Caring for the lawn is a great American pastime. Grass must be cut regularly. We must buy lawnmowers, clippers, edgers, sprinklers, hoses, gas, oil, fertilizer and herbicides to keep it up or else hire a lawn care specialist. All of this supports an unnecessary industry dedicated to waste of natural resources, our time and adding to the pollution of the environment. But if we don't have a proper lawn, what will the neighbors think? Grass is in control of our lives.

The history of the lawn is mostly an aristocratic one, but the origin of the lawn lies in meadows and pastures. In Europe of the past lawns were proper to large estates of the nobility who had the resources to care for them. There, grasses could grow in their natural environment with little care. Many types of useful lawns were developed there - cricket and croquet fields, the precursors of modern team sports fields and the golf course. However, the modern lawn is an artificial construction, an aberration and obsession peculiar to American life. Most of the grasses we grow aren't native to America, requiring that we take extra care to make them grow, then we chop their heads off. There are no native American grasses that naturally grow so short that they needn't be cut to our specifications for the lawn.

Most home lawns aren't necessary. There are many ground covers and other low-growing plants requiring little maintenance appropriate for each climate that can replace grass. Or we could plant gardens, lay down Astroturf or rocks, pour concrete - all requiring much less maintenance and cost in the long run than lawns. By creating lawns we cut down too many trees that supply shade, oxygen, water vapor and filter the air. Developers of housing sites clearcut rather than leaving trees because its easier for the construction crews, but this ultimately lessens property values. Then, in strategic places, they plant small trees that will take many years to grow.