Dear editor,

Incidental chemical exposures, contamination of our waterways, decimation of honeybee populations, declining water tables and a general winnowing of bio-diversity. These might seem like amorphous problems we have little or no hope in solving; but part of the solution might be as close to us as our own front yards.

Americans apply around 90 million pounds of herbicides and pesticides on their lawns each year. The trademarks of a manufactured lawn – short, identical blades of a single grass species creating a carpet-like surface, regular and periodic pesticide and herbicide applications, frequent watering, lack of bio-diversity above and below the ground – create an idyllic scene for the eye but, multiplied by millions of lawns worldwide, they create a more fragile planet.

There are options. One is adopting a natural lawn aesthetic.

White clover takes nitrogen from the air and stores it underground where it builds the nutritional content of the soil. Bees like clover blossoms and thrive on them; while the “kill the clover” aesthetic conscripts us to an open-ended prospect of chemical dependence.

Mowing a lawn short exposes more soil to the sun and encourages the growth of broadleaf weeds. (Think dandelions.) Plus, exposed soil loses much more water through evaporation. That means dryer top soils and more frequent irrigation.

So the next time you drive by a yard with windswept fescue grass waving its full, five-inch length among patches of clover and a few scattered molehills, pull over to the curb and thank that homeowner for saving our planet. That might sound like a strange thing to do, but it’s estimated that the acreage devoted to lawns in the U.S. is far more than that of corn or wheat.

So how we envision, design and manage our lawns makes a difference.

Mark Pearce

Warrensburg, Missouri