The report is particularly timely because of increased concerns about such environmental issues as scarce resources, climate change, waste and air and water pollution. Landscapes have the potential to use resources more efficiently, improve air and water quality, reduce the urban heat island effect and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere ?EUR??,,????'??? helping reduce global warming. However, previous efforts to address sustainable practices in the design and construction industry mostly focused on buildings.

The previous lack of comprehensive efforts to address sustainable landscapes has left major economic, political and environmental issues unsolved. For example, the report notes, ?EUR??,,????'??At a time when water usage in the United States is up 209 percent since 1950, irrigation of unsustainable landscapes accounts for more than a third of residential water use ?EUR??,,????'??? more than 7 billion gallons per day nationwide.?EUR??,,????'?? Additionally, the heat island effect continues to raise peak summer temperatures as much as nine degrees Fahrenheit, increasing utility costs, air pollution and heat-related illnesses. The report offers new, powerful tools to address these and other important problems.

?EUR??,,????'??Whether the site is a transportation corridor, shopping mall, park, large subdivision or a single home, landscapes hold the unique potential to create a net improvement to the sustainability of the area,?EUR??,,????'?? said Nancy Somerville, Executive Vice President and CEO of ASLA. ?EUR??,,????'??This new report finally creates a way to measure and recognize those efforts.?EUR??,,????'??