The United States, because of its high standard of living and therefore high utility cost, will never again be able to mass manufacture goods for export unless such goods are unique and only produced in the United States. (There will always be a market for weapons and missiles, our one high-demand commodity).

What can be done to counter these inequalities? To begin with, this country must start exporting its services on a large scale. Professional expertise in all forms of business is the one form of trade we can offer the world. Problems being faced in this country are being faced worldwide, and by exporting our services we can be part of the worldwide solution.

What does this have to do with landscape architecture? A great deal. Globally, Landscape Architects are in a position to be instrumental in solutions to universal problems faced on every continent. Water conservation, drought tolerant planting, irrigation technology, erosion control and many, many more solutions fall within the realm of landscape architecture. These solutions are tradeable commodities which, if expounded upon, will be vital to the survival of millions of people.

This may seem rather dramatic and over simplified, but we all must get our eyes away from the design board and on to the “big picture” and see what we can do to 1) improve the world condition, 2) help our country economically through international trade, and 3) become more aware of the effect we are having on our own environment to protect our dissapearing natural habitat and that of other countries.

The Canadians aren’t griping about acid rain just to hear themselves talk. Indonesian rain forests really are disappearing, no matter if you have an opinion on the issue or not. The ramifications of these situations we don’t really understand yet, but we know they are serious.

Such examples are endless, and as Jere French exclaims in his article: Landscape Architecture: Mother Nature’s Friend or Foe?, “?EUR??,,????'???as Landscape Architects, we might wish to excuse ourselves from the whole thing by being too small in numbers to cause much of a difference anyway. But amongst the various professions that meddle in the environment we alone ought to know how and why to do it better?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'??

What better place to begin the international cooperation than the 25th World Congress of the International Federation of Landscape Architects being held in Boston this year.

Make an effort, you can make a difference.

Martin A. Smith, Jr.
Editor-In-Chief