A referee of Susan Harris ’ recent post about the show of Synlawn semisynthetic grass at the National Building Museum in Washington , D.C. asked about the relative environmental merits of man-made versus literal dope .
The short reply , I reckon , is that while lawn , particularly as presently cultivated , is a short environmental solution , this synthetic pot is far worse .
When I hold out to theSynLawn web site , I launch its o.k. mark reveal . For instance , while the headlines trumpeted the synthetic green goddess as flora based , a heedful reading of the articles include reveals that that is only partially lawful . manifestly , materials infer from Saccharum officinarum and soy beans are used to replace “ up to 60 percentage of crude - based polymer . ” Clearly , a lot of petroleum products are , in fact , used in the manufacturing of this landscape handling .
No environmental services
However , it is true , manifestly , that plant product are also used . The first notable point about these material , in my opinion , is that they are not plant life wastes or farming byproducts . They are foods . In a world where many hoi polloi go thirsty , what are the ethical motive of using food to make faux grass ? I ’ll lease the referee decide that . Rather , I ’ll point out that neither Saccharum officinarum nor soybean come without an environmental price tag .
finish of sugarcane want expectant stimulation of nitrate , which are manufacture from instinctive gaseous state , a fossil fuel . Sugarcane also has a freehanded appetite for phosphate , and the overflow from the canefields promotes water defilement and algal blooms wherever sugarcane is grow . Soybeans have their own limited cost . The on - going boom in global Glycine max production is 2d only to cattle ranch in driving wipeout of Savannah and tropical woodland .
No environmental services
No environmental services
What do we get in return for these costs ? Not much , aside from a vista of “ clean and green . ” resilient turf , if decent cultivated , will help more or less to filter the water that falls on it , can sequester substantial amounts of carbon in the grime , and helps cool its surround in the summertime . synthetical sod offers none of these services .
Installing faux grass does end the need for mowing and the air contamination that creates , but Synlawn wo n’t reincarnate itself like a living flora does . A quick connection - check turned up estimation of the life-time for artificial turf ranging from 10 to 15 years , at most 20 to 25 ; the Arizona distributer for Synlawn offer a 15 - year warranty . At the ending of that time , the synthetic skunk will have to be removed and replaced . The leave waste matter is theoretically compostable ( according to Synlawn ) , but my bet is that it will go to the landfill .
actual turf attach significant measure of carbon in the grunge to help combat the greenhouse effect
Real turf sequesters significant amounts of carbon in the soil to help combat the greenhouse effect
If you are concerned about wildlife , you know that even a weedy lawn provides relatively piffling support for pollinator . A synthetic lawn , however , provide none .
If you are really tired of mowing and desire a more environmentally beneficial ground cover , I suggest you consider planting a hayfield . That ’s what I ’m going to do in my back yard this downfall .
