...Over the weekend, the New York
Times used the example of Palm Springs, an oasis in the California
desert where daily water use is more than twice the state average, per
capita. The result isn’t an abnormally hydrated populace but rather an
eye-popping amount of lush greenery where there shouldn’t be any.
Irrigation for aesthetic purposes alone has never been a smart use of
such a precious natural resource, but in light of the current drought it
is insanity. Perhaps recognizing that cold truth, city agencies in Palm
Springs are cutting their water use by 50 percent and replacing public
lawns and medians with native landscapes.
The 38.8 million people of
California need to fundamentally change the way they live if they want
the Golden State to survive and thrive. The best time to act, of course,
is before a crisis, but out West that ship has sailed over the arid
horizon. Here in New Hampshire, where landowners are just beginning to
make plans for spring yard work, it is the ideal time to act.
It starts with altering long-held
aesthetic principles about the ideal suburban landscape. Well-manicured
lawns may be beautiful to look at, but the nation’s land and water pay a
hefty price.
According to the EPA:
∎ Per acre, residential application of pesticides is typically at a rate 20 times higher than that of farmers.
∎ Yard waste makes up 20 percent of municipal solid waste collected, most of which still ends up in landfills.
∎ Lawns add to suburban flooding
problems because they have less than 10 percent of the water absorption
capacity of a natural woodland.
No comments:
Post a Comment