Story Tools
The quest for the beautiful and perfect lawn is a common pursuit. Who doesn’t love a majestic lawn with gardens and beyond to call one’s own?
But how many average homeowners recognize how dangerous the cumulative effect of all the chemicals they put on their lawns is to themselves and the environment? Are Long Islanders aware, for example, that Canada has banned common lawn products readily available in the U.S. because they are recognized carcinogens?
Last summer, a New York Times article entitled “Green Lawn, Filthy Future” reported that “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, responsible for pesticide regulation, does not guarantee the safety of pesticides. Nor does the agency require testing of herbicides in the combinations normally found in the bags of fertilizer mixed with weed killers and known as weed and feed. Even worse, pesticides banned from use on food crops but allowed on lawns are not subject to testing for their chronic (as opposed to acute) health effects.”
Yet according to the EPA, many of the pesticides used on residential lawns are possible or probable carcinogens. So why are they still in such widespread use?
Fertilizer is One Culprit
A recent study conducted by the Center for Survey Research at Stony Brook University for the Long Island Sound Study—a partnership of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the states of Connecticut and New York—might shed some light on this gap: “Residents show high levels of concern for the environment and support efforts to protect and restore it. About 73 percent of respondents said that protecting the environment was more important to them than encouraging economic growth. But for many, those attitudes are not linked to personal behaviors or accurate knowledge of the problems facing the Sound.”
The study showed that despite concerns over water-quality issues and the health of Long Island Sound, most residents living near the Sound are not fully aware of the link between their own actions and well-water quality as well as ecological problems of the Sound.
“The findings reveal a large difference in public knowledge of air and water pollution,” said Leonie Huddy, director of the Center for Survey Research at Stony Brook University.
“Watershed residents are reasonably knowledgeable about car emissions and fossil fuels. But they are very poorly informed about the major causes of water pollution. Most people do not understand how their everyday behavior affects local water quality.”
The study reported that residents who understand basic environmental concepts are more likely to engage in lawn-care practices that prevent the runoff of excess fertilizer. Such activities could reduce fertilizer runoff containing nitrogen and phosphorous from discharging into tributaries and the Sound, which causes excess algae to grow, as algae are stimulated by the nutrients. Excess algae leads to lower levels of oxygenated water, which harms the Sound’s fish and shellfish.
Pesticides and Herbicides Do Damage, Too
Pesticides and herbicides used on lawns are also a major problem many homeowners need to be aware of. According to the Yale University study “Redesigning the American Lawn,” Americans dump close to one billion dollars worth of chemicals—more than 67 million pounds of synthetic pesticides—on U.S. lawns.
Documented cases of pesticides in Long Island groundwater wells are suspect for cancer clusters showing up in many towns, according to reports from the New York Attorney General’s office, which also reported that after the herbicide Dacthal was applied to Long Island golf courses, it was detected in drinking-water wells at levels 20 times the State’s safety limit. So far, 22 other pesticides have been found in the water as well. At the time of the report, the Chief Environmental Scientist for the New York State Attorney General was quoted in the article “Pesticides: The Killing Fields” as saying: “If you buy the notion that we have to accept a certain amount of risk from pesticides to safeguard the food supply, that’s one thing. But with lawns, people are applying carcinogens simply for the sake of aesthetics. That’s got to change.”
She continues, “I am often asked by visitors if we use any pesticides on our lawns. I am very proud to say that in the eight years that I have been here, we have never applied any pesticides to our lawns. Our turf is not just for show. People picnic on it, allow their children to crawl on it, and three times a year we allow people to bring their dogs onto the property. So I choose to keep our lawns healthy through good horticultural practices and mechanical weed removal. This does not mean that our lawns are “perfect” all the time. Upon close inspection, one can definitely locate clover in our turf, but overall our turf is very green and healthy.” Old Westbury Gardens also has an all-organic vegetable garden that is fed with an organic seaweed-based fertilizer.
Making Healthy Choices
There are lots of new healthy lawn-maintenance choices out there if you are interested in considering the options. For instance, vinegar and other natural substances that are non-toxic have been shown to kill weeds. Maura Brush indicates that at Old Westbury Gardens “We now use white vinegar in place of weed killer on our gravel paths.”
Dodds & Eder Garden Center in Oyster Bay is another Long Island entity making a difference. They make an effort to educate people and identify products on their shelves that use biological or organic pesticides and point people in that direction as opposed to using chemical pesticides and fertilizer. George Thompson, from Dodds and Eder, claims “We’ve always had a large line of organic products, but customers are more and more interested than ever before.”
In addition, there are several lawn-care companies across Long Island that are following organic practices, including Organic Care Inc., which services Suffolk; M & A Landscape Service, serving Nassau; and Organically Green, which services both counties. For a full list of organic landscapers, visit Neighborhood Network’s website (www.longislandnn.org).
Formidable Facts:
Farms vs. Homes: According to the National Academy of Sciences, lawn use is a significant component of the total pesticide problem, and although farmers use pesticides more widely, homeowners use 10 times more per acre than do farmers.
Ocean Effect: A huge “dead zone” of deoxygenated water, which can cover about 5,800 square miles, spreads across the Gulf of Mexico every summer because of severe nitrate pollution, rendering the water completely uninhabitable for most marine animals.
Pets and Kids at Risk: Family pets are at great risk to pesticides and lawn chemicals. Parents and pet owners need to be especially aware when going to public fields or parks for recreation with children and animals. People and pets should be kept off areas recently sprayed with chemicals at least until the areas have dried, which could take up to days in damp weather.
Body Beware: According to the National Coalition for Pesticide Free Lawns (www.beyondpesticides.org), of 30 commonly used pesticides, 19 are linked to cancer or carcinogenicity, 13 are linked to birth defects, 21 with reproductive effects, 26 with liver damage, 15 with neurotoxicity, and 11 with disruption of the endocrine hormonal system.
Water and Wildlife Watch: Of the same 30 lawn pesticides, 17 are detected in groundwater, 23 have the ability to leach into drinking water, 24 are toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms vital to our ecosystem, 11 are toxic to bees, and 16 are toxic to birds.
Talk to experts and research as much you can online. And when you go into the lawn-and-garden centers, ask for organic lawn-care products and advice on how to cut back on nitrate fertilizer and products with poisonous weed killer and pesticides. Here’s a start:
Nature’s Avenger, www.naturesavenger.com
An effective organic way to control weeds.
Bradfield Organics, www.bradfieldorganics.com
Certified organic natural fertilizer.
South Fork Groundwater Task Force, www.southforkgroundwatertaskforce.org
A great local source for ways to cut back on excessive use of fertilizer and chemically dependent lawn products.
National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, www.beyondpesticides.org
A growing popular movement of environmental, consumer, and pesticide-reform groups and concerned individuals, coming together on all levels to educate the public, retailers, landscapers, and policy makers about the hazards of lawn chemicals and the viability of safe alternatives.
EPA’s Healthy Lawn, Healthy Environment, www.epa.gov/oppfead1/Publications/lawncare.pdf
A guide to lawn care and protecting the environment
