I’m Done Mowing My Lawn

New York Times - April 2019

Americans are devoted to their lawns, planting enough sod to cover the state of Florida, making turf grass the largest irrigated crop in the country. To keep the grass green, some of us pump our landscapes full of pesticides, chemicals that potentially harm our children, pets, and waterways. We use 7 billion gallons of water a day on our yards, wasting half of it to run off, over-watering and evaporation.

A front lawn is a great place to grow a vegetable garden. 

And those gas-powered mowers, edgers, and leaf blowers spew millions of tons of pollutants into the air, fine particulate matter that we inhale as we work to keep our lawns looking pretty. All that hard work does little to attract the bees, butterflies, and birds that prefer a different kind of habitat. “You might as well have AstroTurf when it comes to the value of lawns to birds and butterflies,” said David Mizejewski, a naturalist at the National Wildlife Federation. 

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