19/08/2009

Coming Soon:
The Death of the American Lawn (???)

August 19 t h , 2009

Published on wowOwow
http://www.wowowow.com

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D ID YOU K NOW ?

• Acre for acre, the American lawn receives four times as much chemical pes-
ticide as any U.S. farmland. [ W R O N G ! ]
• An estimated seven million birds are killed yearly in the U.S. by lawn–care
pesticides. [ W R O N G ! ]
• Phosphorus runoff from lawn fertilizer causes algae blooms that suck oxy-
gen out of our waterways, killing all aquatic life. [ W R O N G ! ]
• In the summer, over half of municipal water usage goes to lawns. [ W R O N G ! ]
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ADDICTED TO G REEN [ A C C O R D IN G TO E N V IR O –M A N IA C S ! ]

So who’s to blame for all this ? The American love of lawns began with wealthy
homeowners copying the look of English estates and spread to middle–class
communities after World War II. [ W R O N G ! N O R TH A M ER IC A N HO M ES W ER E «
D U M P SITES ». T H E IN S TA LLA TIO N O F LA W N S W A S A M EA N S O F BEA U TIFY IN G TH E
EN V IR O N M EN T . S A D LY , E N V IR O –M A N IA C S PR EFER « J U N K LA W N S » ! ]

(In the new town of Levittown, NY, residents were encouraged to apply fertilizer
a remarkable five to six times a year because super–green lawns "stamp in-
habitants as g ood neighbors , desirable citizens.") [ B IG D EA L ! ]

But more than anything, it was the invention of the power mower and widespread
advertising for perfect lawns that sealed a new ethic of the American lawn for dec-
ades to come. [ W O R S T ! W E HA V E THE W ID ESPR EA D « A D V ER TISIN G » O F P O LI -
TIC IZED S C IEN C E BY E N V IR O –M A N IA C S TH A T HA V E A BSO LU TE LY N O C O M PETEN C E
TO GIV E A D V IC E O N THE PR O FESS IO N A L M A I N TEN A N C E O F TU R F ! ]

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Proof of the power of marketing (and of the malleability of the American con-
sumer) is the fate of clover. [ I T SHO U LD BE N O TED THA T SO M E E N V IR O NM EN TA L
T ER R OR O R GA N IZA TIO N S HA V E IN V ES TED FIN A N C IA LLY IN C LO V ER A S A LA W N
SEED ! M A N Y E N V IR O –M A N IA C S A R E SIM PLY GR EED Y SA LESM EN THA T R EPR ESEN T
THE IR O W N LIN E O F PR O D U C TS BE FO R E A N U N SU SPEC TIN G PU B LIC ! ]

While it had previously been routinely included in grass seed mixes for its ni-
trogen–fixing properties, [ W R O N G ! T U R F DOES NOT BEN EFI T FR O M TH E N I TR O -
GEN – F IX IN G A BI LI TY O F C LO V ER ! T HI S I S A MYTH ! ] when it was discovered
that the new herbicide 2,4–D killed clover along with crabgrass, [ W R O N G !
2,4–D D O ES N O T A FFEC T C R A B GR A SS ! ] advertisers simply rebranded clover as a
weed — and it worked ! [ B O O H O O ! C LO V ER IS A N U N SIG H TLY W EED ! ]

Advertising has also convinced us that lawns need to be fed in the spring to
"green them up," despite research proving that fast–acting fertilizers kill
beneficial microorganisms in the soil [ W R O N G ! ] and make lawns less
drought–tolerant. [ W R O N G ! ] [ C LEA R LY , THIS PER SO N D O ES N O T HA V E A C LU E
A BO U T PR O FES SIO N A L LA W N C A R E MA IN TEN A N C E ! ]
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T HE N EW ANTI –L AWN M OVEMENT [ S PO N SO R ED BY M A N IA C S ! ]

The anti–lawn drumbeat started with local campaigns against gas mowers and
gained momentum in 1991 when bestselling author Mic hael Polla n wrote an
indictment of lawns in his book Second Nature, and declared in The New York
Times that the lawn is a "symbol of everything t hat’s w rong wit h our re-
lationship t o the land." [ C LEA R LY , THIS GU Y IS A N O TH ER E N V IR O –M A N IA C ,
A N D C ON SEQ U EN TLY , C A N N O T BE TR U S TED , O R TA K EN SER IO U S LY ! ]

In academia, Cornell’s "Tu rf Guy" Frank Rossi is leading the charge

[ W R O N G ! ] against [ SO – C A LLED ] over–fertilization, among other ills of the
corporate lawn–care regime. He writes, "We need to give up ou r pe rfect–
lawn ideal — it’s c osting the U.S. plenty." [ R O SSI IS NOT A SPO KES-
M A N FO R THE G R EEN S PA C E I N D U STR Y ! N O R IS H E A R EC O GN IZED TU R F F ER TI L-
IZER EX PER T ! H E IS M ER E LY A N IN S TR U C TO R A T A SC HO O L ! ]

So how about [ ] government action ?

EN V IR O – TER R O R [ Y ES ! E N V IR O –
M A N IA C S A N D THEIR EN V IR O N M EN TA L TE R R OR GR O U PS ... IN TIM ID A TIN G GO V -
3 of 9.
ER N M EN T O FFIC IA LS IN TO C O N SPIR IN G TO PR O HIB I T LEGAL, S AFE, A N D TO-
TALLY IRREPLACE ABLE PES T C O N TR O L PR O D U C TS ! T HA T IS TH E D EF IN I TIO N
O F E N V IR O –T ERR OR –G O V ER NM EN T –A C TIO N ! ]

Not waiting for the industry to reform itself, [ R EFO R M W A S N O T N EED ED , EX C EP T

FR O M THE PO IN T – O F – V I EW O F MA LIC IO U S E N V IR O –T ERR OR ISTS ! ] Madison, WI,
and 70 towns in Canada, including Toronto, have banned phosphorus in lawn
fertilizer. [ THE N EED LESS PR O H IBI TIO N O F FER TI LIZER IS A N O THER EX A M PLE O F
ENVIRONMENT AL TERRORISM BA SED U PO N POLITICIZED SCIENCE ! ]

Five Canadian provinces have banned the use of all pesticides for ornamental
purposes, including residential lawns, and the big–box stores have even re-
moved them from their stores countrywide. [ W R O N G ! ONLY T WO PR O V IN C ES
HA V E C O N SPIR ED TO PR O HI BI T LEGAL, S AFE, A N D IRREPLACE ABLE PE S T C O N -
TR O L PR O D U C TS W I TH ENVIRONMENT AL TERROR GROUPS ! B O TH PR O HI BI -
TIO N S W ILL BE C HA LLEN GED IN C O U R T ! T HO SE C U LPR I TS W HO W ER E IN V O LV ED IN
THI S M A LIC IO U S C O N SPIR A C Y W ILL LI KE LY BE FO R C ED TO PA Y M ILLIO N S O F D O L-
LA R S IN D A M A GES A N D PEN A LTI ES ! I N C LU D IN G THE E N V IR O N M EN TA L T ER R O R
O R GA N IZA TIO N S A N D TH E C U LPR I TS W HO O PER A TE THEM !]
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Of greater threat to the conventional (perfect) American lawn are increasing wa-
ter shortages due to climate change. [ W R O N G ! C LIM A TE C HA N G E IS A N AL-
LEGED THR EA T . E N V IR O –M A N IA C S LI KE T O SPR EA D FEA R A N D TER R O R BY TR Y IN G
TO FA LSE LY R E LA TE SO – C A LLED C LIM A TE C HA N GE W I TH LA W N M A IN TEN A N C E ! ]

Thirteen states now impose water restrictions and another 13 are predicted to
impose them within the next five years. [ T HE R ES TR IC TIO N S A R E NOT J U S T D I-
R EC TED TO W A R D S LA W N M A IN TEN A N C E ! ]

Lower–input alternatives like Buffalo grass and "No–Mow" grasses are coming
on the market, and artificial turf is more popular than ever. [ W R O N G ! ]

Expect to hear lots more about this hot topic in the coming months and years.
[ W R O N G ! W E W I LL BE HEA R IN G M O R E A BO U T I T FR O M E N V IRO –M A N IA C SO UR C ES
O F IN FO R M A TIO N , A N D NO T FR O M C R ED IBLE SO U R C ES O F SOUND SCIENCE ! ]

All contents copyright © 2009 The Women on the Net Inc. All rights reserved. 4 of 9.

[ « W O M EN O N THE N E T . » C LEA R LY , A WO R LD – R EN O W N ED A ND CR ED IBLE SC IEN -

TIFIC M A GA ZIN E , W ITH A U THO R S PO SSESS IN G PR O V EN C R ED EN TIA LS IN PR O FES-
SIO N A L LA W N C A R E M A IN TEN A N C E !]

Source URL : http://www.wowowow.com/entertai nment/comi ng–soon–

death–america n–law n–329908

E D ITO R ’ S N O TE : S U SA N H AR R IS IS A GA RD EN IN G C O A C H A ND [ EN V IR O – M A N IAC ]
A C TIV IS T FO R U R BA N A N D SU BU R BA N GR EEN IN G . Y O U C A N R EA D MO R E O F H A R R IS
O N HER B LO GS G A R D EN R A N T A N D S U STA IN A B LE G A R D EN IN G B LO G . S H E C U R -
R EN TLY LIV E S A N D GA R D EN S IN T A KO MA P A R K , MD, A SU BU R B O F W A SH IN G TO N ,
DC.

[ T HIS PER SO N HA S N O R EC O GN IZ ED C R ED EN TIA LS IN PR A C TIC A L PR O FESSIO N A L

TU R F M A IN TEN A N C E !]
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