Mike G

The National Mall in D.C.  You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting an object of power there.

A poor economy is the biggest threat to the environment.
I like.

Judith, If you know or have experience in arboriculture it is not hard.  By this I would include pruning, fertilization, climbing knots, chain saw safety, etc…
I wouldn’t worry about studying at all, learn the craft.  Don’t worry about the BCMA exam either, take that after you already are a Master Arborist.
If you want to really learn about a…[Read more]

Unless you have an interest in arboricultural operations the basic ISA Certified Arborist would be the way to go.  The Municipal and Utility Specialist are more specialized toward operations management while the Tree Worker and Aerial Lift credentials are intended for a more production oriented working position.
I can’t say if my certification…[Read more]

Go for it.  Fraxinus americana if you’re looking for the species.

Yeah, it was born to fail.  But in an ironic kind of way it’s more like a true forest tree, where only one one in a thousand something trees makes it from a seedling to maturity.
I have recently begun to take pictures of trees of declining trees in this type of situation.  Hopefully to make a collage of sorts.  I will know more about the use an…[Read more]

My suggestion would be minimum soil volumes.  I would rather see one good island in a parking lot than four poor ones.
The ‘zoning code’ or city tree planting ordinance should read:  Section 1.234:  If its worth doing, do it right, otherwise don’t do it at all.
This picture was taken from an Arobor Day Foundation ‘Tree City,’
What a joke! This is…[Read more]

This information is elusive even in forest hydrology text books.  I’ve looked for it myself without much luck.  Like everyone else has said there are so many variables that influence evapotranspiration that its difficult to even get to a measurable range.
If there are any good places to look it would be in:
USFS publications treesearch, Journal o…[Read more]

“Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason.’ -Mark Twain. 
My guess is that these quotes will still ring true for the next hundred or so years too.

You can almost measure the Fibinacchi Sequence in the some of those photos…Woahhh!!!
 

http://www.midwest-trading.com/products/default.asp
Don’t know if they’re in your area, but they would be worth a phone call.

According to a link on another post ‘The growth ponzi scheme’ :
‘The quality employment opportunities available for the masses rely solely on the perpetuation of this unsustainable model, so we can’t even work our way out of this mess.’ 
No green economy = no green jobs

Geno’s Pizza #1
You can’t walk around Chicago on an empty stomach.

TARP = bank bailout, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act = stimulus.

Easy fella…I guess I haven’t updated my profile in a while. I do have 9 + years of design build experience before and after school and my suggestion to watch the plastic edging is based on that very practical experience and design.  I can say that I have installed and removed thousands of feet of these edges personally.  You are correct g…[Read more]

Yes it has.  I don’t know how many or if any court cases involved landscape edging.  But many cities and corporations budget to cover this type of litigation.  Maybe lawyers are to blame and maybe so are landscape designers for designing ‘play equipment’ in the first place.  In many circumstances a pile of rocks, a couple of old pallets, and a few…[Read more]

1) Cultivated / shovel cut edge is great but may not hold up in a playground. However it will not create a tripping hazard like the plastic edge sometimes can do.
2) Permaloc and Olyola have generally good and durable products. However if you live in any place other than Hawaii frost can heave these out of the ground, and potentially create this…[Read more]

Thomas, In regards to your comments on gov’t involvement… Couldn’t agree more.  I think we probably share very similar political viewpoints.  Sometimes getting to them is the difficult part.

I don’t mind being off subject if you don’t.  When I worked in Chicago in the Urban Foresty and Arboricultural industry people asked me all the time to look at their magnificent walnut trees.  ‘This is my retirement’ or ‘Ticket to easy-street’ usually came up in the conversation.  But perception is far different than reality.  Here is what peo…[Read more]

Interestingly enough timber trespass is still common these days, though I haven’t heard of any cases of it for harvesting logs in urban areas.  Maybe when the price of lumber goes up and the thrill of jacking copper loses its edge it may take off again.
Reality is it costs too much money to harvest trees in urban areas and there are no lumber…[Read more]