NASA has studied satellite data and concluded that lawns in the US are taking up as much space as the whole state of New York (not the city, the state). That's fifty thousand square miles of grass!
Of course, since most (almost all) lawns use species of grass that are not native to where they grow, they use a lot of water, pesticide and fertilizer. One third (!) of all residential water use in the US is currently going toward landscaping (so that we can then go overkill and use explosion engines to cut down these little blades of grass -- in most cases it would be much better to use reel mowers). That adds up to a crazy two hundred gallons of water per person, per day, just for lawns!
What can we do? Well, the best and most radical thing would be to get rid of lawns completely and instead use native plants and grasses, especially the kinds that never grow very tall. But even if we keep the lawns, we could dramatically reduce water usage with simple and inexpensive technologies like rainwater collection.
For example, Langston Brown High School in Arlington, Virginia, has two 11,000-gallon water tanks that are used to store rainwater. 280,000 gallons of it each year! They also have waterless urinals and other water-saving technologies. But this isn't just for big buildings: Residential houses can use water barrels too. A small investment in time and money right now could save thousands and thousands of gallons over the next few years. Act now!
Articles Cited in this Post
High School Harvests 280,000 Gallons of Rainwater Each Year
Quote of the Day: US Lawns as Big as New York State
Confessions of a Reel Mower Addict
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In many areas, it is almost impossible to get a house that is not subject to HOA covenants; and one common covenenat is Lawn Upkeep.
I hate lawns. I hate them from an ecological standpoint (chemicals and water) and labor standpoint (mowing & upkeep). I'd love to plant something else in my front yard, but ... the HOA requires tall fescue. We had a multi-year drought in NC and they still wanted "nice lawns."
I now have half of the front mulched (with a few "landscape shrubs and ground cover [sedum angelica]") and have in the back a mixture of grass (legacy), clover (planted) and weeds (unplanted). The neighbors don't speak to me much, but ... ;-D
At least I cut way down on fertlizer, water, and pesticides! And aggravation: The current "crop" doesn't die out in the summer, even with water restrictions!
A tax break for installing Astroturf, Japanese rock gardens, vegetable plots & useful biomass (such as hemp) would be a good start.
This year, we dug up the bottom of our "lawn" and planted our first garden because of an initiative of our food bank. I've got more tomatoes than I can eat and the excess goes to the food bank :) I was a bit worried about the rabbits eating our plants but they show no interest since the rest of our yard is clover and dandelions (oh the years I spent killing them) and the bunnies like those better.
I've noticed we're not the only ones who have started letting our lawns "deteriorate"... it's getting trendy!
Besides, native grasses have their own sort of beauty. I would much rather have a yard filled with prairie grasses and wildflowers than the bland green stuff people usually have. Green looks good where it occurs naturally and not-so-good where it does not; also, when there is a drought in the latter places, the water restrictions usually make the green turn into brown regardless of what the lawn's owners do.
I'd reduce my lawn area and hope to, it would save on the mowing which I do with an electric mower.
Note to everyone else: There are huge areas of this country that are grasslands. Nothing wrong with it.
If you do not want a lawn, do not have one. But please, do not live in my neighborhood. We like them.
Lawns have no place in a sustainable future, as most are kept tidy by oil-based herbicides and gas-driven mowers.
Lawns are a status symbol, a result of the old feudal times when Fiefs had large properties and numerous cattle to keep the grass short. Suburban living is already very energy intensive and suburban Americans cause much more damage than city folk as it is. Our standards need to change if we are to leave a living planet for our children.
There is a lot of information out there about how much damage these lawns do to the environment.
Plus most weeds that bedevil the American lawn enthusiast are what are called opportunistic plants. The invade an area first after something has cleared the ground. They don't grow in forests because trees shade them out (they need lots of sun). Normally the ground clearer is fire , but the one that acts on most lawns is the lawnmower itself. Yes folks the lawmower is why you have weeds on your lawn!