You are in the process of modernizing your home, and as such you would also like to do some contemporary landscaping. (Contemporary- existing or occurring at, or dating from, the same period of time as something or somebody else). You would really like to do your own landscaping, but are considering hiring professional landscapers because you are not especially familiar with landscaping. So, what you need are some contemporary landscaping ideas.
About Contemporary Landscaping
History: Contemporary landscaping began to emerge in northern Europe during the first half of the 20th century, and combined elements of English landscape gardening with influences from modern architecture. New materials such as wood, concrete, metal and glass, and other non-traditional materials found their way into the creation of this new vitality. Contemporary landscaping utilized variations in scale, time, space and texture to create abstract patterns. Newer designs also created innovations in light and space, often told in color, creating new focal points and visual patterns.
There is actually no one kind of contemporary landscaping, since modern houses love to emulate older styles, especially the English Garden look. If this look appeals to you, consider that for one of your contemporary landscaping ideas.
Most people will say that the point of landscaping is to “beautify” your yard but energy efficient landscaping is a type of landscaping designed for the purpose of conserving energy and to be beautiful.
Remember, if you decide to landscape only one section of the yard at a time, you will still need an overall plan. That’s why when it comes to landscaping put the plan on a plain sheet of paper. So for people who are into landscaping, it is best to have a copy of some of the landscaping books that are available in the market.
Best of all, landscaping books do not just provide techniques and methods that are ideal for the activity, they provide different information regarding plants, the materials to be used, and other topics that have something to do with landscaping. Consider spot and flood lighting that will highlight the rock placement within the landscaping and where you will obtain the power feed for that lighting. Increasingly, homeowners are going to the next level with landscaping, and are investing time and money in outdoor lighting.
Everyone knows that landscaping can enhance the beauty of your indoor or outdoor area, but not everyone is aware that you can use this method to save money for heating, cooling and electricity costs too. Be aware that if you place shrubs and trees strategically in your backyard, you can guarantee a reduction in your bills.
During cold seasons, these shrubs and trees can protect your home from frosty winds, allowing your home to reduce losing heat at a rapid rate. Equally, landscaping can reduce the need for cooling equipment because the trees could provide your home adequate shade. Not only can landscaping beautify your indoor or outdoor area, it can improve residential privacy, increase the real estate value of your home and provide you with a more comfortable living area while saving energy costs. With a little investment, your can benefit from a long-term energy efficient solution that you can perform on your own.
However, if you’re planning to cut energy costs by landscaping, be aware that you need careful planning and implementation of your project to ensure all elements can work to benefit your home.
Steps to Follow
To yield maximum results from your landscaping, you need to consider and implement some energy-saving methods. For instance, some energy commissions recommend using specific trees that could reduce the cooling costs of your home to over 25 per cent. The type of tree you choose to plant in your backyard largely affects how much shade it could provide your home. Ask for recommendations from your local Energy Commission or other landscaping experts about the right tree to plant based on your available area and needs of your home.
Planning how to give shade to your home is an important part of landscaping because it can reduce air temperature inside and outside your home up to 6 degrees. The location on where you plant the trees can also affect the cooling and heating benefits they could provide in your home. Most experts recommend planting trees at the northwest-southwest and northeast-southeast parts of your home. When you are planning to plant vines and vegetables for your landscaping project, make sure to consider air circulation before starting the project. Be aware that improper placement of vines, fences and other elements in your backyard could trap summer heat and increase the need for cooling equipments.
With any kind of elements you wish to add with your landscaping, it is best to plan carefully to ensure that each location and placement will reduce energy costs. With a successful project, not only can you beautify your home, you also reduce bills throughout the year, regardless of the season.
Copyright © John Hanna All Rights Reserved.
This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.
Doug Woodall
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/save-energy-with-the-right-landscaping-124188.html
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Do you agree with Cap and Trade, does this synopsis work for you?
An acquaintance wrote this and I thought I would put it out there to see what people’s opinions are of this bill.
I have been challenged with explain exactly “What is Cap and Trade” and I am amazed that very few people that I know has any idea what is in this magical black box. Since this bill has passed the House and is soon to be voted on in the Senate, I would like to make my best effort to explain what it is.
Specifics and formulas have not been worked out to my knowledge so the examples below are not to be taken face value but should get you pointed in the right direction.
Every individual in the United States will be given a set value of acceptable carbon footprint. Every function whether it is purifying water, keeping your house cool, driving your car uses energy. Energy usage through mathematical formulas can be converted in to carbon output. For example, water is pumped from Lake Meade, sent Through processors and filters. Chemicals are added and the water is pumped to your home or business. The pumps from the lake take energy, the processors take energy, the chemical factories use energy to produce the chemical, the water is used and has to be treated back to its original state. The byproduct of all this energy is carbon.
Now we get down to how this is applied to you and your life. Every household will be monitored as to how much power, water, waste, gas, fuel…..to determine if they are over or under their allotted carbon footprint. Believe me the values are not high for example: Water usage-Showers not to exceed 3 minutes per day using a low flow shower head. Flushes using a low flow toilet to be limited to a set number per member per day. Dishwashers, baths, and normal laundry, landscaping and swimming pools will put you over your limit. Let’s just consider them luxury items and you have to pay more for using them.
Electricity gets a little more complicated but follows the same principal. Every household will be allotted so much electricity per resident. The value will be set around 250 square feet of living space per person living in the residence. So a family of four will be allotted 1,000 S.F. of living space and the electricity to light it using energy efficient lighting a limited number of hours per day, air conditioning or heating to climate control the living space at 860F in the summer and 670F in the winter a limited number of hours per day. They will probably throw in 3 hours of TV and some power for small appliances.
Your car, you will be allotted a certain number of miles to drive per week and they will be based on average commute to and from work along with a few errands and necessary trips. If you go over your miles, then you will have to buy carbon credits.
Now, who is going to determine your allotted carbon footprint? The government will and they will also monitor it. So you can save some carbon credits here and spend some there but at the end of the year, you will have to square the account to zero.
Where will you buy carbon credits? Not everybody has a car, air conditioning, 250s.f. per resident and they will have carbon credits left over. Now you just have to buy them. Another example: An inter-city mother of 4 children living in a 550s.f. apartment with no electricity and no daily commute will have ample carbon credits left over and she can sell them to an exchange. We will purchase them from an exchange along with a processing or administrative fee to the exchange.
The intent of the Cap and Trade Bill is the following:
People and individuals who have excessive carbon footprints as determined by the Federal Government will have to make every effort to reduce their standards of living or pay a yearly fee (tax) to keep it. Public transportation is one way to conserve, using public restrooms, laundry facilities, city pools….
The second is that less fortunate households, with many members living under one roof, will have a commodity that they can sell to the more fortunate citizens….otherwise known as “Trickle-Up Economics” or “Redistribution of Wealth.”
If this is so, what do you think is right or wrong? What do you think is fair or unfair? Do you think our government has any place stepping in to your life in such a way? Do you view this as intrusion? How much do you think that implementing something like this would cost?
Again, I did not write this, but I would love to see what people here on YA think.
I just wonder with all of this government sponsored buying and selling of credits that a poor person has, why is it illegal to buy food stamps?
I also wonder if this will create a black market type of thing like the buying of food stamps instead of going through what they want us to go trough (them) so they can get there cut.
It sound like the mob running a racket.
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Cap and trade is just one more tax on the working middle class. Only a fool would think it will not affect us!
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I think that if we took all the money spent by the idiots in the last 6 or 7 months, we could have put a solar powered system in every home in America and nobody would be worried about electricity.
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I’m under the impression that Cap and Trade is more centered around energy production and construction companies, and won’t have a direct effect on individuals. Prices for electricity might go up, though.
I think that Cap and Trade might not be the best idea for dealing with the problems we have now, as it exists in its current form (although it is very likely to change into something different in the senate), but the reality is, we are eventually going to have to do something about our energy use. It can’t work forever, or even for very long, really.
Cap and Trade has a lot of flaws and a lot of problems, but the basic idea is a step in the right direction. It will have to be changed significantly before it will be acceptable to most people, but we have to do something, and we have to do it fairly soon, if we want to avoid a lot of issues when our unsustainable energy use finally catches up to us.
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Cap and Trade along with "global warming or climate change" is the world’s biggest hoax ever perpetrated on humanity. A wolf can put on a fleece and sheep will follow it straight to the wolf’s den to be slaughtered. That’s why people are compared to sheep. Give them a pretty package, make them feel superior to others, let them "feel as if they are doing something" and watch them commit suicide unknowingly. And they do it all in the name of scientific consensus, which is an oxymoron. There is no such thing as scientific consensus.
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no…cap & scam does not work for me. besides the fact it relies on faulty & fraudulent science, the more annoying thing is listening to people who think it’s something that has to be done NOW. the synopsis above starts the information process on only a few of the concerns but this is why it’s so important to THINK this thru. do people understand what is being talked about here and the ramifications. there is no way to put to words what could happen once the government gets their hands on something like this. if this door is opened, and with the open enddedness of this bill, the government (along with UHC) will have total control over our lives…what we do, where we go, who we work for, what we eat etc., etc., etc. in four short years, the government will have accomplished what it has wanted to do going as far back as FDR.
later add-on from another story today…people…pay attention to the LAST paragraph…
http://post-gazette.com/pg/09186/981471-373.stm
for the people that are as concerned as i am about this, read the numbers from the polling people…the people are starting to understand hence the increase in people saying they don’t believe this scam or think we can afford it right now. the ones for it are declining at a high rate. there are a lot of undecided’s…this is where we need to put our effort…education is the key and the undecided’s are free for the taking !!!
here’s some links with EXCELLENT embedded links…for those of you who have no clue what’s in this…
http://wsbradio.com/blogs/jamie_dupree/2009/07/cap-and-tradeorama.html
here’s FIFTY FLAWS in this bill in black and white for all to see…it’s very lengthy but very informative…bookmark it read and pass along !!!
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YTc1MmVhMGYxY2UzNzAwMTJlODBjZjg2NDJjNmM2MWE=&w=MA==#more
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Cap n trade besides not being needed is a liberal,tree hugging global warming, save the planet make big business pay advocates wet dream.The people pushing this turd up the hill have forgotten most of the people do not want this or anything that leads to more government intrusion into there lives.Any in office who have voted for or will vote for this biggest tax grab in US history will pay at the polls.
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I agree – we do not need crap and tax. It is a bill that will greatly increase the price of energy – electricity and gas – for the American consumer – and that includes ALL businesses and taxpayers – even the non taxpaying poor. This new bill amounts to being the biggest tax increase in American history and sets the stage for even further taxpayer gouging by this pathetic, Marxist Obama administration.
This is all an effort based on the supposed theory of global warming and how America needs to cut its dependency on fossil fuels that will further pollute the atmosphere – and thus “causing” the global warming that we are all supposedly going through. This bill will now charge manufacturers, all businesses and all persons who an additional tax IF you use electricity and gas. This bill will cost the the American economy $160 Billion in 2020 that’s an average of $1870 per family and then by 2035 this will jump to $6800 per family – and these are just initial estimates.
This is clearly the biggest and most corrupt tax bill ever passed and should also set the stage for an American taxpayer REVOLT! It is time – because this first step by the Marxist Obama administration will be followed by the last two nails in the American coffin – nationalized health care and amnesty for the 30 million illegal immigrants. This bill is so radical that 44 Democrats voted against it – going against their party – even they know what Obama is trying to do to this once great country. o_O
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