Part III: Do We Need Nonfunctional Grass?

Nonfunctional grass is defined as turf that is solely ornamental and not regularly used for human recreational purposes or civic/community events.  Few people are aware that turf grass is the biggest irrigated crop in the U.S., using more labor, fuel, and equipment than industrial farming.  It covers more than 2%, or 40 million acres, of land.  Consider that three trillion gallons of water, 200 million gallons of gas for mowing, and 70 million pounds of pesticides are used on lawns in this country each year and it becomes clear how much damage to the environment turf grass inflicts.

There is a movement afoot, called the anti-lawn or rewilding movement, to change those statistics.  The goal of this movement  is to allow the wilderness to return as primary and to restore wildlife in yards, thereby boosting the local ecosystem.  

The popularity of the anti-lawn movement is due to intense water deficits, most acute in the western part of the country, although all states in the country with the exception of Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine have been plagued with unusually dry conditions.  Nonetheless, almost nine billion gallons of water are used each day in this country for landscape, gardens, and irrigation, meaning that approximately one-third of residential water use goes to lawns and gardens.  And yet recently the health of residents in the southern part of Louisiana was threatened because drought left the Mississippi River with water levels so low that saltwater crept upriver from the Gulf of Mexico and entered their drinking water.  It's no wonder that some are crying for changes to prioritize safe water for drinking over attempts to keep traditional grass yards beautiful.

Follow the Birdhouse.farm Research blog for more in this 9 part guest series from Nancy Vaughan.

You can also read more about outdoor water use in the United States, here.