Square and rectangle patches of green seem to be as much a hallmark of American suburbia as the two-car garage and the barbeque. Although we still see our manicured plots of grass lying in the front or back of a house as representing the 1950s ethos of conformity and tidiness, the times they are a changing. Lawns sometimes do serve a purpose—in a baseball field or at a park—but they also represent our national conspicuous wastefulness. Americans spend forty billion dollars on lawn upkeep each year and dump gallons of water, petroleum-based fertilizer, and chemicals on them just to keep them looking pretty. The benefits of a lawnless life are rapidly becoming clear—and possibly coming to a neighborhood near you.
Enjoy a Less Toxic Lifestyle
Green, weed-free lawns typically don’t come without a price. Nearly eighty million pounds of pesticides are used on U.S. lawns every year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Many of these are neurotoxins and carcinogens that pose threats to children and animals. Many are also toxic to beneficial insects like honeybees, ladybugs, and butterflies.
The pesticides don’t just stay within the yard, either. Rainwater and irrigation bring the chemicals to drains, streams, and other natural bodies of water, killing wildlife and leaching back into drinking water supplies. Lawns also thrive on fossil fuel-based fertilizers, which can run off into the waterways and cause algal blooms.
The amount of water lawns consume is also exorbitant. A recent NASA study found that lawns, including golf courses, cover almost fifty thousand square miles of the U.S.—about the size of the state of New York. More than a third of all urban fresh water goes toward watering lawns.
Gas-powered lawn mowers and blowers also contribute to air and noise pollution. The EPA estimates that 580,000,000 gallons of gasoline are used for lawnmowers every year and emissions from these machines contribute to smog.
Alternatives to lawns don’t mean these environmental costs necessarily disappear. But organic composts, planting according to your climate, and choosing natural pest protection means you can reduce the amount you do use.
