How You Are Paying For The Drought!

As I walk out of the grocery store with two bags of groceries (in recyclable grocery bags of course) costing almost $80 I start to contemplate how bad is this drought?  Recently corn prices topped $8.00 a bushel (a 50% increase from a month ago) and soybeans crossed the $17 a bushel mark.  These are prices we have never seen before in the world.  This  also causes meat prices to rise dramatically as well because … Read more »


It's Hot!

The official start of summer is tomorrow.  If you take a look at the record temperatures across the United States you will notice summer has been here for awhile.  The first three months of 2012 were 6 degrees higher than average in the lower 48 states, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  It’s great to be able to wear shorts in February but there are some potential negative effects.  According… Read more »


It’s Hot!

The official start of summer is tomorrow.  If you take a look at the record temperatures across the United States you will notice summer has been here for awhile.  The first three months of 2012 were 6 degrees higher than average in the lower 48 states, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  It’s great to be able to wear shorts in February but there are some potential negative effects.  According… Read more »


Water Management 102

Each day I become more aware how important it is to educate customers about proper water management.  When customers understand the premises of water management, they value the benefits of certifications, case studies, and training a professional contractor provides through a team of expert water managers. Trilogy at Glen Ivy is a development that understands the value of proper water management.  It is located in the heart of Southern California’s Temescal Valley less than an… Read more »


Water Awareness Month — Help Spread the Word!

May is water awareness month in California and the majority of people I speak with don’t know about the campaign.  The California Water Awareness Campaign is a yearlong effort by organizations in California to heighten public awareness of water.  This has been happening since 1989. This year there are over 70 cities and water agencies contributing to the program and approximately 300 water agencies, farm bureaus, and various other organizations… Read more »


The Future of Non-Potable Water Use

As potable water supplies dwindle and the cost per gallon rises, we have to be vigilant about how much we use and how we use it. One way to conserve potable water is to use non-potable water—rainwater, air conditioning condensate, stormwater run-off and treated wastewater—for purposes like landscape irrigation. Initiatives such as the United States Green Building Council’s LEED Program are driving the use of alternative water sources and the development of… Read more »


Everyday Should Be Earth Day – 10 Things To Do On Earth Day And Beyond

The first Earth Day April 22, 1970 was a wake up call for us to take more action toward protecting our environment.  Gaylord Nelson, a Senator from Wisconsin was the thought leader for the day.  It marks the start of the modern environmental movement and the first Earth Day had around 20 million participants.  It was estimated over a billion people participated in Earth Day this past weekend.  This is a tremendous gain in participation…. Read more »


Are we all just moral hypocrites?

Happy tax day!  Thanks to Emancipation Day, the tax procrastinators of the Nation were given a couple extra days to file taxes this year.  April 15th fell on a Sunday so you would expect the deadline to move to Monday.  This year Monday is Emancipation Day so the deadline was pushed to Tuesday, April 17th. Emancipation Day, you ask?  It’s a local holiday in the District of Columbia and by law, District of Columbia holidays… Read more »


Celebrity Sightings at Starbucks

Starbucks is always a great place for people watching, but the location at the Commons in Calabasas is especially good for celebrity watching. I’m really more of a Peet’s person, but since this Starbucks is just across the freeway from ValleyCrest Corporate headquarters, I make an exception when I’m at the office.  I have seen many celebrities at the Starbucks, but you can imagine my surprise when I walked in and saw Britney Spears sitting with Brad… Read more »