The American Dream The Evolution of Lawns & Its Environmental Impact

Lawns Prior to the 18th Century  Typically packed dirt  Cottage garden  mix of flowers, herbs, and vegetables

Lawns During the Late 18th Century  Inspired by the lawns of the English  Weed free  Cattle used “to mow” the lawn  Well-kept lawn symbolized  Disposable wealth  Ability to appreciate the finer things in life  Status

Early 1900’s  US Dept of Agriculture, US Golf Association, & Garden Clubs of America  Collaborated to find the right combination of grasses

Elements of a Traditional Lawn  Predominance of turf grass  One large shade tree  Hedge of foundation shrubs  Annual plants such as pansies for color

Traditional Lawns Need  Water  Pesticides  Fertilizers  Maintenance

Application of Commercial Fertilizers  3,000,000 tons of the fertilizers  Estimated 60% of nitrogen applied to lawns ends up in groundwater  Contamination of the ground water  Contribution to air pollution  Fossil fuels burned in their production and distribution

Expenditure of Fossil Fuels  580 million gallons of gas are used annually for power mowers alone.  Lawn care equipment is equivalent to the emissions produced by 3.5 million 1991 automobiles driven 16,000 miles each.

Increased Use of Pesticides  Up to 40% of the pesticides applied in urban and suburban environments.  $700 million spent on pesticides for American lawn care  Including both herbicides and insecticides  Reduce lawn area and living with "weeds,”  Herbicide use can be eliminated.

Solid Waste  US generates over 160 million tons of solid waste annually.  2nd largest component of the solid waste stream is yard waste  3/4 is grass clippings  Clippings don’t need to be removed.  Nitrogen removed

Water Consumption  American lawn requires large amounts of water.  Inefficient water use  Removing grass clippings exposes the soil to heat and the air drying it out faster.  Short, well manicured lawns  Does not have an effect of shading the soil  More rapid water loss  Shorter root system  Unable to tap into sources of water that are deeper in the soil  Urban East Coast areas, 30% of the water used is devoted to lawn care.

Loss of Biodiversity  Monoculture of grass  Landscaping plants/grass species can be invasive  Among the dozen or so main grasses that make up the American lawn  Almost none are native to America  Kentucky bluegrass comes from Europe & northern Asia  Bermuda grass from Africa  Zoysia grass from East Asia