Rob Halpern

This article is an interesting take on the present situation:
 
http://www.businessinsider.com/what-wall-street-protesters-are-so-angry-about-2011-10?op=1
 

I find it interesting that the issue of human population growth is barely referred to as an issue at all. It seems to be assumed that “planning” can do anything. Oh please!
With our population increased by as much as 50% in a few decades — tripling in one century! — never mind carrying capacity of the planet, can our systems cope with such a…[Read more]

I ought to have done some due diligence, as Jason did, before posting.
The writer simply missed the point of the project or disagrees with it. He is not finding fault with what it is so much as carping that it is not what he wishes it to be.
But it is noteworthy that he is the editor of the local paper

Wise words.
 
And a possible outcome is successfully selling the profession and losing the job to another L.A.

A void in our confidence. Another in our hearts.

But given that this is a Memorial, we must ask, “How will it appear in thirty years? Or a hundred?”
A memorial on this scale ought not to be just for those who personally recall the day… should it?

This is not simply about “designers design” or else a landscape is no different from a living room. I have worked with and used over 4000 species and cultivars of plants in my work. If anyone can pick up that knowledge and experience, plus understand soils, water and climate in a two hour workshop than I can only marvel at his or her brilliance.…[Read more]

You mean something like this:
 
http://chdavis.blogspot.com/2010/12/green-roofs.html
http://www.econifty.com/inspiration/two-sided-super-green-building/1452
 
 
?

No words intended.
Where two soaring monuments to commercial hubris stood are now two bottomless pits that weep continuously. They are so large that apparently they can be seen from space. We have outdone the Taj Mahal in expressing grief.It is how we choose to define ourselves today.
That’s a lot of grief!

As a designed landscape it is a profound expression of what we have made of that event.
The Memorial tells us nothing of what happened but a great deal of how we reacted to it.
 
http://wandermelon.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/911memorial.jpg
 
Is this not what America feels like today? I don’t like this design, but I am in awe of i…[Read more]

Still, you need to get a complete understanding of the hydrology, of just how sandy the soil, how much salt spray, etc. to start considering plant choices. Start there and the plant list will suggest itself. And succeed.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook predicts a “much faster than average” growth of employment (+20% during the 2008-2018 decade), but I could use human feedback on that stat and what it really means.

Given how many L.A.s are out of work today, a +20% growth rate over a decade means that in 2018 there will still be far fewer employed LAs then there…[Read more]

A more nuanced take on it in the NY Times today:
 
After British Riots, Conflicting Answers as to ‘Why’

Yes, it would have to be localized as well as species specific. The different humidity levels between much of CA and much of FL would mean data from one site would be way off in the other. And then there’s wind to consider.

http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6477219/remix-e-trade-baby-loses-everything

This “overly regulated” line is a convenient bogeyman and makes for snappy slogans but has no legs.
Next we’ll be talking about further tax cuts for the wealthy because you see the wealth can then trickle down to you and me. Oh wait, we’ve tried that for 25 years and nothing has trickled down.
The banks and wall street were pretty much…[Read more]

 
 
http://www.soenyun.com/Blog/2009/03/23/dramatic-wall-colors-and-plants/
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=W4hfdaC7eL4

Here’s some more
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42505939@N00/14464600
 

I am thinking Thornless Honey Locust, to still let a good amount of light in…also because it shouldn’t get too too big.

Where are you that honeylocust don’t get really big?
Any way… consider light levels as well. If the walls are high, the lower branches will get shaded out and over time you may end up with an “umbrella”
 

 
and from http://w…[Read more]

I can’t believe our economy rests in the hands of such a bunch of whining adolescent ninnies.

Sadly, as citizens, they are OUR ninnies that WE put there doing for US what we didn’t want to think much about over the years. Any one of us can say “Well I voted for smart people not that jerk,” but that’s moot in a “democracy.” And L.A.s can look to…[Read more]