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Show TPAD RL ARO ETT weg 2 Everybody laughed. Until his rice yield became the most abundant in the neighborhood. That’s when he became a genius. At any rate, our celebrated farmer was brought to America on a tour, whereupon he began spying endless rows of sparkling green lawns. When told that these were carpets of (non-native) grass, designed by landscape architects for aesthetic purposes, he said something to the effect that lawns are ridiculous. Better to plant vegetables and native herbs. welcome to the And, of course, if we’d listened to this sage advice, AG E Wired wouldn’t have to waste time and paper babbling about smart grass with Roundup resistant gene implants. Which brings up a bigger question that might as well be asked: Why is it fashionable to create complicated (and potentially risky) technological fixes for problems that could be fixed the easy way? Why not reflect on Occam ’s Razor and save everybody a lot of hassle (not to mention money)? And, just to refresh the old noggin, here’s Occams nedmudd@bellsouth.net Which brings up a bigger question that might as well be asked: Why is it fashionable to create - COMPLICATED (and potentially risky) technological fixes for problems that could have been fixed THE EASY WAY? from the CRAWL SPACE of HISTORY...notes from the desk of NED MUDD People often think, in their arrogance and ignorance, that nature needs their assistance to carry on. Well, the truth 1s that nature actually does much better without such "help" from humans! Masanobu Fukuoka Open Letter to Wired Magazine | axiom: One should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything. [Translation: Keep it simple, stupid.] Dear Wired: In April 2006 you ran a weird article by David Wolman entitled Turf Wars. Spotlighting a guy named Jim Hagedorn, CEO of ScottsMiracle-Gro, the article did a decent job of enlightening readers to the fact that “Nearly 50,000 square miles of the continental U.S. is covered by lawn...” (NASA). And, that “Lawn care and gardening is also the most popular outdoor leisure activity in the country...” (to the tune of $7 billion a year). So far so good. : | Then your writer slipped into something I call Techno Fog, leaping over the facts into a nifty high-tech solution to a heinous problem facing our nation: All those acres of grass come with a big fat environmental price tag. Lawns require massive amounts of water (soon to cost more than Heineken in many areas of the country), they require mowing (pollution!), demand loads of nasty pesticides and fertilizers which subsequently run-off into our streams and (already polluted) rivers. | According to Wolman, “A typical one-third acre lawn receives 10,000 gallons of water a year...” Unless you happen to live in quaint Las Vegas, in which case your spiffy lawn Let's look at lawn grass in Occam’s light, and then see if Miracle-Gro is of vital strategic importance to America’s long-term wellbeing. Does a plush lawn offer any financial benefits that couldn’t be had by other, less jive-ass, means? No. Does chem-grass provide habitats for native species? No. Does a chem-lawn signify anything other than a household of Americans with more money than brains? Hardly. It’s just grass, usually imported from regions afar, all in the name of homogenized yard maintenance and the illusion of nature. Not that nature actually comes wrapped in perfectly manicured plots of spiky carpet. Cemeteries maybe, but a field of dead urbanites is hardly a chunk of the wild. Alas, I’m being too harsh, as usual. It’s not that yards are components of the Evil Empire; rather, it’s the fact that we’ve allowed ourselves to be duped by a concept of what it is to live in nice surroundings. Why opt for plastic cookie cutter rows of suburban banality when something better is at hand? And that something that comes with a rebate! : Righto — xeriscaping (from the Greek, meaning dry), for example, is a method of might need to gulp 100,000 gallons a year just to stay in the game. As the saying goes: If it ain’t global warming, it’s depleted aquifers, or drought. What’s a red blooded American to do? | ytilizing native plants to provide a more efficient ground cover. A xeriscaped yard uses half the water and less maintenance than a “traditional” grass-covered lawn. Swapping drought tolerant species for ubiquitous Kentucky bluegrass, for instance, saves money Here’s where the Techno Fog gets too thick for oo considerations. Ditto in spades for Las Vegas. and time, and lots of water. And if you're a resident of Albuquerque, those are serious sense. Your writer completely ignores the obvious and opts for what the CEO of Miracle-Gro would have us believe is a rational answer to a stupid question: Genetically modified Smart Plants! All we need is a bit of masterful technological wizardry to bail our nation out of the patently stupid invention of lush green lawns! It isn’t enough that the modern lawn is a pale reflection of the sprawling carpets so coveted by 18" Century English “gentlemen.” Hell no, Americans need something to waste $7 billion a year on, and it might as well be chemlawns and scenic gardening. Your writer could’ve easily asked one measly question and saved you a bunch of ink: Who needs a freaking lawn? At least one that sprouts non-native honky grasses the color of Elizabeth Taylor’s emeralds? Answer — nobody. _ Years ago a celebrated Japanese farmer, Masanobu Fukuoka, penned a small but ingenious book entitled Zhe One Straw Revolution. Mr. Fukuoka decided one morning to abandon the use of chemicals on his family’s|old farm, switching instead to simple methods involving native prey insects and the recycling of rice straw as ground cover. Then there’s the good, old fashioned, natural lawn. Using native species, the natural yard tends to take care of itself when given the chance. Using less of the ecological negatives (water, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides), these yards tend to be colorful, _ attractive to wildlife, and unique to the owner’s taste. And while we're at it, working with nature, instead of bending it to our fickle whims of conformity, allows native predators to reappear, helping to keep pests under control. Think ladybugs and dragonflies. What’s not to like? Allow me to toss in a fun quote I just ran across: "Maintaining a lawn is one of the most evil practices of the upper and middle classes. It is flagrantly wasteful of drinking water and nonrenewable resources, irresponsibly destructive of our native plant and animal species, and dependent on the defiant and dishonest use of chemicals, which are far more threatening to human health than any weed pollen." Lorrie Otto (guru of the natural landscaping movement, according to Audubon magazine). See? I’m not alone and have uncovered an entire movementto support my ideas. Remember HUB OF MOAB CYCLERY. ae > CALL US TOLL-FREE stelsMciOmo YAbe) MOAB’S FIRST & BEST BIKE SHO, 94 WEST 100 NORTH 259.5333 MOAB, rimceyclery.com uT | \. _ BIKE RENTAL & SALES GEAR & CLOTHING MAPS & BOOKS RIM-BRANDED' "Edward. Scizzorhands?" Meet KELBY (and feet) aman dedicated to free-spinning wheels... = Zz. N Bi) | i But how do I scratch? |