Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
only a few nonnative grass species. These invaders are regularly mowed to a
low, even height and kept continuously green and free of weeds and pests. To
maintain this sea of grass Americans annually spend $30 billion. They use
eight hundred million gallons of gas, seven billion gallons of water, three mil-
lion tons of nitrogen fertilizer, and thirty thousand tons of pesticide. The use
of pesticides alone is ten times greater than used by the average farmer and
includes chemicals that disrupt normal hormone function and reproduction,
are suspected to cause cancer, and are banned in other countries. Simply i ll-
ing up gas-powered lawnmowers is an ecological disaster of the highest order;
seventeen million gallons of gas are spilled annually. That amount is more
than was spilled by the
Exxon Valdez
in 1989 and every twelve years would
equal the amount spewed into the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010
Deepwater
Horizon
disaster.
