The rain pattered against my clear plastic umbrella as I shuffled along the hiking path, the ground quickly growing muddy. I glanced up at the mountain, scanning for any forming waterfalls among the crimson rocks. I was a bit too early to see any, so I perched myself on top of a black lava rock, its perforations not yet filled with rainwater yet.
The clouds roiled above in varying undulations of grey. The water they showered down on the desert landscape was so precious to such a dry land. Our last rainstorm had been over a month ago, which was common for Southern Utah. We were experiencing a somewhat dry year; snowpack the winter before had been quite low, and residents all over the state of Utah had been urged to cut back on their daily water usage in order to conserve the meager stores we had.
After sitting for quite some time, I realized the rain might not be intense enough to yield waterfalls, and I headed back the way I came. The sidewalk started up again, and I dodged the overflowing gutters to step onto it. I walked until I came across a neighborhood again, but what I saw incensed me. The rain was still drizzling down overhead, and yet the sprinklers at every house in this cookie-cutter neighborhood were still spraying at full-blast on their perfectly manicured lawns. This is extremely wasteful and thoughtless of the homeowners.
“The American Obsession with Lawns,” written in the Scientific American shares my view against lawn culture. It discusses the history of lawn culture and what’s toxic about it. Though at the same time, it also sympathizes with the need for green spaces and marvels at the dedication that a truly pristine lawn demands. According to this article, the cultural interest with lawns immigrated from Europe with the wealthy settlers and has been a symbol of prosperity and success ever since. What is crucial to note, yet extremely interesting, is that lawns began as a necessity to feed livestock and have grown into a purely aesthetic luxury. These perfect expanses of grass serve no purpose except to show status. They display a level of success at which the owner has both the time and money to cultivate and support such a waste of water and energy.
This article has led my decision to write about the toxicity of lawn culture, especially in the desert. The article makes valid points about both sides of the lawn debate. While I do agree that lawns are a hallmark in the classic American dream, I stand with the opinion that they are a waste of resources, especially since they only serve to promote the image of the owner. Instead of fueling this culture, we should convert our landscaping to that which matches our surroundings. In the desert, we should have rocky yards with local flora, such as succulents or shrubs that need only natural watering. We need to care more about our planet than we care about our personal image.
Article Cited:
D'Costa, Krystal. “The American Obsession with Lawns.” Scientific American Blog Network, 3 May 2017, blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/the-american-obsession-with-lawns/.
