Right, time to stop talking and start committing

[The Penguin]

. . . In some ways I consider myself at the forefriont of dealing with the issue since I am in a position to influence how your future home is built, how it uses energy, how it uses water, etc. . . .

Really? And how do you do that? As a landscape architect?

[Osbourne One-Nil]

I hope you're not suggesting that landscape architects are merely brought in at the last minute by reluctant clients needing to satisfy a forgotten planning condition? Out of my 30 or so regular clients, I'd say that point of view only applies to twenty nine of them.

[noggin]

What is a landscape architect? Is it to do with landscape as in " grounds" (think Gertrude Jekyll or Capability Brown) or is it "buildings" or is it to do with getting the two to harmonise?

[Osbourne One-Nil]

This will explain it.

http://www.landscapeinstitute.org/be_landscape_architect/

[noggin]

Cheers, OON. Here's a little smiley thing for you.

Re consumerism....it's a bit of a chicken and egg thing I think. After all, whose fault is it.....the consumer for never being satisfied (a bit of a generalisation, I know) or the manufacturers/producers for constantly bringing out new stuff? Not forgetting the advertisers who are out to persuade us that we must have this and we must have that. Then there is the totally non-joined-up government with silly policies such as out-of-town shopping centres and inadequate public transport systems.

I think the blame can be laid at many doors and it would take a better person than me to sort out this unholy mess.

I digress a little, but just look also at supermarkets, who, in their effort to make disgustingly huge profits tread on the toes of the poor suppliers by paying them inadequate prices for their produce. Yes, maybe the customer wins as does the shareholder, but the farmers certainly don't. If only there could be a solution which is good for all parties.