Should lawns be outlawed?

Question

Think about it-- these big stupid lawns in front of suburban homes and golf courses are taking up huge amounts of water and they also add to the problem of red tide with all the fertilizer use, not to mention the pesticides and weed killers dumped on the lawn that drains to our water table. Why not go to a natural landscape with native plants that are used to the climate of a given region? Then we don't need to waste resources on something as silly as a generic green weedfree grass lawn. WHAT IS SO FABULOUS ABOUT A STUPID GREEN LAWN?

I don't live in a "crappy apartment" I own home but don't aspire to have a fabulous lawn. Your point of view is what is wrong with living in America, that sense of entitlement. I butterfly garden and allow weeds and plant native species.

Answer 1

I have been shrinking my lawn area for years with landscaping of shrubs, trees, perrenials and groundcovers. I don't use pesticides. I don't water my lawn, if it dries up, so be it. But being in Ohio, that really isn't a problem.
It's not just pesticides and weed killers, but the gas it takes to cut the lawns....

Answer 2

An average sized lawn can produce almost 10 tons of cooling ( the average home requires only about half this) For those of us that use a mulching electric mower (mulching reduces or eliminates the need for fertilizers) the cooling power alone offsets the energy used to maintain it.

And as for watering a lawn vs the decreased water needs of native plants - the lawns needing the most watering are usually in locales where "native" means "sparsely vegetated". In other words, lower CO2 uptake per unit of land area. How does this counteract the increased CO2 from man's presence, a species otherwise not present in significant number? How do you justify the cost of the increased water and resource needs necessitated by man, whose simple act of being there has thrown the native environment out of balance.

So, why stop at lawns? Why don't you ban man's existence from areas where it can potentially overburden the environment? I'm not sure where that would leave man, but it would solve your problem.

Answer 3

Absolutely not, the lawn keeps the water in the ground, cools the air and humidifies the area. Yes of course the tendency to make lawns look like a golf course with fertilizer and other additives is polluting the rivers and streams leading to the lakes and eventually the oceans. Weed killers are making fish into freaks.

Urban settings should be encouraged to plant grass on the flat rooftops in an effort to cool the buildings and even the cities plus retain the rainwater from draining away.

So lets use local grasses that are weed resistant. That way we can have the lawn and avoid the dust bowl.

Answer 4

No, lawns should not be outlawed. Americans would never allow it. When you are outside playing with your kids, a lawn is much nicer to roll around on. However, I agree that most lawns are not a good thing, for the reasons you listed. What I would like to see is US federal agencies promoting the use of native grasses, organic fertilizers and pesticides, and the encouragement of other landscaping options with native plants and ground covers (bark dust, rock, etc). We need to work on changing the idea that a lush green front lawn is part of the American dream.

Answer 5

No lawns should not be outlawed.

I never use fertiliser or millions of water either. Go for the native grasses that original grew in your environment.

Grasses keeps the soil cool and the environment you live in, plus it gives other life species a chance to live!

Also it is very important for the soul! I gives a sense of peace and harmony and a place for kids to play on, roll around and be in contact with nature. This is very important. People look for the greens when trying to escape the busy and hectic work and city life.

Answer 6

Yes. Watering a lawn uses up about 40% of our potable water but doesn't produce anything useful. If people want to plant stuff in their yard it ought to be something useful like fruits, vegetables, or medicinal herbs. The other major waste of water is keeping golf courses green. Golf is about hitting a small ball with a bent metal stick, does it matter if the grass is green?

Answer 7

How about federal and state subsidies for GOLF. Yes, it should be a fun recreation for some, but they should be required to offset their environmental impact and THEY should be paying for their own sport, I shouldn't have to pay taxes for someone else to play, especially when its impact is so negative.

I personally love grass lawns. I dont think the issue is the lawns themselves. I thinkk tha author was talking about the excessive manicuring. Thats my objection to the golf courses too. I'm not against the sport. I live in Arizona and there are TONS of golf courses here. in a desert environment. Instead of supporting native species, they're importing alien species and killing off everything else. The use of waater is irresponsible in an area that normally gets less than 6 inches of rain a year.

Answer 8

That stupid green lawn recycles more CO2 yearly that an equal number of trees sitting on the same spot would. Most people living in those type of homes, that you must not be able to afford, have kids and often pets-so, believe it or not, they try to use safe (low toxin) weed killers, and fertilizer..Um, Cow dung, what's unnatural about that-it's recycled grass, being used to grow grass. Most all of these suburban neighborhoods have a sewage system (vs. a septic tank), so the chemicals that are put into the lawn wash away into the sewer, where they go to a waste treatment plant and are filtered out before it pours out of the tap at what every crappy apartment you're living in. I've been there too.
Sorry life hasn't been good to you, hang in there, perhaps things will improve and you'll understand one day.

Answer 9

I am sitting here in my meager apartment trying to figure out how I can work harder to make more money so that I can pay three quarters of a million dollars for a crappy, tiny 50 year old fixer upper of a house.

One of the small pleasures that I look forward to is having a nice green lawn, not an ugly straggly brown lawn made up of euphemistically called native grasses, better known as weeds.

Yes, I know those lawns of native grasses (weeds) are very popular here in the oh so liberal and politically correct Silicon Valley of California.

If you want to have one of those ugly lawns made up of native grasses (weeds) that is your right.

But do not expect that you have the right to tell me what kind of a lawn that I can have after I have worked myself half to death to make the money that I need to make to qualify to purchase a crappy, tiny 50 year old fixer upper.

Answer 10

I have so much lawn, I am trying to figure out how to attractively get rid of much of the grass to do my part.

One can keep some green but just enough to use a hand-pushed mower. Rocks, century plants, hosta plants, ground covering, stepping stones, so much you can do to make it attractive and draw birds and beneficial insects to the yard.

Plus it helps to have less lawn when we have a drought and you can't water.

One thing I don't care for is when homeowners cement the front yard to accommodate 6 to 7 cars. It looks terrible and tacky. The key word is "green."