Traditional American lawns are problematic for several environmental reasons. They require large amounts of water, fossil fuels, fertilizers and pesticides which harm wildlife and pollute water sources. Specifically, lawns consume 3 trillion gallons of water annually in the US, while lawnmowers burn 800 gallons of gasoline and emit greenhouse gases. 70 million pounds of pesticides are used on lawns each year, killing millions of birds. The author argues for replacing grass lawns with more biodiverse and drought-tolerant alternatives like clover and native wildflowers that don't require mowing, watering or chemicals. This would benefit the environment by saving water and resources, reducing pollution and providing habitat for pollinators.

1. Lawns are Bad:
Why monoculture lawns must come to an
end and bring forth a new biodiverse era!
By Jacalyn Morgan

2. History of Lawns
● Earliest lawns were around medieval castles
in France in Britain.
● Grazing animals, slaves, and low wage
workers became groundskeepers for the
wealthy.
● Became an indication of wealth and status.
● Immigrants from Europe brought both the
idea of the lawn and grass lawn seeds to
North America.
● Growth of the American suburbs created a
boom in lawn culture.

3. The Traditional American Lawn
● In 2005, a NASA satellite study found
that American grass lawns take up
49,000 sq. miles. Approx. equal to the
size of Greece.
● Predominantly a monoculture
● Generally turf grass
● May have a single tree or some shrubs

4. Traditional American Lawns Need
● Water
● Pesticides
● Fertilizers
● Lawnmowers
● Maintenance

5. Mowing and Fossil Fuels
● Lawnmowers contribute to 4% of total US emissions
● Generally powered by 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines
● 800 gallons of of gasoline annually burned
○ 17 million gallons spilled
○ Equivalent of 6 million passenger cars running idle for a year
● 30% of fuel does not combust completely
○ This releases more soot and carbon monoxide, which is bad for
human health
● Solutions:
○ Electric mowers
○ Reduce mowing frequency
○ Replace grass with low-growing alternative

6. Synthetic Fertilizers
● Homeowners use 3 million tons of fertilizer each year
● For every ton of nitrogen created to make fertilizer, 4-5
tons of carbon is added to the atmosphere
● Soil microbes turn excess nitrogen into nitrous gas, a
greenhouse gas with 300 times the heat trapping
ability of CO2
● Fertilizers run off into local bodies of water and create
toxic algae blooms
● Solution:
○ Let lawn clippings decompose on the lawn
○ Start a natural compost system

7. Effects of Pesticides
● (EPA) 70 million pounds of pesticides are used on
lawns every year in the US
● Lawn pesticides kill 7 million birds a year
● Runs off into bodies of water and affects
reproductive systems of fish
● Environmental book published in 1962 on the
environmental harm caused by pesticides
● Caused a ban on DDT for environmental uses
and started a movement that led to the creation
of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

8. Water Consumption
● (EPA) Lawns consume 3 trillion gallons of
water per year
● 90 gallons of water/sq. Foot of lawn
○ ½ is lost to evaporation
● Importance of conserving water:
○ Saves energy (filter, heating, and pumping)
○ Diverts less water from rivers, bays, and estuaries
○ Prepare for future droughts
○ 3% of water is freshwater, and only 0.5% is drinkable
○ Saving water is economical
● Solutions:
○ Replace lawns with plants that require less water

9. Lawns and Pollinators
● Traditional lawns destroy
habitat for pollinators since
grass is not a nectar source
● Pesticides contribute to a
dwindling bee population
● Reducing the frequency of
mowing your lawn by ½ could
increase bee populations by 30%
● Solution:
○ Grow a pollinator garden in your
yard

10. Does it makes sense to have lawns in Las Vegas?
● Southern Nevada Water
Authority predicts that
removing 4,000 acres of
grass from Las Vegas would
save 10 billion gallons of
water annually.
● A sq. foot of grass in Las
Vegas requires 73 gallons of
water per year.
● Droughts in Nevada are
already being exacerbated
by climate change.

11. Alternatives to Grass Lawns
● Clover
○ Relatively drought tolerant
○ Little to no mowing
○ Attracts pollinators such as bees
○ Never needs fertilizer
○ Never needs herbicides
○ Immune to dog urine
○ Grows well in poor quality soil
● Native Wildflowers
○ Feeds pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and
hummingbirds
○ Regulates flooding due to long roots
○ Prevents Erosion
○ No need for fertilizer

12. Examples of Biodiverse Lawns with Native Flora

13. Sources
The History of Lawns | Planet Natural
How To Make a Bee-Friendly Garden | BBC Gardeners World Magazine
Advantages and Disadvantages of Clover Lawns - Dengarden
Why grow wildflowers? | The Wildflower Garden (love-wildflowers.org.uk)
Grassy lawns banned in Las Vegas to conserve water under one-of-a-kind state law (yahoo.com)
Las Vegas declares turf war on lawns as drought worsens | Reuters
The Case for Clover Lawns, the Environmentally Friendly Alternative to Grass - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Lawn Maintenance and Climate Change — PSCI (princeton.edu)
Lawn Pesticides | Audubon New York
The Problem of Lawns (columbia.edu)

14. Questions?