lawns take up more space in the US than even corn, says NASA

[moominmolly]

Whoa. From bitterlawngnome:

The map shows how common lawns are across the country, despite a wide variability of climate and soils. Indeed, the scientists who produced the map estimate that more surface area is devoted to lawns than to any other single irrigated crop in the country. For example, lawns appear to cover more than three times the number of acres that irrigated corn covers. The large image shows a more detailed look at fractional lawn surface area in urban areas. In many cities, the urban core—where buildings, parking lots, and roads are densest—appears paler green.

From here, more information available on how they got this data (interesting!) and the ecological impact of lawns here.

I like having an open space that I own, on which I can practice stilt tricks and play with kids and lay in the sun on warm days, but even I have to admit that our national lawn fetish is really kind of creepy.

Comments

[khedron.livejournal.com]

Not that many green grass lawns in the part of NM I was from (southwest Albuquerque), to the extent that my Iowan wife said, "Wait, no, rocks are not a front yard."

On the eastern side of Albuquerque, where the mountains help corral moisture and it actually rains, they're more likely to have standard suburban grass lawns -- but like I said, it rains there! So it's a lot easier to manage.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

I've been told that the spread of irrigated lawns in the Southwest has actually changed the local climate of such places as Phoenix--ironically undermining the conditions (e.g. dry air, low pollen) that attracted a lot of Northerners there in the first place.