The Politics of Earth Stewardship in the Uneven Anthropocene - Earth Stewardship: Linking Ecology and Ethics in Theory and Practice - page 142

Box 10.1
Fig. 10.1 American lawns complicate expectations regarding Earth stewardship (Photo by
L. Ogden)
The turf grass lawn is one of the largest and fastest growing landscapes in the
United States. It is also a landscape that requires the application of chemicals,
nutrients, and water on a scale rivaling commercial agriculture. Paul Robbins'
( 2007 ) research on lawns illustrates the complexities of understanding the
drivers and risks associated with environmental degradation in the United
States. Contrary to expectations about “green” behavior, Robbins' research
shows that homeowners who apply lawn chemicals are disproportionately
better educated and have higher incomes than homeowners who do not.
Surprisingly, these same “chemical appliers” do so even though they also are
more likely to believe that lawn chemicals have a negative effect on local
water supplies. For these homeowners, the rewards of a green lawn, specifi -
cally as a way of protecting capital investment, outweighs fears about the
environmental harm and human health consequences of lawn chemicals. In
effect, wealthier and better-educated Americans live in toxic landscapes of
their own making. That said, Robbins demonstrates how homeowner anxiet-
ies about property values, community standards, lawn care industries, input
manufacturers, developers, municipalities, and even turf grass itself drives the
production and maintenance of this unique urban ecology.