ABSTRACT
Sustainable landscaping uses practices that preserve our planet or our environment without depleting and irreparably damaging our air, water, and soil. It promotes practices that support and nurture all life forms and their habitats. Global climate change is the phenomenon of changes to the average global temperature. Anthropogenic climate change is due to human activities, such as release of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. Non-renewable resources are defined as those resources that cannot be regenerated. Renewable resources include energy that is produced from wind and water, or biological products that can be grown repeatedly each year, such as bio-fuels. The US Green Building Council developed the LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system for building construction. Following from that, and with a similar rating system, the American Society of Landscape Architects developed the Sustainable Sites Initiative for landscaping. Ecosystem services are defined as a good or service provided by a natural element. The amount of carbon dioxide emitted through human activities is calculated into a figure called a carbon footprint. A sustainability audit serves as a detailed gathering of information that resembles a traditional site analysis, but gives particular regard to sustainability issues.
