They are coming for your Lawns

If predictions of the future are true, you won't own anything and be happy! People won't have to make decisions on how to maintain property since it won't be theirs anyway.

Personally, I prefer driving through my neighborhood and seeing lawns that people take the time to make sure look decent. Even a yard with a small patch of grass can look good if the rest of the property is nicely trimmed and taken care of. It's kind of like personal grooming. You can be half bald but still take a shower in the morning and comb what hair you have before going out in public.

a reply to: JAGStorm

I agree that one party cannot do this alone. Either party.

I would take it so far as to consider placing blame on that the very nature of '' human dominion-ism'' and it's impulse to conquer and control anything and everything that stands in the way of that belief system.

Do you know Pete Seeger? That old liberal folk singing troubadour who sang songs of hope for over 70 years?
Here is one I have always cherished from the time I first heard it.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

Southern Nevada has had lawn and water moratoriums for decades long before The Lake started drying up 👁️

Our neighbor put in patches of high quality artificial turf throughout his front yard accompanied by a drought tolerant landscape, and it really does look Great ! I’m a plant person , but this works and looks/feels very natural !

The prolonged drought in the PNW has lakes, streams rivers at unprecedented low levels that has forced restriction on water usage for farmers, causing over 350,000 acres to sit fallow just this year alone. No matter what the cause- man, forest fires, wasteful usage-aquifers are being depleted at an alarming rate, and once the reach a certain level they're dead; they won't re-fill.

Many, many scientific models predict the wars in the future will be over water. Waste, runoff, pollution- there isn't a whole lot of wiggle-room left to start practicing better water usage. Until/if/when the drought ends and the aquifers replenish, some tuff choices need to be made....at least in the PNW.

Southern Nevada has had lawn and water moratoriums for decades long before The Lake started drying up

It doesn't help that water has been diverted from the Colorado River (now in crisis) for decades to be used in Az, Nv, Cal, Ut. for things like lawns in, golf courses, Vegas water shows, turning the desert green, fracking and water bottling (Nestle's). It all accumulates, and if we wait for everybody to accept the reality before acting it could very well be too late.

a reply to: nugget1

It doesn't help that water has been diverted from the Colorado River (now in crisis) for decades to be used in Az, Nv, Cal, Ut. for things like lawns in, golf courses, Vegas water shows, turning the desert green, fracking and water bottling (Nestle's). It all accumulates, and if we wait for everybody to accept the reality before acting it could very well be too late.

I refer back to my original question, should there even be houses/human population in some places? Maybe that is more of the root cause. It isn’t so much about lawns, it really isn’t. Wherever there are humans there is a need for water, lawns are just the icing on the cake.

I also don’t think that a lot of coastal towns should have the human population that they do. Every hurricane season it’s the same ol’ story.

I know people don’t like the cold, but in the Midwest there is plenty of land, a lot of water and is probably more suited for growth than a lot of populated places.

PS. My dad told me when I was a child there would be a war on oil, and then on water. He was never wrong in the things he predicted. This was long before either of those things were a problem.

PS. Again, It is getting so bad out west they are actually talking about diverting some of the Mississippi River that way. I hope it doesn’t happen, but you never know.

a reply to: JAGStorm

I know people don’t like the cold, but in the Midwest there is plenty of land, a lot of water and is probably more suited for growth than a lot of populated places.

China has a plan for that.

Cheers

a reply to: F2d5thCavv2

China has a plan for that.

China isn’t my favorite, they have a long history of human abuses but I think there is a lot of misplaced hate on China from the American perspective.

I watched a documentary on the Chinese and the railroads. It’s interesting how they were brought over and basically built the railroads and were slaves/indentured servants and towns in California, and then when they started getting successful and creating their own enclaves the European/whites wanted to murder them and chase them all out. Maybe this is Karma, who knows. I find it ironic that the Chinese own so much of that area now.

More contradictory climate change crap. I mean, grass sucks up a lot of carbon dioxide out of the air, so that should be a good thing, right?

How about this: a decent electric riding mower. The ones available today are grossly expensive, weak, and designed to charge on 110v. I use my electric push mower all the time, only breaking out the riding mower when the grass is too tall or I need to tow something. It takes me two days to mow the lawn, but it's good exercise. It would be nice if someone could make an 18 hp electric drop in replacement for the riding mowers. Combine it with a battery pack good for two hours and solar panels to charge it.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: F2d5thCavv2

China has a plan for that.

China isn’t my favorite, they have a long history of human abuses but I think there is a lot of misplaced hate on China from the American perspective.

I watched a documentary on the Chinese and the railroads. It’s interesting how they were brought over and basically built the railroads and were slaves/indentured servants and towns in California, and then when they started getting successful and creating their own enclaves the European/whites wanted to murder them and chase them all out. Maybe this is Karma, who knows. I find it ironic that the Chinese own so much of that area now.

Not hatred. I just think they realize they have a population versus resources problem, and believe they could make good use of the very productive farmland of the continental USA.

If we, as Americans, don't bear that in mind, it may well come to pass.

Cheers

a reply to: JAGStorm

Since I don't have an HOA to worry about or anything like that, I also live in the country; I've let the clover take over. No mowing, watering, etc. it just takes care of itself. A little edging from time to time, but nothing major. A couple of chickens take care of insect issues, and it's a very low-maintenance option.

originally posted by: StoutBroux
If the American dream is based upon having a green maintained lawn, coerced at the hands of extra watering, mowing and trimming etc. then we were already in trouble.
...

Nailed it. I live in an area that is in critical water shortage. We water fruit trees and a garden. We're using a dry toilet and composting all refuse, or "waste." (And it's no longer "waste" once it's composted.)

No water goes down a drain. We use biodegradable soaps and almost every drop is repurposed in some way.

I'll probably plant a patch of Sudan sorghum or bombassa for forage.

It's be nice to have more grass and less bare dirt, but using precious water to grow a carpet of green that serves no practical, productive purpose... I can't see it.

Most laws are stupid, but some do protect people from their own stupidity. If having a pretty "lawn" at the expense of using up precious and scarce resources is "the American dream," then people need to wake the hell up!

Believe it or not, I actually think that we should minimize the use of lawn mowers and other traditional combustion engine lawn tools. Not only do they contribute a lot to CO2 emissions, they are very loud. An obvious solution would be to use electric motors instead of combustion engines. They are far quieter and don't have many of the issues that large electric vehicles have. They can charge quickly, they can be made at a cost effective price, and they can run adequate periods of time without oversized batteries.

And yet we see little effort from the green movement to electrify lawn tools. Instead they suggest "simply don't have a lawn"... lmao I thought having more green on the planet was a good thing. That's also why it annoys me when they push so hard for zero CO2 emissions despite the fact CO2 is literal plant food, and studies using satellite imagery show our CO2 emissions have resulted in a significant "greening" all over the surface of the planet.

I'm not saying more emissions is a good thing, air pollution isn't a good thing and too much greenhouse gas in the atmosphere could cause irreversible warming. But some CO2 emissions are perfectly fine, we just need to keep emissions below a certain level, not lower emissions to zero, which is a stupid idea for countless reasons, unless you want to see our quality of life go backwards in order to "save the planet from the invasive human species".

a reply to: JAGStorm

I let my lawn grass die every summer. It's not for economic reasons, because I pay a flat rate for water, meaning my bill never changes no matter how much or little water I use. I just don't care about having a green lawn. I could say that I am doing it for the environment, or to conserve water, but I've stopped caring about that a long time ago.

They can take it. The weather so far this year has made it very undesirable to mow.

a reply to: JAGStorm

I am against laws not allowing food crops.

Lawns are basically useless -- but there are laws preventing food gardens -- because it lowers property value (for one).

I think its a reasonable plan.

a reply to: JAGStorm

What amazes is this isn't a new thing. CA and many states in the west have been struggling for water for years and was a problem that could be foreseen. If you take CA for example they have the longest coastline in the US and have one of the largest economies and tax bases in the world and have done absolutely nothing to solve the problem except to punish and restrict the people that provide the wealth for the state.

I remember seeing a story a couple year ago about how Vegas was short on water and then there was an article about how they were looking to put in one of the largest aquatic parks in the world, where are the priorities?

For how innovative our civilization has come its almost comical that we can't seem to come up with a solution for a problem like this especially when we have technology that could be used right now such as desalination plants etc.

originally posted by: Annee
a reply to: JAGStorm

I am against laws not allowing food crops.

Lawns are basically useless -- but there are laws preventing food gardens -- because it lowers property value (for one).

I think its a reasonable plan.

I agree with you on laws banning food but have to disagree with the statement lawns are useless.
Lawns actually have a lot of good qualities. They are very cooling. You’ll notice this as soon as you go from suburb/country to a city. Concrete areas with no grass are significantly hotter. Lawns prevent erosion, and there are a few other benefits too. there are other plants that can do the same thing, but we’re talking lawns right now.

The southwest water model seems to be $$$ above all else

The green lawns are not much compared to high water use farming for profit

looking for more water from the people who live hear and not from the company's that use it for $$$ shipping the products away from hear

Bet nestle is still pumping out bottles of water California almonds still growing and that iceberg still coming from az ... Wouldn't want to you know fix the problem tho that would be bad for business

originally posted by: Charliebrowndog
a reply to: JAGStorm

What amazes is this isn't a new thing. CA and many states in the west have been struggling for water for years and was a problem that could be foreseen. If you take CA for example they have the longest coastline in the US and have one of the largest economies and tax bases in the world and have done absolutely nothing to solve the problem except to punish and restrict the people that provide the wealth for the state.

I remember seeing a story a couple year ago about how Vegas was short on water and then there was an article about how they were looking to put in one of the largest aquatic parks in the world, where are the priorities?

For how innovative our civilization has come its almost comical that we can't seem to come up with a solution for a problem like this especially when we have technology that could be used right now such as desalination plants etc.

EXACTLY, also there are some strains of grass that are a lot more drought tolerant, there are strains that grow slower etc.
I hate that everything is all or nothing with no middle ground!

Also don’t come at my lawn at the same time you are allowing companies to dump toxic forever chemicals right into the waterways. My little ol’ patch is nothing compared to that!