10: The Lawn-Chemical Economy and Its Discontents

The role your front lawn plays in the economy, society, and global environment is far underrated. This is the argument of authors Paul Robbins and Julie Sharp who argue that this monoculture undermines the dualisms of demand and supply, culture and economy, and regional and global. Counterinstitutionalization of the lawn by environmental groups attempts to disconnect the cultural value associated with a well-kept, green lawn as the economic and environmental resources required are now too great to justify. Culturally, this counterinstituionalization is working as people begin to understand that this type of monoculture is outdated and admittedly mundane. Municipal laws are seeing change across the continent as weeds are no longer seen as the enemy they once were. In Canada, the regression from lawn monoculture has been more dramatic than in the US. The movement began in a suburb of Montreal and reached its climax when it was brought before the Canadian Supreme Court. The court ruled that municipalities have the right to ban certain chemicals from its environment which it believes negatively harm their communities. People understand that having a manicured green lawn is not worth environmental degradation or the money, time, and resources required to invest in it. At the same time however, there are neighborhood groups that wish to enforce laws that establish lawn maintenance standards. These are in place to prevent properties from being the eyesore on the street. These laws however, when too strictly enforced, created this problem. There is a middle ground however, where a monoculture of a green, manicured lawn can be replaced with a diversity of native lawn types that can still be aesthetically pleasing, resource non-intensive, and environmentally friendly.