Ludicrous Lawns, Wasted Water, and Solid Solutions

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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Comments

[Cathexis]

The single biggest problem inthis regard, IMO, are Home Owners' Associations (HOAs).

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!

[SallyMutant]

All lawn maintenance is a horrible waste. But those signs, on lawns maintained by herbicide-pesticide heavy lawn care services, that warn owners to not let the kids or the pets play on the lawn for XXX hours. are really creepy. Think of the runoff!! Have some municipalities legislated againsnt such extremes?

[BeeOplentee]

It was those herbicide-pesticide companies that caused the "Silent Spring" book and Earth Day to come about. Remember "Chemlawn"? I still regret I used that service for one summer back in the 70s before I became aware of what was going on.

[worldsforgottenboy]

Great post. Obsessive lawn care is compromising our national security, no less.

A tax break for installing Astroturf, Japanese rock gardens, vegetable plots & useful biomass (such as hemp) would be a good start.

[Ajita]

Thanks for this excellent article Mitch. Nothing peeves me more than seeing a sprinkler going off in all crazy directions. I live in suburban New York where no one cares about the environment and the culture of gluttony is rampant. No wonder we are the most polluting country on the planet.

[cinemaven]

Two years ago, we stopped cultivating a lawn. Cinchbugs and drought made it difficult so in the areas where the lawn died, we planted white clover. I'm stunned at the change in just a couple of years! We rarely mow and we now have rabbits, toads, birds, butterflies, honeybees and an amazing bat acrobatics show every evening at dusk. I spend 10X more time in my yard than I did when it was manicured and green. We also chose to rip out our whole asphalt driveway when it was partly torn up by the city during a sewer fix and we replaced it with gravel. An unexpected bonus from that was the seeping that was causing problems in our foundation is completely gone. The gravel pulls the water away from the house instead of holding it and directing it right to our foundation the way asphalt was doing.

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!

[BeeOplentee]

You are absolutely right! My yard is full of weeds, moss, dandelions and clover. In spring it looks like an Alpine meadow and we love it! We too, have all the little critters plus deer.

[ZaneC]

I think getting rid of the lawns would be more effective than gathering rainwater in some desert or prairie states.

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.

[JScott]

I think some localities (Las Vegas, Phoenix?) actually restrict the lawn area in new home construction.
I'd reduce my lawn area and hope to, it would save on the mowing which I do with an electric mower.

[Thermodynamics]

Residential water barrels have to be protected by tight screens. Otherwise each one produces a cloud of mosquitoes, all summer long.

[Pquilson]

Note to everyone: All people do not live in cities. Those who live in rural areas like lawns. Helps to keep the house cooler. Native grasses are better, obviously. Trees help.
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.

[Ajita]

There is a big difference between grasslands and manicured lawns. Lawn care is very energy intensive, involves chemicals and causes an imbalance in the ecosystem. I have lived in the country all my life. Just because people like them it doesn't mean that they are good.
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.

[zizyphus]

I disagree about lawns making things cooler. I live in the tropics, and it is shade from trees that makes the big difference.

Lawns have no place in a sustainable future, as most are kept tidy by oil-based herbicides and gas-driven mowers.

[ImmanuelGoldstein]

Interestingly lawns became an obsession because of the desire to emulate the classic English garden. A country with much cooler, rainier, cloudier summers than most of the USA. Most of the resources we waste on the grass lawn is the result of it's being appropriate to a different climate altogether.

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!

[KillTheMessenger]

Amazing, or should we say disturbing, facts. Thanks.