Stop Watering Your Lawn

It’s 2024, and the summer heat is more intense than ever. Yet, people still waste water on green lawns. Seriously, why? Green lawns don’t contribute to anything beneficial. They waste water, harm the environment, and frankly, no one really cares about them anymore.

The Cost of Green Lawns

In the U.S., lawn irrigation accounts for nearly one-third of all residential water use—about 9 billion gallons a day! This is a big problem in places like the southwestern U.S., where water is scarce.

But water waste isn’t the only issue. Lawn maintenance often involves pesticides and fertilizers. These chemicals pollute local waterways and harm aquatic ecosystems. Plus, mowing lawns with gas-powered equipment releases greenhouse gases. It's estimated that Americans use around 800 million gallons of gasoline each year just to keep their lawns green. This not only depletes fossil fuel resources but also contributes to air pollution and climate change.

Grass lawns are biodiversity deserts. They offer little to no habitat for native species. This leads to declines in insect populations, including essential pollinators like bees and butterflies. Without these insects, plant reproduction and food production suffer.

Grass lawns are typically monocultures. This lack of plant diversity reduces ecosystem resilience, making them more vulnerable to pests, diseases, and climate change.

I’ve had my own greenhouse garden for over five years now. Growing my leafy vegetables and fruits has been a life changer. My garden is all-natural, with banana trees growing wild in my backyard. I have hummingbirds that come to feed on the array of flowers I planted just for them. It’s beautiful, beneficial, and way more satisfying than a plain grass lawn.

Replacing grass lawns with native plants can have profound environmental benefits. Native plants need less water and support local wildlife, contributing to healthier ecosystems. If half of American lawns were replaced with native plants, we could create a 20-million-acre national park—nine times larger than Yellowstone National Park!

After World War II, the rise of suburbia and the G.I. Bill made homeownership a reality for many Americans, with manicured lawns symbolizing success and the American dream. Inspired by English aristocrats but adapted to American egalitarian ideals, green lawns became a status symbol of prosperity and respectability. However, this idea is outdated and harmful. Today, with climate change and water scarcity, the perfect lawn no longer represents success but rather an environmental liability. It's time to redefine our landscapes with native plants that support biodiversity and sustainability.

Hollywood and the entertainment industry often depict the quintessential American home with a perfectly manicured green lawn. This idealization influences public perceptions and aspirations. But we need to redefine what it means to have an attractive yard.

Stop watering your lawn. Especially with the intense heat of this summer, wasting water on a green lawn that no one cares about is ridiculous. Your lawn can be a home for biodiversity and insects. You could grow food and use that water for something useful. Or simply don’t cut your lawns as often. Save yourself and the environment the trouble.

In other news:

AI is Taking Jobs in the Gaming Industry

A WIRED investigation reveals that major players like Activision Blizzard are increasingly replacing jobs with AI, causing significant anxiety among video game industry workers. The company has been using generative AI tools like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion for concept art, leading to layoffs and a shift towards AI-driven job roles. This move has left many artists and developers fearing for their livelihoods as AI begins to take over tasks traditionally done by humans.

Despite not always receiving the same level of attention as the film and celebrity industries, the video game industry is a massive economic force worth nearly $200 billion. The rising use of AI could trigger another major industry strike as workers demand control over AI’s role in their jobs. The fear of widespread job loss and the devaluation of human creativity are driving a push for unionization and greater worker rights in an industry that already faces numerous challenges.

What are your thoughts?