Nike has joined up with retailers, consumers, and 26 recycling organizations across the nation to collect old and defective tennis shoes and turn them into sports surfacing, such as tracks, tennis courts, and weight room floors.

Nike?EUR??,,????'???s Reuse-A-Shoe program establishes shoe collection programs to gather old shoes and grinding them up into a new product that Nike has labeled ?EUR??,,????'??Nike Grind.?EUR??,,????'?? Nike uses the granulated rubber from the outsoles of the shoes and factory scraps and turns them into soccer, football, baseball fields, and weight room flooring. Granulated foam from the midsoles of the shoes is used for synthetic basketball courts, tennis courts, and playground surfacing tiles. Finally, the granulated fabric from the uppers of the old shoes is turned into the padding under hardwood basketball floors.

Programs have been established all over the U.S., including in Boston, Dallas, New York, Portland, Santa Fe, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. A community can get involved with the Reuse-A-Shoe program by registering with the Washington, D.C.-based National Recycling Coalition (NRC) and Nike. All that is left to do after registering is to collect enough shoes to fill a 27-foot trailer, or about 5000 pairs. Nike will then arrange for the shoes to be picked up and shipped off to its recycling center in Wilsonville, Or. Participating communities may also apply for two $25,000 grants for a new sports surface in their neighborhood.

The types of products that Nike Grind can be turned into are various, and several companies have formed partnerships with Nike to create those products. FieldTurf is synthetic, grass-like surfacing used at several professional and college sports venues. These venues include Washington State University, Kansas State University, and the homes of the Seattle Seahawks and the Detroit Lions. Connor Sports Flooring develops and sells hardwood and synthetic gymnasium floors. Examples of their work can be found at the Boston Garden, and at the homes of the Atlanta Hawks, the Miami Heat, and several Boys and Girls Clubs. Rebound Ace Sports has created cushioned tennis courts and outdoor basketball courts from Nike Grind and recycled tires. Not only can this surfacing be found at the Australian Open, but Nike has used it for past outdoor basketball court donations. Atlas Track and Tennis makes synthetic running tracks that are found in many high schools and colleges across the United States.

With all the shoes running on these surfaces, one may start to wonder how many shoes are in them. About 3000 shoes, or more than a half-mile?EUR??,,????'???s worth, are used to make a basketball court. And 100,000 shoes, which is more than twice the number of shoes ?EUR??,,????'??running?EUR??,,????'?? in the New York City Marathon, compose the surface of a Reuse-A-Shoe track. With a million shoes being recycled per year, Nike hopes to give new life to two million shoes per year.

For more information, visit nikego.com.

Sources: recycleworks.com, wasteage.com, nikego.com, asi.gov.au, nike.com, tuffgrass.com

Almost 26% of Landscape Architects are self-employed. That?EUR??,,????'???s nearly four times the amount for all professionals!

The U.S. Department of Labor said in a release that it expects the employment of Landscape Architects to increase faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2010.

In 2000, 58 colleges and 75 undergraduate/ graduate programs in the U.S. were accredited by the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

In 2000, Landscape Architects held about 22,000 jobs, and one out of four were self-employed.

The median annual income for Landscape Architects in 2000 was $43,540. The middle 50% earned between $32,000 and $59,490, and the lowest 10% earned less than $26,000. The highest 10% of Landscape Architects earned $74,100.

The average annual salary for all federal Landscape Architects in 2001 (in supervisory, nonsupervisory, and managerial positions) was $62,824.
Source: www.stats.bls.gov

Number of federal jobs President Bush targeted for ?EUR??,,????'??outsourcing,?EUR??,,????'?? or hiring from the private sector to save money, in his FY 2004 budget: 850,000.
Source: OPEDA newsletter; usda.gov

Average surface temperature increase over land and oceans over the past century: 0.7 – 0.8 degrees Fahrenheit (0.4-0.8 degrees Celsius).

Sea level rise since the late 1940s, due in part to loss of land ice and thermal expansion (warmer water expands and takes up more room): 10-20 cm. (4-8 in.).
Source: www.senate.gov

Most trees planted in a public park: Central Park in New York. Frederick Law Olmstead designed this park, calling for the planting of five million trees.

Largest landscape restoration project in history: The current $8 billion project to restore as much of the Florida Everglade Wetlands as possible.