Enhance Your Environment

Futurgen? - Watch Out for the Hidden Footprint

The excitement of clean coal is getting attention here in Illinois!  The name of the project is Futurgen.  This will bring us jobs, put us on the cutting edge of new technology, and even make us the envy of our neighbors who struggle to be green.  That's right, Illinois is actually competing with Texas for the privilege of hosting  'an environmentally friendly way of burning coal', as reported in my local newspaper, The Naperville Sun.  For some reason, environmentally friendly burning of coal just sounds like an oxymoron - something like 'safe dog-fights.'   A little research indicates this project has been in the works for some time, and surprisingly, won't likely produce a watt of electricity until 2012.   I wonder what will be going on in the geo-eco- socio-political environment then?  Never mind, back to the point.

The problem I have with this venture are the incentives being offered to pollute our environment.  Did I say pollute?  Well, you see, despite what the MIT experts behind this project say, my intuitive knowledge of nature tells me there will be a price to pay.  Who will pay?  You guessed correctly - the future generations that are ironically implied as the beneficiaries.  The gist of this clean burning coal process is the CO2 and other combustion by-products will be stored ....  "deep"....underground in sandstone deposits.  Sounds like we are just burying our carbon footprint to me!  Anyone with a modicum of knowledge about open systems in general would understand that our eco-system will eventually re-establish its balance and these gases and other pollutants will find their way to the surface - to the environment we all use in our day-to-day activities.

So why are we really doing this?  For one thing, old habits die slowly.  55% of the electiricty in this country is generated by burning coal - clean or otherwise.  Instead of stepping outside of that box, we're just going to polish it up a bit.  Why?  Because we have lots of coal!  I dunno, is that a good thing?  We're just postpoing the inevitable - instead of finding a solution that works - long term.   Coal will eventually run out, just like oil - and both will continue to destroy our environment in the meantime.  Nuclear power on the other hand, provides hundreds of years of efficient and clean burning power.  Yes, there are by-products to contend with as well - yet, at least they are much, much more stable in their composition.  We definitely have choices to make.  Clean burning coal?   You wouldn't even be hearing about this if there wasn't so much federal money behind it - which is exactly why Illinois is matching that with their money - or should I say our money.  Illinois is even offering to insure those facilities against accidents!!  Why are they doing that?  I'm sorry, when something is right, it has to be right for everyone.  You shouldn't have to subsidize it in any way.  Who pays the price for all this - those little 'future gens' that we should be protecting with our foresight and wisdom.   

Sunday Afternoon in Nature - Make the Connection

It's Sunday afternoon here in Chicago and I'm just relaxing in front of our backyard pond.  It won't be long now until we move out of this home we have enjoyed for nearly twenty years.  With the mid-summer weather in Chicago treating us to Spring-like conditions, we will miss our pond as much as anything.  It has become an event to simply greet it in the morning - saying hello to our little paradise - fish, plants, smooth, comfortable stepping stones, and of course, the enduring symphony of the waterfall.  What is it about nature that engages us?  Whatever it is, we need to remind ourselves that we are part of Nature. This reminds us that we are alive! -- and should be enjoying every day to the fullest. 

If you aren't enjoying nature in your personal environment, maybe it's time for an upgrade - an enhancement.  I'm sure we will have at least one and probably more water features in our new home - installed by Treemendous Landscape Company, of course. By introducing water, fragrance, texture,  and color into your outdoor environment, you are abstracting the larger envrironment that we are all connected to.  Landscaping isn't just ornamentation -- properly designed and implemented, it creates a space where you can contemplate, meditate, and best of all - celebrate!  It may remind you that you are not alone. We are all part of a larger universe that supports and sustains us in ways that we cannot always comprehend, but that we can surely appreciate.  And thankfully the awareness of green is bringing that to the forefront.  Take some time in nature - even just looking up at the stars at night.  You will know with certainty that you are connected with every living creature in this universe.  I'm confident it will remind you that you are not alone, but connected in ways we don't even have to understand to appreciate.

Home to Environment - "You Complete Me!"

The United States is presently experiencing a slow real estate market.  Yet, we just sold our home at full asking price - in one week!  How did this happen?   There is no doubt in my mind that having a well designed and maintained landscape that complements the home and integrates with the interior spaces dramatically helps to make 'a house a home.' A home is more than the physical structure - it an intimate combination of the structure carefully sited and appropriately enhanced to capture the best qualities of that site.

Every homebuilder knows you sometimes have to build a spec home so that potential buyers can experience their product - because most can't do this from drawings and plans.  The physical structure is tangible - people can relate to it.  Moreover, if you have a home with poorly enhanced outdoor spaces, it is a distraction from what may otherwise be beautiful home.  Offering choices of outdoor spaces with different personalities - sometimes referred to as outdoor rooms - fully immerses the homeowner in their environment where they can envision themselves relaxing, rejuvenating, enjoying family and friends, or otherwise experiencing their home - and life more fully.   I imagine homes with great landscapes might feel as Tom Cruise did for Rene Zellweger in the film Jerry McGuire when he proclaimed to her - "You Complete Me."

Celebrate Rain - It's Anything But Lonely!

It's raining in Chicago at the moment.  As a landscape architect in the Green Industry, this is a celebration to the end of a day of planting.  This should also be a celebration - and likely is - for just about anyone.  Rain nourishes, replenishes, and rejuvenates the environment which sustains us.  I always find it interesting that rain is a common metaphor for the opposite of celebration - for sorrow, regret, and lost love.  Remember the lyrics from Jackie Wilson's classic, Lonely Teardrops - ...   My Heart Is cryin', cryin - Lonely Teardrops (fallin' like rain) - My pillows never dry off - Lonely Teardrops."

Somehow I feel Jackie may have been at least celebrating his feelings for someone special - hoping to transform his feelings into a hope and a dream.  Someday we may too be 'cryin, cryin' if we don't begin to "celebrate" - that is, if we don't protect and preserve our natural resources - and water should surely be near the top of the list.  Water should also be a metaphor for good health and vitality.  Water sustains us - as the human body is nearly 2/3 water - depending upon your age.  We are a mirror of our larger environment, which itself is over 2/3 water - interesting and ironic, isn't it - and thankfully a reality! 

There are not too many things more enjoyable than the fresh, captivating air that accompanies an evening rainstorm.  And the morning often brings the bright sunshine that transforms this resource into the life of flora and fauna.  O.K., maybe I am 'fawning' a bit here - though I hope I'm reminding you and me of how our natural environment enhances the quality of life we all enjoy.  Let it rain. Yes, life is full of ups and downs - but there are more ups if we all appreciate what we have and enjoy ever moment - rain or shine!