by xe

Created on: April 13, 2009

The concept of having a yard covered with manicured green grass should be eradicated. The damage to our environment which is inflicted in this quest for the perfect lawn is huge and terrible. Between chemicals which are applied and then leech into our ground-water and the harm done to our atmosphere from exhaust gasses and the fumes from spilled gasoline, we must act intelligently to put a stop to this ridiculous practice. And leaf-blowers - what could be a greater noise and CO2 polluter than that?!

There are many ways to have a very beautiful yard and lawn without the need for all of this environmental and economical wastefulness, and there are articles on ground cover, ponds, flower-beds galore to explore. The problem with these alternatives s that they represent a cost and resource burden to the home-owner who pursues them. There-in lies the major issue that we need to address - the problems with antiquated legal restrictions regarding someone's idea of what your lawn should look like.

As an example, let's just assume that you stopped mowing your yard and stopped putting nasty chemicals on it this spring. First, you would most likely have a beautiful crop of volunteer plants with lovely yellow flowers appear. Of course, since these flowers are free, you have been convinced that they are bad and require the application of your money to eliminate them. Those same people who bombard you with products and methods to kill those natural flowers are also the same ones who have - That's Right - a large selection of pretty yellow flowers that they will sell you for another application of - Your Money! How logical is this?

After several weeks, you will notice that natural plants like, say, thistles will appear. If you were to allow these thistles to grow and flower, you would see that little birds just love to come and use the seeds and other parts of the plant to make nests, provide food, etc. After some time, you will be amazed at the variety of plants with lovely colors that grow; and the variety of birds that visit your yard in thanks for your understanding and presentation. And the fishes and birds that depend on the local waterways would thank you for not polluting their habitat as well.

Of course, you will certainly also be visited by a number of busy-bodies and in addition; most certainly; by a member of your local police, as some of your neighbors (or even people who happen to drive by in the street in front of your house) will feel so threatened by your natural splendor that they feel compelled to impose their standards upon you, even if you have contributed to improving the environment and habitat that they act like they care about. They would apparently prefer to wreak havoc on the environment and habitat under their nose, while complaining about what they cannot influence that is happening on the other side of the world.

How selfish and short-sighted they are.

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