the american dream the evolution of lawns its environmental impact
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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 StatusTRANSCRIPT
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The American Dream
The Evolution of Lawns&Its Environmental Impact
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Lawns Prior to the 18th Century Typically packed dirt Cottage garden
mix of flowers, herbs, and vegetables
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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
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Early 1900’s US Dept of Agriculture, US Golf
Association, & Garden Clubs of America Collaborated to find the right combination of
grasses
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Elements of a Traditional Lawn Predominance of turf grass One large shade tree Hedge of foundation shrubs Annual plants such as pansies for color
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Traditional Lawns Need Water Pesticides Fertilizers Maintenance
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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