Enhance Your Environment

Enjoyment of Green - Not Soylent Green!

Scientists are beginning to come to grips with the dramatic changes we are experiencing in our environment.  Just yesterday we marked a record high of 79 degrees in Chicago - in March!.  It was actually quite warm at a time when we are used to getting that last big snowfall.  In fact, we've been known to experience snow in April and May in the windy city.  But not to worry -- scientists are now running computer models to simulate the changes being observed to predict "future climates."  Just a  few weeks ago, they weren't certain that global warming was a reality.  Now they've come to the conclusion that "some weather patterns may disappear entirely."  Oops!  Did we do that, we'll be asking ourselves in a few years?  Is it possible we could overrun this environment to the point where a present- day Soylent Green becomes plausible?  While I don't want to go there, it is a thought that came to mind.  Of course, I'm only referring to the mismanagement of our environment, not the infamous food substance mentioned in the last line of the movie!

The interesting thing is that the disappearance of specific climates and environments won't leave an empty hole, but will create new environments.  What will they be?  Will they provide the enjoyment we now derive from nature.  The spin I'm beginning to see is along the lines of "we had too much ice in Siberia anyway."  I guess now we can look forward to beaches and waterfront developments in these areas?  Let's hope we don't have to go there either.  Let's hope we appreciate the balance that Nature provides us with and seek to preserve that in whatever ways we can.  Plant a tree.  Take a walk instead of driving.  Most importantly, get out there and enjoy nature now!  Someday you might have to tell your grandchildren what it was like.

More Intelligence of Nature

Bird species in the USA are ranging and staying the winter hundreds of miles north of their normal habatat, according to a recent article in USA Today.  Experts conclude this is a "possible sign of adaptation to global warming.  Of course, in our exacting world, this remains to be proven - just as we've yet to prove smoking causes cancer.   The experts further comment, "We won't know for certain until we have another twenty years of data."  I'm speechless!  Which is hardly a good thing when you are blogging:). Who are these 'experts?'

Similar evidence is being noted with native plants being found hundreds of miles north of their usual climate zones.  Why do we have to agonize over data before taking remedial measures?  Plants and animals adapt - it is a natural and expected product of their behavior.  We respond to influences in our environment.  Of course, there is a name for not responding favorably to changes in your environment.  It's called stress.  Stress is a choice.  Living in an unsuitable environment is stressful and  plants and animals will respond accordingly, thereby avoiding the stress.  Hmm.... even more lessons from the animal kingdom.  What's going to be really interesting is when the many forces of nature collide.  What happens when a Sandhill Crane shows up in your backyard in Chicago?  That will certainly freak out your Golden Retriever!

The truth is we need to start studying the behavior of living creatures as their actions - their habits and behaviors -- tell us a great deal about our environment.  It's the same as the behavior of customers in the marketplace - they tell you a lot about the 'environment' of products and services in that environment.  For some reason the need for imperical evidence is blinding us to dramatic changes taking place right in front of us.  And all we have to do is tune into the Intelligence of Nature - respecting it - learning from it - and most of all, appreciating it while we still have the opportunity.  Come to think of it, that might even help to save it.

Carbon Offsets - Convenient Truth?

I've always contended that when you do the right thing for your environment, everybody wins.  Yet, now we are creating a market in which 'green credits' are being becoming an interesting currency for social responsibility.  These green credits are called 'carbon offsets.'  You can think of them as energy units -- sort of like calories.  Corporations that deplete the carbon in our environment, such as airlines, offer green-minded consumers of their services the option to donate a few extra dollars to "offset" the damage caused to the environment by their air travel.  These funds go to organizations that then invest the money in green projects such as wind farms, solar energy, or tree planting projects. 

On the surface, this seems to be a good thing - and certainly it's better than nothing at all.  However, one of my concerns are recommendations from those such as The Tufts University Climate Initiative that suggest we "pass on forestry projects because trees aren't reliable absorbers of carbon."  While I can appreciate the measurable, short-term benefits of wind and solar power - which in fact is what I worked on in my graduate work - I hardly can believe that we are going to ignore the benefits of the natural environment which supports us in ways we may not even fully comprehend.

It appears that once again some will choose to ignore the intelligence of nature.  Artificial green solutions aren't going to work any more than that diet coke is going to "offset" the double cheeseburger you had for lunch.  Health is natural and wholisitic and that means getting back to the basics of what worked in the first place.  I begin to envision a world in which we will consider synthetic air and water because we can create it more efficiently than nature herself.  In a time where even traditional hospitals are embracing alternative medicine that has been available to us for centuries, maybe we should consider there is something to recreating the natural environment - to the best of our abilities and our present day society - and recognizing that what we were given in the first place was not just a prototype, but the real thing.  At Treemendous Landscape Company®, we're going to keep planting trees - because they do much more than just trap carbon.  They might even make you smile one hot summer day when you relax in the shade.  Now that's a very convenient truth!