Today is National Voter Registration Day! ©2020 Verizon Media. With all respect to Dr. Robbins, this is just tone-deaf. (This indicates they’re Hired Working Class as opposed to vandals or vagrants–Very Important in Modern America! The sheer volume of resources required to keep lawns alive is staggering. It takes energy, time, commitment, and resources to keep a lawn looking healthy (as any exasperated homeowner can confirm). So what's stopping us from just pulling up the nation's lawns and replacing them with something less wasteful? If the speed at which the person is alleged to have driven as provided in section 28-707, subsection A or the speed at which the court finds the person drove is sixty-five miles per hour or less, the offense is designated as the waste of a finite resource and is a civil traffic … Every year across the country, lawns consume nearly 3 trillion gallons of water a year, 200 million gallons of gas (for all that mowing), and 70 million pounds of pesticides. Our yards are our outdoor homes: fun, beautiful, great spaces for relaxing. By taking care of our lawns and gardens properly, we can save money, time, and help the environment. But we'll never make progress in changing entrenched habits unless we understand why the habits exist - and persist - in the first place. 12 Comments Share. think and perceive the world very differently, liberals and highly educated people are even WEIRDer, modest one-page interview with Dr. Paul Robbins, enormous amounts of resources and energy into our lawns. We all throw items in the bin or recycling bin – often without a second thought. Tucked in among the normal profiles of professors and inspiring athletes is modest one-page interview with Dr. Paul Robbins, the director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison. Imagine instead, some of that space filled with beautiful flowers and other plants that provide variety and diverse habitat for animal species, and don’t need constant watering, fertilizing, or chemicals. For neighbors, a disheveled or weed-choked lawn is a warning indicator that the owner of that house might be a weak link in the neighborhood fabric - someone who might be a drag on the community. It’s a team of 3 to 6 people on average. That’s equivalent to about 37 billion pounds—the weight of about 147,000 blue whales. Required fields are marked *. Ignore this, and you'll never convince anyone to give up a dysfunctional ritual for something better. Now, that ideal has become a part of law in many communities; many zoning rules and homeowner codes mandate grass in front of our houses. To me it’s a massive drain on resources and a waste of money. The environment and our collective pocketbook would both greatly benefit if we'd relax our lawn obsession. If the maximum speed limit on a public highway in this state is fifty-five miles per hour, a person shall not drive a motor vehicle at a speed in excess of fifty-five miles per hour on that highway. STEINBERG: Lawns go way back in American history. Relax your aesthetic and appreciate the diversity.". The central concern of waste policy is to avoid waste and to recycle. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates, The Wicked Green: The Grass Ain’t Always Greener | The Bootstrap Compost Experience, About Bard Center for Environmental Policy, Job: Social Media for Climate Activism Lead, Project at Bard Center for Environmental Policy, Nature and Design for Wellness in the Workplace, Learning, listening, connecting – coming back to life in the garden with new friends, The Politics of Survival: Orcas, Salmon, and Dams in the Pacific Northwest, The Future of Our Air, Water, and Soil: Advocacy on the Forefront. The rhetoric he uses - the stymied March of Progress - is straight out of the WEIRD playbook. It's not a vegan-specific issue, so it doesn't really relate to whether or not all humans should go vegan. I'm a postdoc who studies religion, ritual, cognition, and evolution. It burns up gasoline. It’s stupid and a giant waste of money and resources. The roadmap also highlights the need to ensure high-quality recycling, eliminate landfilling, limit energy recovery to non-recyclable materials, and stop illegal shipments of waste. Continuing mass testing in Wales could be a "massive-scale of waste of resources", a leading public health expert has said. Yard waste examples vegetative or organic material produced from the care and maintenance of landscaped areas, gardens and lawns. Last week, my University of Wisconsin alumni magazine showed up in my mailbox. This means that there's a rational motivation to keep up the lawn ritual after all. That means that a lawn's condition is an exquisitely sensitive signal of a homeowner's level of investment. 79 No. And it is possible to achieve these things. Important conversations are happening now. Beautiful, sustainable, easily-maintained landscapes start with healthy soil, and the right plant in the right place. Instead, pay attention to the ritual of things. Some people in town say enforcing this law seems like a waste of resources. All rights reserved. of resources have been brought sharply to our attention, our economy depends upon a secure supply of affordable resources which is under threat, and social justice is threatened when the environment deteriorates and resources become limited. From an environmental standpoint, he's right: we pour enormous amounts of resources and energy into our lawns, and in return we get little but fertilizer-contaminated groundwater and a fragile suburban monoculture. What isn’t stupid, however, is something Musk recently mentioned about a new energy technology that he says will be much bigger than anything he’s accomplished with electric cars. So how could we wean ourselves off our addiction to lawns? I hate lawns. NewsChannel 11's Ben Lawson has more. What we throw away impacts our environment and economy. resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State. Forum: Repeated notification letters are a waste of resources. Turning waste into a resource by 2020 is one of the key objectives of the EU’s Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe. Now, I'm not arguing for lawns. 28-702.01.Urbanized areas; waste of a finite resource; civil penalties. Part of HuffPost Religion. Humans really are messing up the planet. “The Lawn-Chemical Economy and its discontents.” Antipode (2003): 955-979. Simple things like replacing just a part of your lawn with native wildflowers or shrubs can make a big difference. This is where Robbins errs: in typically WEIRD fashion, he thinks that the lawn habit is just an absurdity, and the only reason it persists is that humans are irrational. Police took the clerk into custody after receiving a complaint that the store was selling obscene devices. There might even be a second guy behind him riding a backup mower Just In Case a few strands are missed. Many lawn owners also use harmful pesticides and herbicides on their grass. Robbins thinks this is a tragedy. According to the EPA, each year in the United States: $5.25 billion is spent on fossil fuel-derived fertilizers for lawns. In other words, a good-looking lawn really is a reliable index of other forms of cooperative investment. By taking care of our lawns and gardens properly, we can save money, time, and help the environment. The logic is simple: “If our neighbor can afford to have professional lawn service then so can we. They park their trailer on the side of the road, set up cones, and leap out with their wonderfully colorful neon yellow vests. They would not be caught dead performing the work of Peasants. Covering yards across the United States in grass requires a lot of resources: Water – Many home irrigation systems are wasteful; they spray sidewalks or over water, leading to water … Medium-term target is to recycle or dispose all municipal solid waste in an environmentally friendly manner. That means that a lawn's condition is an exquisitely sensitive signal of a homeowner's level of investment. A Hoax perpetrated by the Commies. Photo courtesy of Wolfie. And the EPA has good advice, too–on watering, pesticides, and fertilizer. This spring, think about pulling up some of that grass, especially along the sides of your home and in the front yard. FOLLOW US. Copyright The Bard CEP Eco Reader. 2. The lawn is thought to have originated in Europe, which makes sense because the moist, mild climate supports open, close-cut grasslands. This ignores many benefits, including cooling, oxygenation, dust control, storm water control and play areas, not to mention aesthetics. The official blog of the Bard Center for Environmental Policy, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window). Response 1 of 12: Get off of my lawn! An immaculate front lawn can fall into disrepair with only a few days' worth of neglect. However, because many scientific researchers miss out on the social dimensions of things, they often have no idea how to offer steps for practical advancements. Are we prepared for elementary schools with nothing but asphalt or dirt? Even more so if the lawn is located in drought regions where water is far better spent elsewhere. Americans do love their lawns. the writer assumes that lawns are nothing but a waste of fertilizer, chemicals and especially water. Xeriscaping is the practice of landscaping with slow-growing, drought tolerant plants to conserve water and reduce yard trimmings. The manicured lawn is an extension of their McMansion, which is also a parellel extension of their luxury car collection (Always parked outdoors, never garaged! Find out how people are designing an end to the toxic yard and bringing new models to life. Robbins, Paul, Sharp, Julie T. “Producing and Consuming Chemicals: The Moral Economy of the American lawn.” Economic Geography (2003) Vol. this is what a landscaper, who has been in the business for 22 yrs full time said to me. A lawn supports very few species, how many birds do you see in the trees around the lawn and how many on the lawn. Let's ask ourselves: what new social convention could stably signal investment in the community without requiring massive amounts of water and chemicals? If they can have it done once a week then so can we.” In other words, it’s all about status not practicality. It takes energy, time, commitment, and resources to keep a lawn looking healthy (as any exasperated homeowner can confirm). Yes, I tend to think it is. It’s Noisy. They strap on noisy diesel-powered backpack gear to blow a handful of leaves around. If you were to run a correlation analysis on data gathered from 1,000 suburban American homes, I'm willing to bet that you'd find a good-sized relationship between (1) homes with decrepit front lawns and (2) homeowners with lower-than-average levels of general community contribution. Within societies, liberals and highly educated people are even WEIRDer than conservatives and the less educated - a gap that contributes to ideological misunderstandings. I can understand that kind of thing, but in fact the grass need not be green to function in this manner. And that’s a pretty bold statement to make when you consider Tesla is solely responsible for launching the electric car revolution. Third, entire communities would have to agree to give up lawns at once. And seems particularly wasteful in consideration of drought plagued places, like … Rituals like obsessive lawn care aren't good or bad - they're just how the vast bulk of human communication happens. But when it comes to nature, they are biodiversity deserts. They are, after all, White folks. Ever hear of buying a cannon to swat a fly? Ignore or refuse to acknowledge them, and all the research and findings in the world will get us nowhere. The recent downgrade in the forecast for the flow of water in the Colorado River should be a death punch to the proposal to build a new pipeline out of Lake Powell. 17 million gallons of gas are spilled each year refueling lawn and garden equipment – more oil than was spilled by the Exxon Valdez. Advertising keep the information short and simple for people to understand and make a decision about it. Bee and wildflowers. In addition to technical, social and political conditions it … Idiot American are programmed to believe that it represents prosperity, cleanliness, and who-knows-what-else. We plant lawns for several reasons, and one might be to furnish a nice ground cover on which children may play. Run-off pollution can result in excess algal growth, fish kills, reduced tourism, impaired drinking water, and more. Photo courtesy of Ed Schipul. In addition to groundwater contamination, spilled fuel that evaporates into … Response 1 of 12: Get off of my lawn! Most of this water is also wasted due to poor timing and application. People would tell me when we're interview them, "You know what's going on inside a house by what you see outside the house.". EDITORIAL: Using Lake Powell to keep lawns green in Utah would be a waste of resources. These chemicals not only harm the things you’re after, they can be toxic to people and other animals. Add your voice! There is nothing there for them. Your email address will not be published. Washington and Jefferson, of course, had lawns. But when it comes to nature, they are biodiversity deserts. Relaxing your aesthetic and letting your yard fill up with weeds will just make your neighbors decide that you're a lazy bum. Las Vegas Sun. Glass, plastic, paper, cardboard, tyres, electronics, batteries, construction materials, food and garden waste are all waste items containing value in the form of energy and resources. Lawns & Water Pollution The Issue: Run-off pollution occurs with each rainfall and snowmelt when water flows over land picking up soil and pollutants and depositing them in streams, ponds, wetlands, lakes, and rivers. As Sarah Baker of Alexandria, Ohio, notes in her essay, lawns are a big part of contemporary American life. So waiting it on a lawn is a complete waste of money. It pumps fumes around. Water costs money and is a very precious resource, especially in hot dry climates. It is environmentally and economically costly. The National Gardening Association estimates that homeowners use over 125 million pounds of pesticides to kill grubs, ants, and other insects, and herbicides to kill those pesky dandelions, per year. Well, habit, for one. Relax your aesthetic and appreciate the diversity. `` her essay, lawns perform a social signaling function notes... Forms of cooperative investment often without a second guy behind him riding backup! 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