Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss, And The Green Lawn Obsession

 Many people complain about climate change. Many people complain about the loss of biodiversity and environmental degradation, even people that do not believe in climate change. 

But that does not mean people are willing to do anything about biodiversity loss, environmental degradation and climate change other than complain. 

Most people cannot do anything to impact almost everything on the macro level. Only a few people have the money, power and resources to change things on the macro level, and usually these people are the least likely to change anything, in that their lives are full of abundance and ease.

Here is one simple thing that millions of people can do, and that few will actually do. Reject green lawns as the standard for beauty, and change green lawns and other unproductive or minimally productive landscapes into biologically diverse landscapes. The amount of river, lake and ocean killing fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides required to keep green lawns has long been unsustainable. Lawns that look pretty comes at the expense of rivers, lakes and oceans made ugly, degraded and contaminated. Growing native plants and growing trees are within the power of millions, and still few do it.

Instead, the enormous waste of water continues to sustain unproductive lawns. The enormous amount of gasoline and energy continues to be wasted and continues to pollute in order to sustain unproductive lawns. Harmful chemicals and fertilizers continue to contaminate the environment in order to sustain unproductive lawns.

Native plants and select trees and other plants bring back bees, birds, butterflies, ladybugs and more animals that people decry the loss of but that few lift a finger to help by creating the conditions needed to bring them back. The right trees includes choosing trees that provide maximum environmental benefits, and are not chosen for arbitrary ornamental value.

Native plants and helpful trees will create new jobs for the jobs that are lost if unproductive lawns and landscapes cease to exist. Select trees and other plants, including native plants, provide animals food and shelter and can provide healthy food for people. People can then be less dependent on nutritionally limited store bought commercial foods that have their own negative environmental impacts.

Millions of people own millions upon millions of acres of green lawns. They can continue to waste enormous amounts of water, gasoline, river and ocean killing fertilizers, toxic chemicals, all to maintain a look, or they can turn those millions of acres into productive land that restores biodiversity, reverses environmental degradation and combats climate change. 

The choices people make on how to use their land makes a difference. The companies that want people addicted to green grass will fight to keep things as they are.  Millions of people sit on their millions of acres of unproductive, even harmful lands, in a time of collapsed biodiversity, changing climates, increased deforestation and environmental degradation. They may state the importance of combatting biodiversity collapse, climate change and environmental degradation, but if they really care, they will show it by how they use their land.