Precaution ... the better part of valor

My parents’ modest turf and my grandmother’s extensive lawn were not enough. As a teen, interested in pocket change, I also mowed my uncle’s massive meadows. In the early 60’s, lawns had really come into vogue, and I did a lot of mowing. I was well on my way to becoming a “lawn ranger.”

Lawns have a number of practical advantages. They provide a place for lawn furniture, an area to entertain guests, access from one part of a yard to another, a lane of visibility, a place to play badminton… but that’s pretty much it. There is no real need to mow vast areas.

Interestingly, two very different points of view toward the world can be revealed in both the extent and content of lawn. On the one hand, there is a less intense “organic” approach in which we take advantage of biotic diversity, and pretty much ‘go with the flow.’ I prided myself in the neat edges left around Gramma’s large garden, and the trim appearance of my parents’ yard. But those lawns were not just grass; they were loaded with broadleaf plants: clovers, plantains, dandelions, and a plethora of plants that defied identification. These flowers, grasses, and weeds were fine, and easily mowed. Although dandelions could be assertive in spring, with enough competition, they could not be overly aggressive.

The more diverse a community, the more resilient, whether it be an ecosystem, human community, or lawn. Natural lawns always looked great, no need for chemical additives. Even moles are not a problem. Those little hunting tunnels can easily be stepped down. Being meat eaters, moles are simply hunting for lawn grubs, yellow jacket larvae, and worms. Being territorial, they don’t tolerate other moles hanging around hunting in their football-field sized territory. In other words, moles keep other moles out of your yard. Mole hill soil can be added to a flower bed or compost pile.

The other point of view is tyrannical, as Michael Pollan put it, in ‘Second Nature,’ “Lawn is nature under totalitarian rule.” An all-grass monoculture amounts to an ecological empty facade. This requires a great deal of effort and expense, since countless plants naturally try to stabilize areas of disturbance. There are numerous chemical products developed to wage war against the healing role of nature. Another problem with poisons is they don’t know when to stop. We, along with wildlife, become collateral damage.

We have not followed “The Precautionary Principle,” which states basically that if there is risk suspected in some action, the burden of proof, that it is not harmful, falls on those taking the act. Some people became convinced that a perfect sterile monotonous manicured look was worth the inherent risk of spraying toxic chemicals. This is no doubt thanks to the lawn chemical and golf businesses. Such notable golfers as Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus even sold mowers in advertisements. In a ‘perfect’ lawn, no flora or fauna should foul the flattened flawless featureless form. Some people’s sense of home landscape aesthetics began to emulate the golf green, and many homeowners bought into the notion that toxic sprays were a good idea.

It’s been remarkably successful. All told, from municipal lawns, to athletic fields, to park areas, there are now about 40.5 million acres of lawn in America costing some 30 billion dollars annually to maintain. Turf grass takes up more than half of municipal water in many areas. 50 million lawn mowers drone over this grass using up some 800 million gallons of gasoline each year. 17 million gallons of gas are spilled annually refilling lawn mowers (Exxon Valdeze spilled 10.8 million). Each year 3 million tons of fertilizer are added to lawns.

The average homeowner uses ten times the pesticides on an acre of lawn as the average farmer does on an acre of cropland (totaling over 30 thousand tons of toxins annually). There are 32 pesticides routinely used by lawn care companies, which now spray around 26 million homes in the U.S. Among the chemicals spread over lawns: 53% are ‘suspected’ carcinogens; 41% contain ingredients banned in other countries; 22% contain ‘suspected’ reproductive toxins. 13% are ‘suspected’ endocrine disrupters. 100% pose threats to the environment… water supplies, aquatic organisms, and non target species.

Those who use lawn chemicals could impact their own families, increasing odds for childhood leukemia, brain cancer, and soft tissue sarcoma. Even inert ingredients in lawn chemicals can be toxic, contributing to such things as central nervous system disorders, liver and kidney damage, and birth defects.

In New York, lawn care chemicals were found to be among the most common causes of death among birds tested for West Nile. The U.S. Geological Survey has discovered lawn care chemicals in 96% of fish tested. Declines in amphibians and pollinating insects have now been linked to common pesticides.

We are poisoning water. 100% of all major rivers and surface waters tested contain one or more pesticides at detectable levels. The list of problems associated with chemicals is extensive and growing. Remember most of these chemicals didn’t even exist a century ago.

The safety of children should be everyone’s priority. When our daughter and son were small, we used to travel and visit playgrounds, museums, botanical gardens, nature centers, and zoos. If we didn’t see dandelions and clover in the lawn, we would get back in the car and leave.

The bottom line: to make your lawn safe for yourself, children, pets, and wildlife, avoid toxic chemicals. Seeding Dutch white clover into lawn can inhibit less desirable plants. Cut back on air pollution by using a push type reel mower. Convert parts of your lawn into mulch beds with various perennials, annuals, shrubs, and trees. Let small unobtrusive areas remain wild to enhance backyard habitat.

For more information:

http://www.safe-lawns.com/ and http://www.wildones.org/

http://www.ehMy parents’ modest turf and my grandmother’s extensive lawn were not enough. As a teen, interested in pocket change, I also mowed my uncle’s massive meadows. In the early 60’s, lawns had really come into vogue, and I did a lot of mowing. I was well on my way to becoming a “lawn ranger.”