitioner some time ago after years of study with the American Feng Shui Institute.  I quickly learned that well conceived designs create environments that enhance the lives of people using the space. The original Feng Shui masters came to this conclusion thousands of years ago by simply meditating on a site to understand its energies.  In many ways, this is how we work when we apply our intuition, experience and talents to helping our clients create an environment that enhances their lives.  It may well be true that landscaping and other green industry practices enhance people’s quality of life as much as any other industry.  This is why the leadership of The Professional Landcare Network (PLANET), a green industry organization of professionals representing the professions that create and maintain green environments, is taking the initiative to promote this wonderful benefit of green spaces. 

About Treemendous Landscape Company®

Would you like to enhance the experience
you have in your personal environment?

That's what we do.

Treemendous Landscape Company® is exclusively focused on the Design-Build
and Maintenance needs of Residential clients
in the Naperville area.

Founded in 1988 -- Treemendous has earned numerous local and national awards for its projects -- and recently named Business of the Year by the Naperville Chamber of Commerce.            

We are located at 23736 W.  119th Street, Plainfield, IL.  You may phone us at 815-439-0440 or email at business@treemendous.com.  We'd love to hear from you!