Lawns

Many people who express concern about the environment live in houses surrounded by lawns. 80 million households containing 32 million acres of lawn, which is more than the land used for corn planting, and each lawn uses 10,000 gallons of non-rain water per year. Fertilizer and Chemicals – An awful lot of fertilizer and chemicals get used to keep lawns looking lush and green. The US EPA states that on average, Americans buy 70 million pounds of fertilizer per year. The National Gardening Association estimates that homeowners use over 125 million pounds of pesticides to kill grubs, ants, and other insects, and herbicides to kill those pesky dandelions, per year. These chemicals not only harm the things you’re after, they can be toxic to people and other animals. Americans use 100 million mowers, trimmers, leaf blowers and mowers alone produce as much pollution as 2 million cars. One gas mower running for an hour emits the same amount of pollutants as eight new cars driving 55 mph for the same amount of time, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.