J. Robert Wainner

Sorry Steve, but, I have to disagree with your “Utopian theories” in your article. If we were to say, eliminate 100% of the OIL in America…eliminate all vehicles, aircraft, ships, etc. that use fossil fuels……it would mean going 100% Electric. Manufacturing “batteries” also pollutes our atmosphere. Besides, WHO is going to force China,…[Read more]

Another Liberal “design concept”. I saw nothing about the COSTS involved to create new urban city life. This article, to me, advocates we build more cities like HONG KONG, CHINA, where people are literally living on top of each other in 400 to 500 sq. ft. apartments. No thanks. I have lived in at least a dozen different Apartment Communities in…[Read more]

I enjoyed and appreciated this article. But, while I have not been involved in designing any exceptionally large (Billion dollar projects or resorts)…I have designed (or assisted in the designing) of close to 600 various types of projects during my career. And, I believe that “my approach” to Landscape Architect has always been a mirror image o…[Read more]

IMO….”hand sketching & drawing” should begin as early as Jr. High & High School – that’s when I began. I continued sketching and improving my color rendering techniques while @ Texas A&M University. As I began my LA career back in 1977, I always believed that “hand sketching” was an important aspect of the “design process”. Of course, back…[Read more]

I’m definitely NOT an expert on Far Eastern Nation’s environmental issues……but, IMO, any efforts to “green” up large Asian cities could very well be a “waste of…..time and money”.

Because, the most critical environmental issue (in my mind) in those large Asian Cities…..Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo & yes, even…[Read more]

If you’ll GOOGLE Dr. Patrick Moore, PhD in Ecology….you’ll learn that he is 72 yrs. old and probably the TOP environmental expert about our PLANET. You can watch a video interview of him…..very compelling argument…that, NO, humans do NOT have an effect on Global Warming/Climate Change. Yes, humans do have an impact on our
environment…[Read more]

I agree with “Martin” above. For one, I’m not convinced that increased CO2 into the Earth’s atmosphere has any direct correlation to “climate change”. As we all know, the Earth has basically been doing “it’s thing” with regards to weather….changing for Millions of years, since the very beginning. I did the research…the Earth’s atmosphere…[Read more]

P.S. from Bob…….Thinking further about this issue of “walkable cities”. I’ve lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for the better part of my life. In this major metropolitan area…..you MUST have a “car”. It’s very flat and spread out. Nothing is close. People who commute to work, especially to the downtown Dallas or Ft. Worth…[Read more]

A very well written article, Cheryl. Thank You.

Yes, over the years, various States have added “supplemental” exams. It’s my understanding that maybe the most difficult “State Exam” is the Florida Exam. I was once a “licensed LA” in the State of Florida for 10 consecutive years. I allowed my license to lapse. 8 years later, I learned…[Read more]

While I “still” enjoy driving my BMW Z3 convertible sports car…..I really don’t drive around much since I’ve been retired now for a couple of years. BUT, I agree with almost everything written in this article.

I believe walkable cities (that also include bicycles) is a good step in the right direction for America.

A very good “case in…[Read more]

Mike, while I understand and admire your enthusiasm………IMO, common sense tells me even IF the U.S. became ZERO free of CO2 emissions……we would still have a ton of it to deal with. Because, as I mentioned, unless American can build a “glass dome” over it to keep CO2 emissions out…..it will continue to be carried into the U.S. via the jet…[Read more]

Just a few thoughts and opinions here. IMO, if our society were to convert to a transportation system that was, say, even as low as 75% electric driven…..it would put a major strain on our U.S. power grid. Plus, that would make our Nation very vulnerable to cyber attacks by our enemies on our electric grid….and I have read, enemy nations…[Read more]

Steve, while I “agree” with most of what you have stated about the concern for CO2 emissions around the Globe…..IMO, the U.S. should ONLY be responsible for our Nation…….NOT for other Nations around the World. The Paris agreement is totally “unfair” to the United States! Why should U.S. taxpayer pick up the tab for cleaning up the air…[Read more]

P.S……A brief “edit” of my above comment. In paragraph #3…….What I meant to say is “I never had a complaint from any client about my producing preliminary or final plans “by hand”.

Though, I did have a long time client who was “considering” the idea of asking me to move over to autoCAD. So, we tried (1) multi-family project…I…[Read more]

How “refreshing” to read an article like this….that advocates for the true value of “hand drawing & sketching”. I’m actually a little surprised that out of over 4,000 views…..there have been zero comments. I fully understand that in today’s IT driven World of ours’, that computer drawing software programs have become a very important aspect…[Read more]

Stephanie…..very nice work. Interesting article. I think “in theory”…..what you’re saying could be possible. But, over the past 41 years of my LA profession, I have learned how “developers think & how they spend”. I realize that our profession “should” do all we can to improve the environment through out design skills, knowledge and…[Read more]