Would you pay a professional $2,500 or more to put up your holiday lights? Zachary Crockett is walking in a winter wonderland.

• SOURCES:
  • Chuck Smith, creator of Planet Christmas.
  • Dean Lyons, founder and CEO of Bright Nights.

• RESOURCES:
  • "The Suburban Maximalists Making Viral Christmas Displays," by Graham Hacia (WIRED, 2017).
  • "Incandescent vs. LED Christmas Lights: How Much Does it Impact Your Power Bill?," by Kelly Bedrich (Electricity Plans).
  • "Why Christmas Light Installation Is a Great Add-on Service for Contractors," (Sprinkler School).
  • Brite Nites.
  • Planet Christmas.

• EXTRAS:
  • "How Christmas Lights Are Made," (Insider, 2018).

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Trees are more than decoration — they’re living economic assets, with measurable costs and benefits for cities and neighborhoods. Zachary Crockett takes a walk on the shady side of the street.

• SOURCES:
  • Geoffrey Donovan, owner of Ash & Elm Consulting.
  • Jana Dilley, urban forester for the city of Seattle.
  • Kathleen Wolf, social scientist, former researcher at the University of Washington.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Extreme Heat Is Worse For Low-Income, Nonwhite Americans, A New Study Shows," by Deepa Shivaram (NPR, 2021).
  • "US Urban Forest Statistics, Values, and Projections," by David Nowak and Eric Greenfield (Journal of Forestry, 2018).
  • "The role of trees in urban stormwater management," by Adam Berland, Sheri Shiflett, William Shuster, Ahjond Garmestani, Haynes Goddard, Dustin Herrmann, and Matthew Hopton (Landscape and Urban Planning, 2017).
  • "Urban trees and the risk of poor birth outcomes," by Geoffrey Donovan, Yvonne Michael, David Butry, Amy Sullivan, and John Chase (Health & Place, 2011).
  • "Calculating the Green in Green: What's an Urban Tree Worth?," by Gail Wells (Science Findings, 2010).
  • "The Effect of Trees on Crime in Portland, Oregon," by Geoffrey Donovan and Jeffrey Prestemon (Environment and Behavior, 2010).

• EXTRAS:
  • i-Tree Tools.

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Grab a simple bouquet from your local grocery store and you're activating a global network of farms, shipping companies, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers. Zachary Crockett stops to smell the roses.

• SOURCES:
  • Bob Mellano, vice president of wholesale operations for Mellano & Company.
  • Jasmine Gomez-Gonzalez, chief operations officer at OC Wholesale Flowers.

• RESOURCES:
  • "From Colombia with love: The journey of a Valentine’s Day bouquet," by Júlia Ledur and Fabiola Ferrero (The Washington Post, 2015).
  • "Your Valentine’s Day bouquet probably came a long way," by Daniel Ackerman (Marketplace, 2015).
  • "A Brief History of Specialty Cut Flower Production," by Ben Bergmann (NC State Extension).
  • Mellano & Company.
  • OC Wholesale Flowers.

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