Does your Rain Bird no longer fly? Are your PVC pipes feeling neglected? Has your city hung your lawn out to dry and given your timer a time-out? If so, you probably live in a place that restricts landscaping watering. Due to devastating dry spells, dozens of cities have implemented ordinances aimed at water conservation.
When I grew up in Atlanta,
it was so rainy a fish could survive on land; but when I visited last year, I
found straw-like lawns and a total watering ban. InLos Angeles
I understand the need to conserve and have always been a “waste not, water not” woman, whipping the faucet on and off while teeth cleaning as if water were pricey champagne. In my college dorm, I won the coveted “Snappy Shower Award,” and I treat my dishwasher like a roller-coaster ride: it doesn’t leave the station unless it’s full.
However, when it comes to my yard, a middle ground is unachievable if it means a dead ground. My religion and moral value system require healthy greenery; which in turn, benefit the animals and insects who depend on my yard for sustenance. I live in a fire hazard zone in Woodland Hills—the most sweltering part of LA--where watering two days per week is as effective as healing third degree burns with a Band-aid and where dead foliage is an invitation for flames to “come up and see me sometime.”
My lot—which abuts undeveloped acreage--may appear fully suburbanized, but it serves as an oasis for rabbits, bees, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, gophers, snakes, bees, owls, and birds of every kind. Saint Francis of Assisi would not want for feathered friends.
I am not a Christian like Assisi,
but practice Jainism, which is often described as the world’s oldest living
religion, originating in India
How interesting it would be for this water-related dispute to
percolate into court. Santeria--a religion with Afro-Cuban roots which has
approximately one million followers in the US—condones killing animals in ritual.
In 1993, Santeria adherents in Hialeah, Florida
Apart from religion, my moral value system dictates that I maintain a verdant yard. I hold that all living beings have interests, as evidenced by their efforts to flourish and survive, and to disregard these interests would be arrogant, self-serving and speciesist. Speciesism is a form of prejudice, much like racism or sexism, in which humans deem themselves superior to other species. To adequately recognize the innate value of nonhumans—which policy-makers rarely do--and shake off speciesism, our democracy would need to be more like an omniocracy or government with representation and consideration for all living beings. An omniocratic system would, at the very least, be mindful of the needs of other species before intercepting their lifeline with an overly restrictive water ordinance.
Some LA City Councilmembers--as well as misguided environmentalists—suggest homeowners rip out their grass and lay synthetic turf in order to save H2O, despite the exorbitant cost. It is $7000 for 600 square feet. This would, of course, solidify Tinseltown’s image: plastic surgeons could have plastic yards, and every street could look like a movie set. But real grass is essential because it serves as a carbon offset, absorbing 13.2 million pounds of CO2 per year. One would have to plant and maintain 1861 trees for a decade to compensate for a football field of fake turf.
Artificial grass is not what I would call “environmental” or “animal friendly” with its lead-content problems, the extensive energy and raw materials needed to produce it, and the risk that synthetic materials may leak into the water table and that rubber infill crumbs may become airborne and inhaled. Installing make-believe grass is akin to moving your home office onto the driveway in order to save a lightbulb. In addition, horrifying images come to mind: rabbits ingesting green shag fibers and tiny life forms roasting under an airless blanket of toxins. Turf temperatures can climb to 160 degrees on summer days.
As a vegan, I could maintain a lush, English garden at my home and still use less water than a meat-eater in a condo, a fact the ordinance fails to take into account. It takes 300 gallons per day to produce vegetarian food, while it takes 13 times more--4,000 gallons--for a carnivore, the difference between night and day or a bathtub and a pool. This is because it is so costly water-wise to raise and feed each of the 55 billion farm animals slaughtered for food.
Apparently, not many sprinkler scofflaws or hose hogs exist;
officials in both Los Angeles and Atlanta
It is hoped Los Angeles, Atlanta
In the meantime, I hope you will conserve when you can. But
don’t let the water ordinance rain on your parade or kill your “living yard.” Lots
of creatures count on you.
You're right about wanting to keep a nice lush landscape and it having benefits. In addition to the benefits you mentioned to animals and other critters, there are a whole host of other environmental and economic benefits to keeping a nice lush landscape. A non-profit group I work with has compiled a very good list of them here; http://www.projectevergreen.com/why-green-matters/environmental-benefits/
Also, when locales ban watering or restrict it severely, they are not solving the problem. They are just trying to mitigate the result of the problem. Instead, cities and counties would be more effective if they insisted that everyone with a sprinkler system be required to upgrade their heads to more efficient sprinkler heads or better yet, upgrade their controller to a SMART controller like this one from Rain Bird; http://www.rainbirdespsmt.com A smart (weather-based) controller installed at every house would keep everyone's landscape looking lush while also saving 30-50% of the irrigation water we use.
Posted by: Jim Lewis | December 28, 2009 at 11:54 PM
Robert J. Sternberg notes that many politicians have acted in ways that were stupid despite indications of general intelligence.He argues that there is an inherent psychological drive causing some acts of stupidity.
Posted by: buy viagra | January 19, 2010 at 01:13 PM
Well. This is rather true. In the American south, with their extreme weather conditions it can sometimes seem a little odd when you get the baked dry yard of one house right next to bright green of a neighbour who has laid artificial grass. Fortunately for the United Kingdom we have not yet had the extreme hot weather of Texas and Arizona!
Posted by: Artificial Grass | May 08, 2010 at 11:48 AM
They are just trying to mitigate the result of the problem. Instead, cities and counties would be more effective if they insisted that everyone with a sprinkler system be required to upgrade their heads to more efficient sprinkler heads or better yet, upgrade their controller to a SMART controller like this one.
Posted by: Amazing Water Fuel | May 21, 2010 at 11:12 AM
the extensive energy and raw materials needed to produce it, and the risk that synthetic materials may leak into the water table and that rubber infill crumbs may become airborne and inhaled.
Posted by: Maternity nursing clothing | June 24, 2010 at 07:29 PM
excellent post! thanks for sharing this informative post, I'd always wanted to travel and in the airport is very stressful if you don't have the privacy, but worry no more thanks for sharing this informative post! :D
Posted by: red cross cna classes | July 17, 2010 at 01:28 AM
i agree to your wish of keeping a nice lush landscape and having benefits. but achieving it with such a moderate supply of water is just too difficult.
Posted by: irrigation systems | July 19, 2010 at 08:05 PM
Wow what a thing to be fighting over.
Posted by: jarrod | July 30, 2010 at 07:02 AM
This is the fact that future of lawn is artificial turf as the latest synthetic turf technology with great attributes to product strategy provide long term, worry free enjoyment. Synthetic grass is a great solution for parking lots, road medians and other hard to reach areas.
Posted by: fake grass perth | February 21, 2011 at 01:37 AM
Things that can be settled properly are thing that just passed and flew. This issue will just justified that things will happened if we don't really understand the discussions.
Posted by: plumbing | June 10, 2011 at 11:03 AM
The cost of water has recently increased and will only continue to do so as demand continues to put pressure on this limited resource. Even bore owners are now facing restrictions and the challenges of decreasing water tables. It's anticipated there will be a total ban on watering lawns in Western Australia following trends from the eastern states.
Posted by: Synthetic tennis courts | July 05, 2011 at 02:47 AM
Le coût de l'eau a récemment augmenté et ne fera que continuer à le faire, car la demande continue de faire pression sur cette ressource limitée. Même les propriétaires de forage sont maintenant face à des restrictions et les défis de la diminution de la nappe phréatique.
Posted by: ralph lauren tee shirt | May 14, 2012 at 03:36 AM