Sustainable Horticulture

New Opportunities in Sustainable Landscapes

Posted by sustainable_hort on January 30, 2010  |  1 Comment

This article appeared in the Oregon Landscape Contractor’s magazine. It is related to my last post that discussed how growers, retailers and landscapers might take advantage of new “green” trends and technologies. This focuses on how “Sustainable Development Offers New Opportunities for Landscape Contractors.”
And…thanks for your many positive comments on my content. Much more to come.

Many major developers are ‘going green,’ not just for good public relations, but also as an economically beneficial strategy. Innovative landscape firms have a tremendous opportunity to join this effort, position themselves as “green,” and dramatically increase their business.
“These are not little changes, but this is a sea change,” explained landscape architect Paul Morris, speaking at the annual meeting of Oregon Landscape Contractor Association in December. By 2010, industry studies predict a $19 to 38 billion in the residential green building market, he said.
Morris works on planning and sustainable issues for Cherokee Investment Services, Inc., an international development firm. He said that his company has long recognized the many benefits of incorporating sustainable technologies into their projects.
“These are no longer just warm-fuzzy things we’d like to do,” said Morris. “There are calculable benefit costs that can now be identified.”
In fact, his company, with $2 billion in assets, is the leading private investment firm in “brown field” development, working on abandoned and idle industrial and commercial urban sites often with environmental degradation and contamination, distinguished from “green fields,” undeveloped land outside urban areas. It plans to spend $250,000,000 on remediation projects, he said.

Going Green – Point Tipped

Posted by sustainable_hort on January 29, 2010  |  4 Comments

This is an article I wrote several years ago, but with a few minor changes, it still applies to the nursery and landscape industries…maybe even more with the downturn in sales. The green industry needs to market its “greenness!”

Point Tipped…Going Green
By Miles McCoy

Even that wild-eyed, business-entertainer Jim Cramer has gone green.
It was a big turning point for the popular investment show host. He had long discouraged any investment in “green” companies because they did not have a sound financial underpinning.
That changed with recent Supreme Court decision…a true tipping point. (more on that later) The Supreme Court’s decision essentially changed the pollution playing field by declaring that carbon dioxide is a “pollutant.” It thus falls under the Clean Air Act and can be regulated by both the EPA and states. A Business Week’s article stated, “The door is now open for new lawsuits against companies that emit carbon dioxide.”
Strong stuff, but seemingly not unanticipated within the US or world business communities.
In fact, a former chief economist at the World Bank, Sir Nicholas Stern, recently wrote in a Business Week column (4/16/07 – p. 90), “reducing carbon emissions is a pro-growth strategy, not an economic burden.” There is more evidence as companies as diverse as Goldman Sacs and Wal-Mart have announced major “green” efforts within their structure.
This change continues to be driven more by consumers and popular media. Vanity Fair just presented it second annual “green” issue, while a recent Newsweek cover features California’s green governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. A week earlier, the magazine’s “Tip Sheet” gave readers advice on creating a “greener garden,” with facts on native plants (another topic!), saving water, composting, mulching, and organic pest/weed control. A recent New York Times article on organic lawn care asked “are bugs the pests, or humans?!” Consumers are speaking at the cash register, demanding safe, natural products to care for their landscapes. More on that in a minute.
Meanwhile, green buildings are all the rage, with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification now crucial, and even mandated, for new construction. While much of the green technology has little to do with our industry, we are seeing a greening of our roofs. These roofs are sold as offering environmental solutions. They may only develop a minor, niche for growers, but their concept of marketing may give the overall green industry some viable advertising themes.
For instance, should we encourage homeowners to include landscapes that handle the run-off from their home and driveways? Green roof activity is often driven by storm-water runoff control, using the roof’s plants and soil to hold back large rain events. Portland has gained a national reputation for creating what an Oregonian editorial recently described as our “greener, gentler streets,” where run-off swales are actually built into the streets. So, maybe the industry can promote ponds and swales with their water-loving plants; or pervious driveways that use tough, low-growing plant choices. New environmental options will often require our plants.

New Environmental Technologies Demand Plants

Posted by sustainable_hort on January 24, 2010  |  No Comments

This is an article I wrote about a year ago, but most of it still applies. Those of us that have worked in the plant industry are recognizing that, as the title says…”New Environmental Technologies Demand Plants.”

With both consumers and the nursery industry, 2009’s buzzword is still “green,” with “sustainability” close behind. This is a positive for the nursery industry in several ways.
In last year’s Nursery Book, we looked at how a “green” marketing opportunity was developing, and how some in the industry were responding. This trend only continues to expand as more companies and growers change their practices to match consumer demands.
But, an equally exciting are the new environmental “technologies” that depend, to varying degrees, on plants. Commonly, bioremediation uses wetland plants to clean water and soil. Now, smaller versions, or bioswales, are finding new uses in urban areas. First green roofs, and then newer vertical plant support products are creating a “green envelope” strategy where buildings are literally covered in a plant layer.
Environmental experts are recognizing that these “natural” technologies are actually less expensive than “hard” (concrete) alternatives. They can pay for themselves in reasonable timeframes and produce long-term savings. Even large corporations that deal in huge reclamation and developments have adopted these technologies because they work, and, more important, are cost effective.
“These are no longer just warm-fuzzy things we’d like to do,” said Paul Morris a landscape architect that works on planning and sustainable issues for Cherokee Investment Services, Inc., an international development firm. “There are calculable benefit costs that can now be identified.”
Innovative landscape firms have a tremendous opportunity to join this effort, position themselves as “green,” and dramatically increase their business.

Athens green roof saves energy

Posted by sustainable_hort on January 21, 2010  |  No Comments

The information below has been posted on numerous sites over the past few months, but I just found it. This is the type of research we need to prove one of the main benefits of green roofs. We just have not had this type of research to point to when promoting green roofs.

Greek Treasury Green Roof saves 5,630 euros in energy bills in one year.

Greek Treasury Green Roof saves 5,630 euros in energy bills in one year.

The “green roof” created on the roof the economy and finance ministry building in Syntagma Square has resulted in savings of 5,630 euros a year, the ministry announced on Tuesday. The savings arise from a reduction in power used for cooling, amounting to 3,600 euros a year, and a reduction in fuel used for heating by 2,030 euros a year.

The green roof was created in July 2008 and covers about 650 square metres, or roughly half the surface at the top of the building.

Measurements carried out by the applied thermodynamics laboratory at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) mechanical engineering department have shown that the difference in temperature between the areas of the roof with plants and those without are 18C, with the former reaching 37C and the latter 55C, respectively.

The measurements also confirmed that the energy savings from the planting amount to 9.6 percent for cooling and 4.4 percent for heating. For the top floor of the building, especially, the energy costs for cooling can be more than halved

The United States of Arugula – A Foodie History

Posted by sustainable_hort on January 21, 2010  |  No Comments

Another recent read that was time well spent is David Kamp’s “The United States of Arugula…How We Became a Gourmet Nation.” I know the book is four years old, but I remembered reading interesting reviews, so I grabbed it. It is a fascinating history of what has become the “foodies” movement, which as the book clearly shows, has at least several definitions.

I have always focused on the growing side of this movement, starting with an interest in healthy soils that lead me to a horticultural degree in 1977. Many years later health considerations moved me to a more vegetarian diet and I learned Indian and Southeast Asian cooking. Today I help run an organic produce farm, so while growing remains central to my activities, I have come to appreciate the creative cook. But, I did not know “foodie” history and this book is a concise, entertaining introduction.

Another note: Just an indication on how new and unfinished all this dietary evolution is in the U.S., “Arugula,” one of the hottest new salad greens during the last decade, is not yet in MicroSoft Word’s spell check. Don’t even think about Tah Tsai.

Green Metropolis…Portland or New York?

Posted by sustainable_hort on January 18, 2010  |  1 Comment

Below is a response to some comments on Linkin on Portland, Oregon, being selected the “Greenest” US city in a survey by Popular Science magazine.

For a counter view I encourage everyone to read “Green Metropolis” by David Owen. The basic thesis is explained in the sub-title…”Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less Are the Keys to Sustainability.” It argues, in a sense, that vertical cities like New York are ultimately greener than a city like Portland, which is still very auto dependent.  Using the per capita energy stats, he first explains the distinct advantage urban dwellers, especially those without cars, can claim. Then, by also by living closer to work and most of what they do, urban citizens move through their daily lives requiring much less energy. The use of public transportation only increases the difference. Finally, the diminished use of autos has such a dramatic impact, it makes “green” suburbs basically impossible.

I live in Portland and like to think of us being green here, but Owen makes some significant sustainable points. A book that deserves wider attention. But, I still like Portland and the region as one version of the sustainable experiment.

Green roofs and walls…now “veg.itecture.”

Posted by sustainable_hort on January 18, 2010  |  No Comments

Green roofs, green walls…and now “veg.itecture.” The term is being used, and actually created by, Jason King, a Portland, Oregon, landscape architect. He is an active blogger, having first created the blog “Landscape-Urbanism (http://landscapeandurbanism.blogspot.com).

His new spin-off, ”http://vegitecture.blogspot.com” is subtitled “investigating vegetated architecture.” He expands the definition by adding  the site “focuses on the representation and implementation of green roofs, living walls, and vertical farming solutions from around the world.” He sees a future world similar to one I have envisioned where plants begin to cover our environment, both our soil and our buildings. In fact, it is time to start using the vast roof acreage to grow our food. His connections run deep and the blog seems to be editing, condensing and connecting many organizations and designers toward this vision. I encourage everyone to visit the site and help expand the idea of “veg.itecture.”