Part Five, Issue 14 Whacker Madness: The Proliferation of Turfgrass

Objectives After reading the assigned chapter and reviewing the materials presented the students will be able to understand: What are the positive and negative environmental impacts of turf grass proliferation? Is water used in turf maintenance a significant environmental issue? Are millions of acres of turf consistent with sustainability?

Land Use Changes in North America The first major change involved clearing old growth forest for agriculture. Land use change continues in suburban United States, with the conversion of large areas to turf grass. More than one million acres of farmland is devoted to grass seed cultivation. Overall, there were more than 50 million acres of managed turf in the United States as of 2002.

What is Turf? Turf comes from 2 sources: 1. Grass seed sown on a plot of soil. 2. Pre grown turf rolls (also called sod) produced on turf farms. Most new construction use turf rolls from sod farms to give a house or commercial building an “instant lawn.” 625 square feet of lawn provides enough oxygen for one person for an entire day. Lawns cool the temperature. Lawns protect water quality by filtering runoff.

Adverse Effects of Lawns and Turf Most lawns receive inappropriate doses of fertilizer, insecticide, and herbicide. Urban sprawl replaces agricultural land and wood land. Woodland can help counter global warming. Most lawn care devices (mowers, trimmers, blowers, weed whackers) use two cycle engines that burn oil and spew smog forming emissions.

The Lawn Care Industry U.S. homeowners are turning to lawn, landscape, and tree care professionals, spending $17.4 billion on outdoor home improvement in Lawn care devices such as blowers, mowers, and trimmers represent a 5 billion a year growth industry. Many cities are encouraging “xeriscaping” – planting native drought resistant plants in lawns to cut down on water demand.

Gas Powered Leaf Blowers Two stroke engines power most leaf blowers. As much as 30% of the fuel/oil mixture of leaf blowers is exhausted unburned. Two additional sources of emissions of leaf blowers are dust and noise. By 2004, more than 100 cities had banned or regulated leaf blowers.

Noise Pollution In addition to damaging hearing, noise may cause other adverse health impacts including sleep disturbance and changes in performance and behavior. Based on EPA data, at least 3 million people nationwide could be exposed to leaf blower noise at annoying levels. About 13% of Californians live in cities that ban the use of leafblowers.

Summary The first major change involved clearing old growth forest for agriculture. Land use change continues in suburban United States, with the conversion of large areas to turf grass. 625 square feet of lawn provides enough oxygen for one person for an entire day. Lawns cool the temperature. Lawns protect water quality by filtering runoff. Most lawn care devices (mowers, trimmers, blowers, weed whackers) use two cycle engines that burn oil and spew smog forming emissions. Many cities are encouraging “xeriscaping” – planting native drought resistant plants in lawns to cut down on water demand.

Home Work 1. What are the advantages of lawns? 2. What are the disadvantages of lawns? 3. What is the advantage of xeriscaping?