People need to quit focusing so much on their stupid lawns.

[Kurska]

The era of having a lush green lawn that soaks up gallon after gallon is over. We can only really have 2 of 3 of these, water for people, water for crops and water for lawns. I can't be the only one pissed when homeowners start talking about how agriculture needs to cut back.

GRASS LAWNS SERVE NO FUNCTIONAL PURPOSE.

When times are as rough as they are now in terms of water, the non-functional is the first thing to go. Climate change is only going to make food prices go up. We need to converse as much water as possible for agriculture as the amount of arable land decreases.

[Behind the Aegis]

1. The only time we water our lawn is when we are under a fire threat.

Even then, it is very limited. If I could rip it up and put in something that was as nice I'd do it in a minute. No weeds, no moles, no cutting, no allergic reactions.

[JustAnotherGen]

41. Look into buffalo grass

Our house had it in the backyard - and my husband wants to rip up the water sucking can't take the heat grass in the front and side of the house (we have a corner lot) and put the buffalo in.

Yeah - - it's really brown and ugly right now (starts hibernating in NJ in mid/late september) but like - you don't need to water the stuff or mow it as much. Very sturdy and pretty without sucking up water and gas/electric (lawn mow it less). And I don't remember 'why' - but it doesn't need the fertilizing as much. We didn't get a lot of weeds out back either - I'd just dig up some of the crab grass by hand.

[Scootaloo]

2. it feels wrong to agree with you Kurska

so let me preface; you're absolutely wrong about SOMETHING and ought to feel terrible for that. There, now i feel better

But you're completely right on this one; people need to wrap their heads around the fact that most ofthis country cannot support the "Midland english meadow" look. Communities need to seriously start encouraging xeriscaping; tax breaks, or even some small subsidy for converting to native flora.

[MrMickeysMom]

44. xeriscaping… Thanks for spelling it correctly for me...

Actually, I changed our front lawn in the 90's TO xeriscaping (when the homeowner association ass hats gave you grief for that sort of thing). For crying out loud, we lived in central Fla then. Then, we lived 3 years in Texas, where you had to water your foundation with a soak hose, or you'd crack the corners of your home's interior frame. That was bizarre.

Returning to the North, I think we live in the sweet spot, where nature waters the lawn area, and I've quit using anything on it but adjustment of how high the grass grows.

I think xeriscaping is the way to go from conventional sterile and manicured look. My motto… "eat your back yard".

[Art_from_Ark]

3. Grass lawns actually do serve a purpose

For one thing, on hot summer days, they help to reduce the heat island effect.

http://www.epa.gov/heatisland/about/index.htm

[msongs]

4. and suitable place for kids to play. playing in the cactus patch is not fun n t

[Art_from_Ark]

6. Or on pavement

I was totally taken aback the first time I saw a paved schoolyard.

[pipi_k]

51. That's the only thing

I ever played on as a kid. Paved schoolyard. Except for under the monkey bars and swings, which were dirt or sand.

(I grew up in the 50s and 60s)

[Art_from_Ark]

70. My schoolyard/playground (1960s) was grass

Native grass, not turf.

I just can't imagine a paved schoolyard. It just boggles my mind, for any number of reasons.

[Blanks]

35. Yes, but there are thirstier grasses...

Thus the comment above about native species. There shouldn't be a problem with letting the grass turn brown during the dry spells. All lawns shouldn't have to be pure green all the time.

If we can't completely eliminate the watering of lawns; we can do better.

[Art_from_Ark]

40. I don't disagree with that

But I can understand why people want green lawns in places where summers are unbearably hot.

But personally speaking, I don't think I would want to live in a place where water was a constant concern.

[KittyWampus]

60. ground covers like myrtle or pachysandra would do same.

[we can do it]

112. Ground covers do the same and don't require the waste of water.

And the use of fertilizers and other toxic crap.

[Warren DeMontague]

5. Some of it depends where you live.

For us, it's not so much about keeping the thing from turning brown, it's more that there's so much rain it wants to turn into moss.

But somewhere like California? Yeah, at this point it is time to convert to hardscaping, which can look pretty nice if done right.

[JDPriestly]

10. Drought resistant gardens are the rule in my area of Los Angeles.

Lawns are mostly in the wealthier areas. That is going to be a problem. But as I say below, the real problem is the loss of wild life due to the drought. It's really sad to see ducks wading in a couple of inches of water looking for food, lapping up what water they can find. It's just so sad. If you saw the wild life struggling to find water, you would understand that telling people to stop watering lawns is rather insensitive and irrelevant.

[Warren DeMontague]

18. I agree with you about desalination.

California needs bigger answers than "dont water your lawn". My point about hardscaping was more, like, man I know how much water COSTS down there. And a good decorative rock or, as you say, succulent yard can look good.

[JDPriestly]

89. The time to plant is in the fall here.

I hate to think what August will be like this year.

I am trying to nurse a little lemon tree into adulthood. I think that if almond growers can pump water into their trees, I should be able to use enough water to keep my avocado and lemon and pomegranate trees alive. They don't really use that much water. And they give us shade.

[Major Nikon]

34. It also depends on where the water comes from

Here in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, municipal water comes from reservoirs. If you are irrigating your lawn via a private well, you aren't affecting the water supply.

[Warren DeMontague]

36. Yeah, that makes sense, too.

I'm not sure it's a one-size-fits-all situation.

[2naSalit]

49. Actually

you are depleting the water supply even if it comes from a private well. Still comes from a regional aquifer even if your little private access to it is solely owned by you.

http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1139/

https://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthgwaquifer.html

[pipi_k]

52. Hah, not where I live!

I'm rural. The entire hill/mini-mountain I live on is a gigantic sponge. It's full of natural springs and parts of the hill are sopping wet even in the middle of summer.

I feel so fortunate to be off the city grid as far as water and septic/sewer stuff goes.

[Major Nikon]

56. Water in my area does not come from an aquifer

Pumping water from the ground that's below the level of a reservoir is not going to effect the amount of water in that reservoir. Water does not flow uphill.

[jberryhill]

55. And where it goes....

If you live uphill from a flood prone area, then another issue is runoff.

[hollysmom]

7. I never water my lawn

it has to be tough enough to survive a drought. I have occasionally watered the great oaks - don't want any of them to come down. , and it is not always so, I have sections of wildflowers and perennial gardens of natural shrubs and flowers native to my area. I need to get more paving blocks for more paths through the gardens what is left of the lawn.

If I did not have a front lawn, it is required by the town.

[Revanchist]

11. does it have to be real grass?

If I lived in a high-drought area and forced to have a front lawn, I would seriously consider artificial grass.

[RKP5637]

29. It makes sense to me, certainly far better IMO than the rocks, looks like

a gravel pit, and then the weeds come up between the rocks, so then they spray it with endless gallons of Roundup. Yuck!

[hollysmom]

53. I don't live in a high drought area, we have occasional droughts and my grass survives

although it may not look all that great, I am not happy to see people watering their lawns every day, even in the rain. That is just stupid. As I said, I do rarely and not for years, have watered my vegetables (rarely is the key) and maybe once or twice the shrubs and the oaks a bit.

The last time there was restricted water here, about 20 years ago, I took my laundry water and ran a line out of the basement to water the plants and a bit of the lawn that was in the sun - the oaks shade and reduce the need to water the lawn. I should have added I live in deep shade and my veggies are grown in pots on the dec, the sunny area.

[JDPriestly]

90. It would be hard to think of an artificial lawn because when it does rain, I want earth and plants

that will let the water into the earth and not just cause the water to run off. So it isn't so much the plastic or fabric green part that is the problem but rather what the webbing fabric is under it that might be impermeable to the natural water that needs to flow into the ground. Also I would be concerned about chemical run-off from the materials in the grass. These may not really be problems, but I would want to know about them.

The artificial grass would serve to keep the soil intact (prevent it from turning to dust, hopefully) and would retain some moisture under it. So those are positive aspects of using artificial grass.

But I would need to know a lot about it. I have seen it on some lawns in more affluent areas.

[Downwinder]

8. Grow eatables.

[JDPriestly]

9. I am in California. I and many of my neighbors have succulents in the

front yard. In the back yard I grow vegetables in pots.

The sad things are our trees. They need water. And they are our shade. If we don't have trees, we will have to air condition our house at great cost to the environment -- the use of energy you know.

But the saddest thing is the cost of our drought to the wild life in our area. When I water my pots and my succulents, the birds go wild.

You see it is easy to say no grass for the sake of humans, but it very hard on a duck to go to what was its pond or its arroyo or creek and find no water there. Also hard for other animals.

The answer is not in cutting back on water use although we are doing that and have done an amazing job of it in California. (I have even cut back on bath and shower water and I collect all run off water for watering my veggies.) We need to invest in desalinating water. The population of California is over 38,000,000 people. That is more than 10% of the American population. Conservation is a good idea but it will not solve the problem.

So thanks. But scolding is not the answer. We need to start desalinating water. Telling people to conserve water in California is like telling the homeless to save their money. It's really rather rude and insensitive. And it will only help so much. It really won't work.

[DetlefK]

20. Desalination is expensive.

It costs a lot of electricity.

And it will only postpone the problem: "No need to meter water-usage! We now have desalination-plants!"

[Adrahil]

23. How about solar powered desalination plants?

Having said that, the use of water for lawns is really a small slice of the overall water use picture.

However, I RARELY water the lawn here. There's usually no need,except when there is a drought. And it is necessary to keep the grass alive during a drought, or when the rain returns, the erosion will be terrible.

OTOH, if I lived in an arid region, I'd be using native plants... Nicely landscaped still, but in harmony with the local climate as much as possible. If you want a green lawn, move out of the desert.

[DetlefK]

25. Not for 30+ million people.

Solar power needs lots of area. And IIRC it takes one solar power plant to power a town of a few ten thousand households.


Sure, from a pure technical point-of-view it's feasible. No problem. The question is, how much investment in time, money and space would it take to build it.

[Adrahil]

27. With climate change this problem only gets worse.

Might as well deal with it now. Even if we reverse course on carbon emissions, this is what the future looks like. No sense in pretending otherwise. Build solar, wind turbines and tidal turnpbines for the desalination plants if necessary.

[JDPriestly]

92. Solar on our roofs that could feed into a central system would increase our solar capacity.

We have lots of solar capacity that is not used. That is because the solar has to be economically feasible for the house on which the panels are fitted. We are not set up to allow the feeding of excess electricity produced by one house to feed the needs of the entire city.

Our house is a good example. Lots of room on our roof. Lots of sun exposure. We could produce electricity with panels on our roof. But we personally -- just the two of us retired people -- do not at this point use enough electricity to justify putting up panels now. We will probably put them in when we have to replace our roof. If we could feed the extra electricity we could produce into the system to, let's say, help desalinate water in addition to provide energy for other purposes, we could afford to put the panels on our roof now.

Of course, the oil and gas industries, to say nothing of coal, would never want us to have an electric system that uses the resources in our area.

I say, if West Virginia has coal and wants to burn it and ruin the environment, maybe they should do that. But here in California, we don't mine much coal (if any) and we should be using what we have -- solar power -- to keep our economy rolling.

[vanlassie]

69. There is a problem in where to put the resulting SALT.

[DetlefK]

72. This is the least problem.

Get it to the New England states for thawing in winter... or ship it a 100 miles off-coast and drop it back into the sea.

Or refine it and turn it into edible salt.

[JDPriestly]

91. We have solar energy potential that is not tapped.

We are already conserving water. Conservation has its limits, and I am talking about water once we have reached the limit of reasonable conservation. We will need vast amounts of water in coming years if only for fighting the inevitable fires that will result from the drought as it kills plants and the dead plant matter catches fire.

[Retrograde]

88. We need to look at the problem nationwide

We need to look at growing some of our crops in other states (the midwest gets plenty of rain, it can take on some of the summer crop burden - oh wait, there's the corn lobby) since ultimately we're in this together. We need to encourage high-tech job growth in other urban regions so we're not crammed in cheek by jowl in the Bay Area while Rust Belt cities die. We need to realize that the US is a country of many varied climates and not expect every one to have their little 1/4 plot of lawn - and we need to go back to building housing that reflects the various climates.

[Blanks]

99. Aquaponics in green houses can be used anywhere...

And the north, while it has a shorter growing season, has longer days during the summer.

More can be grown and the excess canned. There's something that can be done in each region so that each is more food self sufficient.

[Spider Jerusalem]

12. Residential water use accounts for 10% of the total, in California.

Which is as much as is used for growing almonds, alone. Water-intensive crops like almonds, and beef and dairy cattle, are probably much more of a water problem than lawns; you also don't need to eat as much beef, or eat as much cheese, or eat almonds at all.

[pansypoo53219]

13. next to lake michigan. tho we don't water the lawn. it had dandelions for the bees & other weed

flowers. yeah. but we reduced the lawn, 2 elms that planted themselves. a much reduced pussy willow(used to be a magnificent 20 ft tree. used to just be lawn. put in a garden on the north side. eventually might get more trees. mini forest.

[Art_from_Ark]

15. There used to be an elm tree in my yard when I was a kid

but it succumbed to Dutch elm disease.

[DetlefK]

21. Oh please.

Seriously? Propping up an industry that nobody needs just so the jobs are upheld?

I was never a fan of that.

[Sherman A1]

59. Oh, Please.

Indeed...........

[treestar]

73. as long as you're not a fan of it for your job either

[DetlefK]

75. Just think of all the jobs in the horseshoe-industry!

We need those jobs!

[thucythucy]

111. Just like all those poor workers who will lose their jobs

if we stop fracking

nuclear power

cut defense spending

stop strip mining

veto the Keystone pipeline...

And I wonder, when leaf blowers, weed whackers and riding mowers of various shapes and sizes came out in the '80s and '90s and cut the number of workers who did lawn care, did you protest?

[Adrahil]

24. Transition to the care of lawns that support the local climate.

That's like arguing that we should keep building coal fired power plants to keep the coal miners employed.

[RKP5637]

31. Often people plant things not indigenous to their local area. Often a lot of fertilizer, etc. is

required, watering, etc., etc. Often weeds can be quite beautiful and indigenous to the local area, requiring minimal maintenance if any. ... but far too often people are convinced that is the look of a neglected yard. We really need a major paradigm shift as to what constitutes landscaping for the 21st century, focusing on low maintenance and low water usage.

[Adrahil]

32. I don't think a lawn has to look like an abandoned lot to be environmentally sound.

I have a friend who is a landscape architecture professor focusing on sustainable landscaping. A yard or any grounds really can look well taken care of, or even manicured, and still be environmentally responsible. She did a design for a place in Arizona that didn't want to have to water. It's gorgeous, and even cheaper for the client since they not only don't need to pay for the water, but didn't have to invest in a sprinkler system. Even is areas where water is not yet a concern, there's nothing wrong with a green lawn if it is managed correctly, and supported by the proper plants to support local bees, butterflies, etc.

[RKP5637]

37. Yep! Agree very much!!! n/t

[FSogol]

47. +1 n/t

[JDPriestly]

94. True. Everyone complimented my front lawn this year. And I plan to add more native plants

and succulents plus stepping stones next year. I wanted to do it this year, but had so many family obligations and events that I could not do it.

The fall is the time to plant in Los Angeles. That is when we get the first of the little water that falls.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

30. I thought you were offering up the RWer argument as sarcasm at first.

But you're serious, aren't you?

That's akin to saying 'No, we can't go to single payer healthcare, because it would eliminate the health insurance industry, and all those jobs!'

Or 'No, those automated looms are going to put a lot of weavers out of business! We can't start making cloth with automated machines!'


Or, more pointedly, 'No, we need to keep mining coal and oil and gas, and not switch to solar or wind, because it will put all those coal miners and oil and gas field workers out of business!'

The solution to putting people out of work is to find them work doing other things, not to cling to the very things that are destroying us simply because they keep people employed in some specific type of job now.

[treestar]

74. Depends on whose ox is being gored

nobody thinks their own job should be eliminated.

[hunter]

48. Yes, we need to eliminate many industries.

We need free, and even paid, public education so the lawn care guys can learn how to create zero or low water landscaping if they themselves or the people they are working for don't know how.

We need a generous retirement system (Social Security & Medicare) so people who do heavy labor can comfortably retire or retrain for less strenuous work before their bodies are completely worn out and they have to eat a handful of pain pills just to get out of bed in the morning.

We need to get rid of community laws and regulations that demand green well-manicured front lawns and other environmentally destructive and useless social conformity.

[pipi_k]

54. How about

if those lawn care guys get into caring for yards filled with gardens of useful fruits and vegetables instead?

Voila! No unemployment for them! Food for the homeowner!

Everyone is happy!

[Scootaloo]

63. Did you tap this out on a telegraph? n/t

[Tree-Hugger]

64. ......

[Scootaloo]

66. - - - - - -

[Scootaloo]

81. Yup, I did.

And the mechanical typewriter industry is almost dead for it.

[Scootaloo]

84. No, I just decided to stay on the topic you brought up initially

Computers killed typewriters. Increased disk space killed the floppy and CD-rom industries. MP3's and youtube killed the compact disk industry. The internet killed printed porn and is killing printed newspaper and magazines.

And sustainable lawns might - locally - kill "Guy with lawnmower seeks work."

There's a difference, of course. Most of the industries I mentioned are supplanted by advances in technology. But a guy with a lawnmower in southern Nevada is kinda like a guy with a snowblower in Costa Rica. You COULD put out a bunch of artificial snow and then hire the guy, but...

[Tree-Hugger]

113. This. nt

[Taitertots]

78. Agra-Keynesian? That's a new one.

What are they going to do? Literally anything else.

Are you going to take the money you would have spent on lawn care and burn it? No, you are going to spend it on something else.

[Taitertots]

97. The "point" is non-sense

Last edited Wed Apr 15, 2015, 06:16 PM - Edit history (1)

Because the displaced workers will find other employment because there is no connection between lawn care employment and the unemployment rate. If lawn care services disappear people will just buy something else, and the people who are displaced will start selling something else.

[shanti]

86. pretty sure

the gardeners and landscapers who do the typical mow and blow are feeling the pinch too. i was paying $30 a month for weekly lawn service, but cut it back to twice a month because my patchy brown lawn just doesn't grow that much anymore. it's only a matter of time before i put in xeriscaping for the front yard. i want to go with native plants and rocks eventually, but it's not happening this year moneywise.

my next door neighbors both have just weeds in their front yards and it looks like shit. there IS a happy medium...

[JDPriestly]

93. I'm thinking of them so often.

What are they going to do once all the lawns are drought-friendly?

A little pruning now and then. Some planting of drought-friendly lawns.

[get the red out]

16. I agree

I have thought this for years.

[KT2000]

17. totally agree with you

In order to have the perfect lawn it requires water, fertilizer, weed & feed, pesticides, roundup, lawnmowers, gasoline, noise pollution, and numerous other devices such as weed eaters, hedge trimmers, blowers etc. that require energy and even more noise pollution.

Lawns are ridiculous - make them grown, then mow them, then make them grown then mow them...................

[Blanks]

38. That's why we should create an industry around...

Animal grazing.

The use of water is bad, but the use of fossil fuels to keep those watered, fertilized, pesticide ridden lawns short is where the true waste lies.

[haikugal]

87. Good thought but,

You can't feed animals all those chemicals. I have a lot of grass that has never been fed, or watered. I live in the NE so we usually get rain during the growing season. I bag my clippings and feed them to my horse or use them in the garden.

I mow to keep the place somewhat tidy...otherwise the grass would be hip deep. Our land is fallow and returning to nature for the most part. I wish I could let it go without mowing but that really isn't an option until everyone stops mowing.

[Blanks]

98. I'd be willing to bet there'd be a lot less mowing...

If gas was $20/gallon. That's the way I look at it.

We let 'them' shame us into doing something that's bad for the environment, as long as we can afford it.

How many of the people who are fighting to cut down CO2 emmissions mow their lawn every weekend? If instead of mowing they were raising rabbits or chickens or greens, how many less trips would be made to the grocery store.

I don't use any chemicals. I have goats horses and chickens. I live out in the county, so I don't have to mow (no laws). I even have temporary 'fence corners' so that I can fence off the right of way in front of my property so that the horses can graze on it. If I don't do it, the county comes out twice a year to mow it.

We need to shift our thinking if we really want to reverse the increasing CO2.

I'm just rambling now.

[haikugal]

100. We think alike..

My place is split by a main road and I've thought abou putting electric fence out to let the horse graze but don't dare...it's just too much risk.

So I harvest the grass and use it. I've thought abou getting some rabbits and chickens but haven't thought it through to how to keep them watered in winter, for example.

We aren't as far out of town as you seem to be...

I often think these things while working around the place...CO2 emissions etc.

On edit..I have thought about using the horse to make hay of it but I'm getting too old for such endeavors. LOL

[Blanks]

106. I use a double electric fence...

One strand at 18" and the other strand at 36", and while they're out on the right of way we watch them like a hawk.

I live on a dead end road so there's not a lot of traffic. It has made me evaluate how practical it would be to use horses to graze on interstate, where there are wide medians and big loops for on and off ramps. It would obviously be disastrous if an animal got into interstate traffic, but probably 10% of the areas that I've looked at around here would be practical. It makes more sense In areas where there are trees because horses will rise up on their hind legs and eat all the leaves that they can reach, clearing areas much more effortlessly than mowing crews.

If the price of gas were to jump up and stay up for a while, I believe we'd see this kind of thinking in areas serious about saving money. As long as the goal is to save the planet, nobody will see this as a solution.

[JDPriestly]

95. Lawns help keep the soil from just blowing away. Other plants can help too.

But you have to have something on your lawn in a dry climate.

[Travis_0004]

19. Depends on where you live

I have plenty of water and dont need to water my lawn often anyway. California has different needa than the midwest where there is plenty of water.

[hobbit709]

22. My front yard is one of the greenest on my block.

I NEVER water. Or feed it or anything beyond mowing it about once a month.
Whatever grows in it has survived TX weather.
About Aug. it starts to turn brown, first rain of Sept. and within two days everything is green again.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

26. They hold the soil, preventing erosion.

I'm not saying there aren't plenty of other things you can plant instead that serve multiple other purposes, but if the choice is 'grass or nothing', grass is better than dirt. We saw that with the first 'Dust Bowl'.

'Arable land' is decreasing with soil erosion. Grass helps prevent such losses.

[kentauros]

80. And healthy soil is a great carbon sink.

A deep layer of topsoil will also hold more water longer than your typical shallow topsoil lawn. Most people don't know how to water properly, either, going strictly for the "all-at-once" method, instead of being smart about it.

I haven't had to water a lawn in ages, but would recommend a volume meter on your tap and to calculate how much you need to use on your acreage to put down half an inch initially, and then another half-inch 90-minutes later. Watering by time alone simply isn't good enough.

This blog-post does a better job of describing good lawncare and soil-care methods than I have so far, including an excellent example that compares watering a lawn to how dry and damp sponges absorb water

[DeSwiss]

28. Form must follow function......

...or expect visits from Karma until it does.

- Grow food, not grass.

K&R

''Growing your own food is like printing your own money.'' ~Ron Finley, Gardening Artist
LA-Guerrilla-Gardening.org

Geoff Lawton: Designing Permacultures

With today's technical capabilities and knowledge base, anything is now possible. It just depends upon how far you're prepared to take it. Support role, or totally off-grid.

Permies (Permaculture)

Earthship Biotecture

Earthship.com

TheValhallaMovement

Growing Power

[nil desperandum]

42. Great links

Thank you for sharing, Mr. Finley's discussion was excellent and extremely informative.

[DeSwiss]

67. De nada.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017258482

[gollygee]

33. Totally agree

I live in a swampy area and I'm amazed by how many chemicals people in my neighborhood pour onto their lawn and into the groundwater, which goes into the local rivers and lakes, and eventually into Lake Michigan. And their lawns still have trouble, because grass doesn't grow that well in swamps. Our lawn is green but it's mossy with some weeds. We keep it mowed but we don't worry about trying to plant something that isn't suitable for our area, like grass.

Right now we have a large number of violets as well, which I look forward to every spring.

[B Calm]

39. I mow approx. 5 acres and I have a beautiful lawn. I never water my lawn, but I don't

live out west.

[cherokeeprogressive]

43. I have ZERO issue with lawns in places not experiencing drought.

Those people can grow their lawns ten feet high for all I care.

[B2G]

45. Exactly.

It depends on where you live. If we have plenty of water on the east coast, it's not helping California one bit if I let my lawn die.

[stevenleser]

46. Get off my lawn!!!!!!!

LOL, sorry, someone had to say it.

[TampaAnimusVortex]

50. Then get the government to quit subsidizing the cost of water.

Let those who want lush grass pay through the nose for it, and the proceeds end up going to build better water supplies. Hell, if the price gets high enough, then it makes sense to start building desalination plants or huge pipelines. Maybe those wanting lush lawns might even move over to solar powered moisture collectors from the air.

Theres plenty of water on this planet (as any picture of the earth shows)... what isnt in place is a responsive pricing system to direct the resources to the right places. Prices serve exactly that function in regard to conservation. You dont see people lining their yards with diamonds and gold for a reason.

[Jamastiene]

57. I never water my "lawn."

I don't have a lawn, per se. I have what I call a Jungle. It's all red clay, triffids, and other weeds and stuff. I do have some centipede grass, but that doesn't really need mowing. I do have some people clean out a small area around the house, but as far as the other 5/6s of the property, it's all Jungle out there and I love it that way. I get to look out the window and see all kinds of critters and stuff.

Plus, having the red clay and lots of bats and birds shitting all over the place makes my yard greener than all those lawns that belong to the people across the street who water their lawns daily and sit around with fingernail clippers trying to make sure no blade of grass touches the sidewalk. I don't need sprinklers. I have Nature's own watering system AND fertilizing system. The only drawback is I have to watch it when I get in the car to make sure they haven't nailed the door handle with their "fertilizer" before I get in. They rarely nail it though. They sure seem to be aiming for it, though, lol.

[laundry_queen]

62. Where I live they do serve one purpose

We get a lot of what you could call 'cloudbursts' in the summer. A quick summer storm that unleashes huge quantities of water. Even though where I live is relatively dry, and does have drought years, that grass has saved a lot of basements from flooding around here. Of course, trees help with that too (all new houses built must have 1 tree in the front). We have storm ponds built into all the new subdivisions around here because of the storm water issue. And even during wet years we have strict regulations surrounding watering outdoors. It shocks me that some places in the US (I'm in Canada) haven't adopted water rationing. We've done it for over 20 years, and my province doesn't have the same water problem some states do (yet anyway, talk to me when the glaciers in the Rockies are all gone).

[NutmegYankee]

65. I always crack up over these lawn OPs.

First of all, much of the Eastern portion of the country has native grass and lawns will do fine without extra water. But then again, we have the water anyway for all three.

Every time I see one of these OPs I'm reminded of an Old HBO comedy special starring Sam Kinison where he states "You Live in a fucking desert!" The only thing he got wrong was us not living in them. Sadly, they are growing in population. Is snow really that bad?

[Skittles]

68. I could never understand why people needed grass everywhere

[merrily]

76. Golf courses and lawns.

Some towns give homeowners (maybe landlords, too?) real estate tax breaks for eliminating grass and using plants that can get along with rainfall.


Is that a good idea? Seems good, but someone else might see a problem.

[romanic]

77. Some areas

like the Midwest and the South/East make sense for lush green lawns. I never understood the reasoning behind having a subdivision smack dab in the middle of the desert with green lawns; I mean it's the DESERT. Just more human greed heaped on our planet.

[Trillo]

83. I don't have a lawn.

I do have 7 avocado trees which are high water use, and they provide a barrier between me and the house next door (some idiot thought building two houses on small city size lots with their front doors facing each other was a good idea). The trees also provide privacy from the street. Our local building codes do not allow any fence higher than 3 feet (or thereabouts) in the front yard area.

Under the new water restrictions, I'll probably have to let my trees die, if I keep watering them on a twice a week schedule, they will not produce much food, and thus become water wasters, and its unlikely I can keep them alive on a once per week schedule. Once my trees are dead, I lose A LOT of privacy as well. Somehow, I do not believe the zoning folks in our authoritarian county will be changing zoning to allow 8' full-visibility blocking fences in the front yard area. 6' fences are not tall enough for me, since I'm taller than 6 feet, in order to have privacy when I'm walking in my yard, I need a fence taller than me. Fences require no water other than what little is required for concrete footing and/or posts.

I'm more than a little ticked off that agricultural use gets no restrictions on their water use, but a residence is presumed to have only ornamental landscaping and no food production. Besides a water shortage, this is also a economic and social war on residents, one that's been ongoing since the 1980s.

[PotatoChip]

96. I don't know anyone who water their lawns.

Not for lack of water. People around here just don't care, I guess.

There are too many other things that need to be done.

[tazkcmo]

101. Never.

Ever, ever have I watered my lawn. Never, ever, ever will.

[Vincardog]

102. Agriculture needs to cut back. I don't water my yard.

[HockeyMom]

105. "Vegetable Gardens not applicable to Draught Restrictions"

Up North. Over decades many watering restrictions were put in place during droughts. We never had lawn sprinkles. Our grass was totally dependent on rains. Brown or green did not matter to us.

However, we always had a vegetable and herb garden. My husband was terrified he would be fined for watering the garden. He called. Did not apply to water restrictions. Besides not needing the same amount of water as for a lawn, veggies are food and serve a critical function. You can still water your small vegetable garden, they told us.

[madinmaryland]

107. GET OFF MY LAWN, YOU DAMN KIDS...

^M^C^C^A^I^N

[Texasgal]

108. I say allow us to garden veggie's

in our back and FRONT yards! City code does not allow it.

[txwhitedove]

109. Great, now tell my Home Owner's Association so they won't send

me nasty letters! xo

[fadedrose]

110. Not just water wasted..

too much fertilizer, weed killers, and the exhaust fumes from riding mowers and mowers.

It's possible to have a beautiful yard with nothing but the right types of shrubs and trees, stuff that don't require much water and don't attract pests.

The birds will benefit.

All agriculture does not require a lot of water, just normal rainfall, and it seems that most of the country is getting too much rain and snow, but the food baskets of the world are not getting enough. Home gardens in the East and Midwest for private use should take the place of fancy grasses.