Book Review; Redesigning The American Lawn

There is an estimated 58 million Americans who are actively planting, weeding, watering, spraying and mowing over 20 million acres of lawn. We are the only country that does so with such gusto. If you are interested in taking steps to reduce pollution in your own back yard, read “Redesigning the American Lawn”, by F. Herbert Bormann, Diana Balmori, Gordon T Geballe and Lisa Vernegaard,published by Yale University Press. In the book they state that the lawn may be an ecological anachronism, arguing that we must rethink the way we care for our lawns. We must be able to demonstrate that these small pieces of the environment can show our commitment to a more ecologically sound world.

The authors bring out the facts to support their idea that the American dream of a beautifully manicured lawn is a major contributor to the serious environmental problem that is facing our planet. The book offers strategies for creating and caring for aesthetically pleasing and ecologically sound lawns.

The authors go into the history of lawns and why they are so popular. They also outline how the current design of lawns and trying to make them a creation of beauty is taking a high toll on our environment. Power lawn mowers have been shown to be a significant contributor to local air pollution and they are having a significant impact on our climate. Excess fertilizers and pesticides are washing off the lawns into our wells, streams, lakes and primary water supplies. Grass clippings are being bagged, and hauled away by environmentally unfriendly trucks, to landfills. There they are contributing to the solid waste problem. The watering of lawns is depleting our scarce water supply.

The authors of “Redesigning the American Lawn” offer several solutions on how to have an environmentally sound lawn. Top solution is to use less of the lawn supplements we are currently using. They also suggest the use of ecological varieties of grasses, the substitution of hand mowers for power mowers, and the use of grass clippings to fertilize the lawns. Many grasses that are available today are slower growing and require less mowing, thus reducing air pollution.

Edward O. Wilson, Baird Professor of Science from Harvard University is quoted as saying,” "Redesigning the American Lawn", is a considerable achievement: A manual for improving a large part of the American environment while reducing pollution, saving Americans a large amount of money and beautifying the landscape.”

There is a movement afoot to encourage Americans to have “Freedom Lawns”. The definition of a freedom lawn from the Double-Tongued Dictionary is: n. residential land permitted to or designed to contain a variety of plants other than manicured grass, especially when containing plant life that occurs without cultivation, chemicals or cutting.” Freedom lawns are much more ecologically sound than conventional lawns, and should be the lawns of the future.

Gas powered lawnmowers, leaf blowers and vacuums, snow blowers, chain saws, and other outdoor power tools are a major source of air pollution. Power tools such as these emit a high level of carbon monoxide. Until now, manufacturers of these tools were not concerned with controlling emissions, nor were they required to have any standards. As a result they are a major source of pollution. Until cleaner technology is available, there are ways to reduce air pollution.

1. Avoid spilling gasoline. Use extreme care when filling these gasoline powered tools.
2. Keep the equipment in good operating condition. Use the proper fuel/oil mixture and keep the air filters clean.
3. Consider changing over to less polluting models using electricity, propane or solar.
4. Using manual tools is the least polluting tools available. Switching to a push mower will eliminate all the air pollution associated with a gas powered mower.
5. Recycle your old lawn mower instead of throwing it in the trash. Many of the parts can be reused to manufacturer cleaner products.