Steve Mercer

Well this has been the European model for centuries. I am sure any European reading this article would have a chuckle. I disagree with one point in the article. It is not a matter of Transportation Policy, It is more of a matter of Energy Policy. If our government set a national goal to bring the worlds first fusion reactor onliine with-in 20…[Read more]

I like Macs I really do as a matter of fact I made a good living selling Macs back in the day when Steve Jobs first ran Apple. I am sure that the programs run just fine using Mac’s PC emulator. The problem is that your are running an OS inside another OS. And the overhead cost you pay for that is performance degredation. The larger the 3d model or…[Read more]

I am not so sure LandFx is relevant anymore. And Autocad? .If ever there was an expensive country club to pay dues to, they would be at the top of my list. Their Upgrade policy’s amount to what some would consider piracy! Find a flavor of Intellicad. You will need the Pro version of SketchUP… SketchUP Pro ves. 8. This will allow your to import…[Read more]

More and more LA’s are using Autocad (Me I use Intellicad-a Autocad knock-off that is way cheaper) and Google SketchUP pro. There is a SketchUP group here on the Lounge. Just click on the green Groups tab you will see it there. Daniel Tal has a book out on using Sketch Pro for Landscape design it is very helpful and he conducts webinars that are…[Read more]

Absolutely NOT! Unless you are taping in to geology where the earth’s crust is thin and hot water is close to the surface like in Yosemite. Most Geothermal wells are pumping water down into the well and the tapping into the constant ground temperature which is usually 50 degrees. That means in the summer you are pumping water that is hotter than…[Read more]

Well just remember especially with a Shade Tree it probably will only be a potential problem 40 or 50 years from now. If your client is in their mid-20’s they aren’t likely to be in the same house in 40 years, If your clients are in their late 40’s or early 50’s the root incursion won’t be a problem that they will be dealing with either.

s.

The reason tree roots work their way into sewer lines is because the sewer lines are leaking water. Especially the old style clay tiles. I would be intrested to know if anyone has had any of the same problems with the new style plastic sewer lines.

Most of those wells are lined with steel well casings I wouldn’t think it would be a problem if that were the case. You would have to check to make sure they were lined. Usually the wells are drilled and lined with steel well casings and then the water pipes are placed inside the well casings they have to run loops of pipe down into the well. They…[Read more]

Yes but Google’s Sketchup is better way to go! Go to the SketchUP group under groups here on the lounge and check it out!

Taking a walk around the neighborhood to get an idea about what everyone else is using is not necessarily the answer. Just because your neighbors are making bad decisions does not mean you should be to. I know in my area there are about 25 plants that get used over and over. All of our customers see these plants and that is all they ask for…[Read more]

Here is a research update to Bee CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder):

http://www.growingproduce.com/news/?storyid=4466

I especially like your No. 5.) “Support high density in order to minimize spaces between buildings and make sure architects know that you own the spaces between buildings.” The firefighters (otherwise known as the foundation savers) will like it to because when one building catches on fire they all will catch on fire! Oops! you mean we have to…[Read more]

I chuckle at the very first issue sited in this article it certainly does not lend much credibility to the rest of the points made in it. The bee population in China was devastated by a trachea mite. It started well over 30 years ago. And the native bee population is still to this day struggling to overcome the problem. And guess what? The same…[Read more]

You assume that Americans wish to live that close to each other. I haven’t seen much evidence of that. with the exceptions of our very largest cities. Most smaller cities have trouble even getting basic commerce in the inner cities i.e. grocery stores. Why because no one chooses to live there. Until Americans change their basic attitudes towards…[Read more]

Well that is all well and good if you live in Arizona or New Mexico. But I live in Kentucky and there are months that go by sometimes in the winter where we may not see the sun but a day or two. I rather doubt solar has much of a future there unless someone comes up with a way to store all that energy through the summer and make it available…[Read more]

The remedy is built in. It is up to each and everyone of us to change it if you do not like the outcome. Though it is difficult to see how any one country can make much of a difference.

Yes they may very well be endangered… but it is probably due to a combination of factors. Habitat reduction due to Human population… gobal climate change if there is such a thing due to Human intervention or just plain Mother Nature…who knows for sure? But plants and animals have always had an endangered list… always. When worldwide human…[Read more]

Well yes humans do have an effect, however in order to have a fire you first have to have adaqute fuel and dry weather conditions… does it really matter that man or lightning started the fire? Or is fire a natural result of to much fuel?

The Fertilizer runoff in the Gulf is a result of our current Agriculture Policy which started with Earl Butz in the Nixon Administration. Before that time animals and the forage and the feed required to raise them was all produced on the same farm. Today the forage is rasied on one farm the feed is raised on another and the animals on a different…[Read more]

Careful what you site… I live in Louisville where Brown vs. Board of Education occurred and I can tell you that public education has suffered terribly as a result of that decision. Anyone who can afford it either has moved out of Louisville or is in private school because getting a good education through the public school system is impossible. I…[Read more]