Rumble Pie #1 The New Blog GREEN APPLE is the name of the landscaping company that you contract to modify and enhance the visible physical features of the land around your home or place of business. For us, Green Apple is the container that allows us to do work in the world that reflects our ethics and morals and provides us with living wages. It is no exaggeration to say that at Green Apple, we hold dear all of the biota, including the non-human life forms: flora, fauna and the precious planetary organism itself. I don't mean that we place a value on other species because they can be of use to us; I mean that we see them all as equal partners in the cosmic capoeira, the spiral dance of life on Earth. CERTAINLY, we welcome the fact that in recent years, more of our customers, industry partners, and fellow landscaping professionals have expressed greater interest in the welfare of the ecosystem. But many cultural critics have noted with cynicism the fad-like nature of the renaissance in ecological awareness that we are currently experiencing as a society. Some have predicted that like all other trends, this too shall pass. Our own analysis informs us that it is not the permaculture principle that will soon vanish, but rather, the ten-thousand-year paradigm of power-over that will quickly extinguish itself. We are committed to being at the vanguard of the transition to healthier ways of walking in the world. UNDER THE CURRENT economic system, adopting certain more ecological methodologies actually results in savings for Green Apple, which we in turn pass on to you, our clients. One example of this type of change-over is our insistence upon the usage of domestic dishware. When we bring our food and beverages to work in reusable containers, we eat more nutritious meals, we produce less landfill garbage, and we work more efficiently. We don't need to receive a proverbial pat on our backs for adopting these wise practices -- they literally pay for themselves. HOWEVER, other eco-innovations require that we expend more energy and effort, and ultimately, more money, as well. The real reason for this financial loss is because up until now, we have all been unwitting participants in an economic system which 'externalizes' its environmental costs, foisting its foul by-products on other human, animal, and plant communities. When we print on recycled fibres with non-toxic vegetable inks, maintaining health over the entire life-cycle of the paper product, it costs a little bit more -- four times as much, in this case -- but in our minds and hearts, it's certainly worth it. AT GREEN APPLE, we strive to be eco, not tweako -- and by this, I'm not-so-subtly referring to the johnny-come-lately governors of 'greenwash' who would have you believe that by only tweaking a few minor parameters, all of our ecological problems will be solved. For us, 'green' is not a buzzword, it's a because word -- it's part of our raison d'etre. Reintroducing living elements, terraforming the earth, adding built structures, and enhancing the environment -- co-creating spaces of fecund abundance and aesthetic beauty is not only what we do for a paycheck, it's also why we wake up in the morning. GREEN APPLE Landscaping was 'green' before it was cool; and even when green is no longer the new black, we'll still be pushing the ecological envelope. We certainly care a great deal about what our customers think of us. But we probably care a good deal more about what their children and grandchildren are going to think of us. So we're going to continue to use every tool at our disposal to transform Toronto into Gaia's Garden. And we'll be blogging about it all right here at GREEN APPLE PIE, our online journal about sustainable city living. Thank you, friends, for coming along for the ride.