Chemical Dependency versus Sustainability
Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast
Episode 44
Chemical Dependency versus Sustainability
Did you know that Americans have a chemical dependency problem? And I am not referring to drugs, alcohol, marijuana, or prescription substances. Yet this chemical dependency is a very open and social thing. In fact, it is openly promoted, bragged about, and actually makes you fit in better with the neighbors.
Then we depend on those chemicals in order to make our lives function properly. We are even told it is the right thing to do. Then we use 71 million pounds per year of these chemicals and willingly destroy one of the most valuable untapped resources that we have.
Listen to this episode to find out how to cure the chemical dependency that is so common place that it is often overlooked and completely ignored.
Hello everyone and welcome back to the Adventures in Sustainable Living podcast. This is your host Patrick and this is E #44 which is called Chemical Dependency versus Sustainability.
I do find it interesting that many of us go about our daily lives never realizing that some of the most obvious problems in our culture are staring us right in the face. And this is because some of the most obvious and important realities are often the ones that are the most difficult to see.
One of the biggest things in our culture that produces so much confusion and misinformation is the plethora of organizations put in place to safe guard us against everything under the sun including ourselves. The FCC, FDA, USDA, the Justice Department, the EPA, DEA, the CDC, and the list goes on.
But here is the troubling reality.
Big business in our world produces numerous products that makes our lives function so well to the point that we depend on these products. And when something is shown to be harmful, it takes years, if not decades of legal maneuvering to actually get that product removed from the market.
The unknown challenge for the average citizen is that there is no mandatory testing for the vast majority of tens of thousands of chemicals used daily in our lives. Consequently, doctors and public health officials often have little information to guide them as they seek to identify potential health hazards. Furthermore, under the US legal system it is extremely difficult to connect common aliments to a specific chemical.
And the simple reality is that we are dependent on so many of these chemicals to make our lives function. And this is what I refer to as our chemical dependency.
But in particular for this episode I want to discuss some of the most common, ubiquitous, everyday chemicals that we use, and depend on, to make our lives better, yet it destroys one of the most valuable untapped resources in our country.
What I am referring to is the 71 million pounds of pesticides that we willing put on our lawns every year that is harmful to ourselves, our pets, the environment, and ends up in our streams, lakes, and oceans.
When I look at things like this in our culture, things that are so obviously harmful, one of the first questions I like to ask is how the heck did we get convinced that this was a good thing. Not only that, Americans spend almost $40 billion dollars a year on lawn care. Can you even imagine what would happen if $40 billion a year was put into publicly funded projects for renewable energy?
At any rate, I think it is important to have a historical perspective on some of our ridiculous behavior because not only does it reveals how we truly need to change, it also shows how certain behaviors are no longer productive or even applicable to our present culture.
Anyway, I am getting off track here. So back to the question of how did this happen? Well, I think it is always informative, and even entertaining, to look at things first from a historical perspective.
As far as I can find out, the lawn appears to be a European invention. And this makes sense from an ecological perspective since the moist, mild, climate found in Europe seems to support close cut grass. And by comparison, the less temperate climate in North America does not.
The present English word lawn came from the Middle English word launde, which originally referred to a glade or opening in the woods. But somewhat later this word was used in reference to stretches of land that were artificially produced to resemble a glade. Some of the earliest lawns were actually found around medieval castles in France and Britain. These lawns were kept clear of trees and shrubs so guards had an unobstructed view of anyone approaching the castle.
In the 16th century, lawns were deliberately cultivated by the wealthy. Many of these lawns were most likely planted with chamomile or thyme. But before the invention of lawnmowers, the closely cut grass surrounding the homes of the wealthy had to be attended to by hand. They had to hire numerous people to cut and weed the grass. Consequently, the lawn was a mark of wealth and status.
Then European immigrants to North America brought with them the idea of the lawn as well as the grass seeds needed to create it. But at first, only the wealthy had the time or the money to create such a thing. But as our culture grew and progressed, there were several things that resulted in the American lawn being popular and common place.
Our fascination with sports played a big part in the development of the lawn. Sports such as bowling and golf required a well kept lawn. Between 1910 and 1924, the U.S. Golf Association (USGA) helped fund and carry out research along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture about the best ways to cultivate grass. And reportedly the first experimental turf farm in the United States was built right where the Pentagon sits today.
By the mid 19th century cities were continuing to grow and became increasingly industrialized. In a growing effort to beautify the cities, the “park” was born. At least in the United States these public areas typically had landscaped lawns, shrubs, trees and some water source such as fountains, streams, ponds, and lakes. All of these features of course were taken from British estate grounds. Over time, the park became ubiquitous in North America.
Eventually lawns became a common part of the American home. A key figure in this movement was a man named Frederick Olmsted, who was essentially the father of landscape architecture. This is the man that planned New York City’s Central Park in the 1850’s. He popularized the use of meadows in public parks and designed suburbs where each home had a lawn.
As homes became more and more affordable and the close cut lawn became more popular, many people sought for some respite from the rapid industrialization. Edwin Budding developed the first lawnmower in 1830. By the 1890s this mechanical device was in mass production and was a common fixture on the landscape. Consequently, this made possible the mass production of lawns and the mechanical mower provided an affordable alternative to hiring numerous servants and a more practical way to mow the lawn as opposed to a herd of sheep or goats.
The First Cookie Cutter Subdivision
What are called cookie cutter subdivisions, where there is a planned housing development and only a hand full of floor plans, make for rapid construction. This reduces the costs and consequently makes the home more affordable. I am sure we have all seen this type of development. Personally, when I drive through one of these subdivisions it makes me cringe.
Anyway, the first one in the United States was Levittown, which was built between 1948 and 1952. It was built on Long Island by Abraham Levitt and his sons William and Alfred. Due to several concurrent factors at the time, there was a growing need for affordable housing, which the Levitts were providing. Levittown was truly the first American suburb to include lawns already in place. This family also built several other suburbs in various places and they truly pioneered the idea of an established lawn. And keeping it neat, weed free, and closely cut was intensely promoted in their newsletter along with advice on how to properly care for the lawn.
And by coincidence, advancing technology at the time resulted in the production of the rotary lawn mover, pesticides, weed free grass seeds, fertilizers, and easy to use spreaders to make to process a no brainer. Consequently, the beautiful lawn that started out as a sign of upper-class British wealth was now a symbol of the middle-class American dream.
And of course this new technology made possible the mass production of lawns and the rotary mower provided an affordable alternative to hiring numerous servants and a more practical way to mow the lawn as opposed to a herd of sheep or goats.
What I See in Colorado
When I was younger and much more financially challenged, I will have to admit that there were times when I was tempted to buy one of those cookie cutter homes. At times, it seemed as if that was the only way I was ever going to be able to afford it. In retrospect, I feel fortunate that I never made that mistake.
But, at the time when I took a few tours of these developments, the lawn was still included. However, that is no longer the case. So what happens now when a new development is put it, the giant earth movers are first brought in to literally strip the surface clean of everything including all the topsoil, trees, grass, and anything else that gets in their way. Then the first part of the future roads are put in. After that construction of the houses starts.
Once finished, people move into their new home with nothing but bare ground. So, they have to purchase sod, trees, shrubs, landscaping materials, fencing materials, and anything else that is needed to comply with the standards of the suburb. I have no doubt that people spend $10K, if not more, in order to develop their lawn. And I have no doubt that the developers are more than happy to give you recommendations on “good people” that will help you accomplish your goal of a beautiful lawn.
Man Against Nature
So what I see in Colorado is a prime example of man against nature and clear evidence that lawns in America are big business. People have grown up believing that close cut grass is what a lawn is supposed to look like. Because of a tremendous advertising campaign and pressure from the lawn industry, a good looking lawn is still a display of a person’s social position. You know because it takes time, money, and effort to grow a perfect lawn. And the major reason that lawns are so much work is that they are completely man made and unnatural. Even the grass seed historically comes from Europe or Africa.
Man Against Neighbor
And as if man against nature is not battle enough, sometimes our lawns actually pit us against our neighbors. And this is because not everyone accepts the American lawn culture. One neighbor wants a close cut lawn that is neat and tidy and the other wants it all natural.
Case in point: in 2014, in are area in Virginia short distance outside of Washington D.C. a couple entered into a legal fight with their neighbor over their lawn. They had about 2.2 hectares of land. They had well cut gras on part of it and let the rest grow in a natural state. They did this because they enjoyed watching the butterflies, birds and deer visit the meadow.
But this put them in violation of the rules of their home owners association, or HOA. One common rule of HOAs across the country is that people must keep their yards cut close and green. The concern in this case is that the presence of the meadow reduces property values because part of what makes a home attractive to potential buyers is a well kept lawn. Additionally, the neighbors had concerns about feeling unpleasant and even unsafe.
But the Pughs argued that their meadow actually added value because they are better for the environment. The native grasses have deep roots and protect against erosion. And the wild flowers invite butterflies, bees and other insects which help crops and other plants to grow. And this is in fact one of the arguments for keeping a natural lawn.
If there is one thing I have said over and over again is that I would never live in a place that was governed by an HOA. And such was the case when I bought a house in South Carolina. It was in a standard subdivision with a great school district, which at the time was important because Annette’s son Erik was still pretty young. Anyway, the house had been vacant for some time because the couple that owned it before got a job transfer on short notice.
And this being South Carolina, things grow very rapidly. The yard had over grown to the point of the house looking abandoned. So needless to say when I moved in I have a lot of work to do. There was an enormous backyard with several old growth oak trees, enormous pine trees, as well as several other native species. Anyway, along the edge of the yard, there was about an 8 foot wide area that was all natural. In the center it looked more like a traditional lawn with some nice terracing and a small brick sidewalk.
So, here is what I chose to do. I left the perimeter of the yard all natural. It attracted all kinds of wildlife and provided a nesting areas for all kinds of birds. It was also a good food source for my chickens. Along the edge of the more traditional looking lawn, I planted fruit trees. I then converted the terraced area into a nice garden. By the time I did all this, there was only a medium sized area of grass that had to be tended to. In the front yard I did some nice landscaping but only planted things that were native to the area. I left all of the pine trees because they provided wonderful shading to the house which greatly reduced my use of the air conditioner.
After I sold the house, I returned to the area about a year later to see some old friends. And of course the new buyers completely clear cut the back yard including the fruits trees and old grow oak and pine. It was absolutely unbelievable. But that goes to show you how we are so conditioned to conform to certain standards.
Time for a Reality Check
Now that you have a historical perspective on the great American lawn, and how our conformist behavior is completely ridiculous, what I want to do now is give you a reality check. First of all I want you to keep one simple thing in mind. “We all live downstream.”
What I mean by this is that one of the most significant sources of ground water contamination is run off from agricultural areas as well as suburbs. So before you apply some toxic chemical to your lawn, think about everyone that lives down stream from you. I was reminded of this the other day when I saw something very creative that was no doubt put in place by an environmental conscious group or person. They had painted a sign on the pavement around a storm drain. It simply said “The beach starts here.”
Now I want to discuss what I call our chemical dependency and how we willingly use this to destroy one of the most valuable untapped resources in our country.
Do you have any idea of the potential health affects of pesticides. These chemicals are developed to kill anything perceived as a pest. This includes weeds, fungus, insects, rodents, bees, or any other potential disease causing organism. And these are chemicals that you can commonly and easily purchase right off the shelf. And yet these are the chemicals that we depend on to simply keep our lawns green and weed free.
There is an extraordinarily long list of health problems that can be caused by these products including multiple types of cancer, neurological problems, birth defects, asthma, skin disorders, endocrine disorders, immune system problems. Over a 25 year period there are certain types of cancers, which were previously rare in the US, where the incidence has increased by nearly 80%.
And of course since we are constantly exposed to a wide range of harmful chemicals on a daily basis, it would be difficult at best to ever link a health problem to the very pesticides that you willingly expose yourself too. Yet in study after study perform by researchers, one of the first things on the list as potential causes is pesticides.
Furthermore, it is our children and pets that are even more vulnerable because they are the ones rolling around in the yard and playing much more frequently than adults. And if you want to see first hand what these pesticides can do to animals try working in a veterinary emergency center. I have lost track of the number of times in my career I’ve had to euthanize animals because of toxic exposure to some of the pesticides commonly used by home owners.
So, without be-laboring the point, because this could be a complete separate podcast episode, here is a summary of the toxicity of pesticides:
-The EPA says plainly that pesticides are inherently toxic
-Pesticides are commonly combined with so called inert ingredients that may be even more dangerous than the pesticide.
-Pesticides can easily break down into other toxins
-Pesticides in the environment can form volatile organic compounds which are even more toxic
-Pesticides can re-combine to form new toxic chemicals
-Pesticides in general are related to a long list of health problems.
And once again, theses are the chemicals that we willingly purchase and pour onto our lawns to the tune of 71 million pounds per year. These chemicals then reach our water supply through run off and directly affect any number of unintended targets. We track these chemicals into our homes on our shoes. And one recent study preformed by the US Geological Survey from 1992 to 1999, took samples from 1500 wells, found that in agricultural areas at season one volatile organic compound was found in 75% of the water, 47% contained at least 2 compounds, and 33% contained at least 3 compounds.
So here is the final clincher. Pesticides basically kill everything. They kill bees, earth worms, lady bugs, and a million other beneficial micro-organisms. But, insects tend to evolve and adapt rather quickly. So after years of use, the insects become immune to the affects of pesticides and new even more poisonous compounds have to be developed.
Unfortunately, the pesticide industry has convinced consumers that their products are safe and even necessary for attractive lawns. These chemicals are cheap and easy to use. Furthermore, the industry promotes their products as being harmless to people and pets. And this is why we follow right along with our chemical dependency and are harming the very things that are beneficial to us.
What is the Answer
In the end here I hope I have done a good job of convincing you that this is just another example of a ridiculous, culturally engrained behavior that is not only unproductive but destructive to the environment and is completely unsustainable. That being said, you may be wondering what the answer is to this dilemma.
Well, as is usually the case, it is difficult at best to fight the government or big business. So it comes down to one simple and easy thing to accomplish and that is changing your own behavior to something that is more sustainable. What I want to do is give you some good tips on just what you can do.
Plant a garden. Did you know that 40% of the land in the United States is dedicated to residential lawns? Far more water goes into maintaining these lawns that what is used to water crops in agricultural areas. So, convert a portion of your lawn to being a garden.
For example, there is a neighborhood that I drive through on a regular basis on my way to one of the hospitals I work with. This is a very upscale neighborhood and everyone has a nice lawn except for one person. That person has planted a garden that takes up their entire front yard. This person is producing so much food that I often wonder if they are selling it in a local market. I am so impressed with what they have done.
If everyone did this, can you imagine how much food could be produced. In my opinion, the American lawn is by far one of the most valuable untapped resources we have. But instead of utilizing that resources we are dumping 71 million pounds of toxic chemicals on it every year.
Go native. In other words, plant things in your yard that are native to your area. This means you are going to use a whole lot less water. For example, residents in the Las Vegas, NV area that decided to go native decrease their water usage by 120 gallons of water per day. On average across the U.S. 50% of household water is used outside the house. By going native, you are going sustainable.
Create a bio-reserve. This goes along with going native. The traditional American lawn is a biodiversity waste land. It provides absolutely nothing for the pollinators, or other plants and animals that make up a diverse and health ecosystem. Not only that, but pouring pesticides on it makes this even worse.
By transforming your lawn into a more natural area, you will create an oasis for bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, birds, and much more. Not only that, but you can create an authentic nature experience right in your own backyard. Back to the upscale neighborhood where this person planted a garden, there is one lady that turned her yard into a bio-reserve. Sometimes I go in a bit early just to sit at the edge of her yard because I enjoy the birds and butterflies. Not only that, but her little reserve is incredibly beautiful. Talk about the perfect stress relief.
Alternatives to grass. Despite what most people believe, the grass is not always greener on the other side. There are plenty of alternative to the standard turf grass that is more environmentally friendly, requires little to no maintenance, and is much more sustainable. For example: various ornamental grasses, mosses, Creeping Charlie, Sweet Woodruff, Creeping Thyme, Clovers such as Dutch Clover, various flowers and shrubs, Chamomile, Snow in the Summer.
So, the bottom line here is that our passion and pursuit of the ultimate green lawn consumes 3 trillion gallons of water per years, uses 200 million gallons of gas, and 71 million pounds of pesticides. I can give you several reasons not to have a grass lawn. They waste water, waste energy, waste space, waste time, create pollution, waste money, and expose people, pets, and numerous animals in the environment to chemicals that are linked to a whole laundry list of serious health problems. And unfortunately big business has convinced us once again that such practices are safe.
Well, it is time to join the no-mow movement and create a healthy and sustainable landscape. You can do this in four ways: 1) create a natural turf that is allowed to grow wild, 2) plant low growing turf grasses that require little care, 3) Go natural and use planet that thrive in your local conditions, 4) Replace your turf with something that is edible.
Just realize that in order to make this change, you may need to get some advice from local experts. Plus, if you have a large yard, the complete change over may take a couple of years.
In closing, I want to reiterate that we now truly live in exceptional times. There are so many things that we can do as individuals to make a huge difference. And in all of my research on various topics related to sustainability, I consistently find that living a simple sustainable life is often incredibly less expensive than living the up to the consumer standards that are pushed on us everyday.
Now I do have a number of good resources in the transcript of this episode so be sure to check them out.
But for now I want to leave you with one last thought.
When you understand that under capitalism a forest has no value until it is cut down, you begin to understand the root of our ecological crisis.
This is your host Patrick signing off until next week. Remember to always live sustainably because this is how we build a better future.
Resources
The History of the American Lawn
10 Low Maintenance Lawn Alternatives
More Sustainable Alternative to Grass
10 Reasons You Don’t Need a Grass Lawn
