I've been mowing lawns since I was a little kid, like five or six years old. I'd be on the riding mower doing big swaths while my father used the push mower to get the tight spots. Inevitably, I wanted to do a good job and I'd cut too close to a tree, getting stuck. Happened all the time.

These days, I wouldn't dream of using a riding mower (not that my yard is big enough, but still). Instead, I reverted way back to a reel mower... you know, the kind with the old-timey spinning blades. It works well enough for me and doesn't cost anything but 30 minutes of sweat equity. My neighbor recently offered me their old gas-powered push mower because they now use a gardener. I took the opportunity to do a little educating.
According to Ideal Bite, “Each weekend, 54 million Americans mow their lawns, using an estimated 800 million gallons of gas per year. More fuel is spilled while refueling lawn equipment each year than was spilled by the Exxon Valdez.” That's some serious waste, and by serious I don't just mean quantities. Gas mowers also contribute about 5% of the U.S. air pollution.

If you want to make a change, but aren't quite up for the reel deal, you can always go with an electric mower. That's still a better deal for you and the planet, because the power usage will cost you about $5 a year instead of $5 a gallon (or so). Either way, if you want to be a little lazy AND get some free fertilizer out of the deal, don't rake up your grass clippings. You'll keep 18% of your household waste plus a few plastic garbage bags out of the landfill and you'll minimize nitrogen run-off from traditional fertilizers. If you're really lazy, you could always just get a goat.


Alternately, you could get a fake lawn. There are fairly costly upfront, but pay for themselves within a few years if you add up all the maintenance expenses and time involved with a real lawn. Not only will you save energy, both yours and the planet's, but you'll also save a lot of water because 50-70% of your home's usage goes to watering your lawn. Another cool thing about the fake turf products is that they are mostly made from recycled plastics, shoes and tires. I'm not sure how dogs feel about the synthetics, but you certainly won't have brown patches.

You could also go with stones and cacti and other low-water plants to achieve a look that is pretty popular in California. And if you ever need a natural plant food/fertilizer, check out TerraCycle. I've seen a number of pieces on these guys, including a segment on Sundance Channel that went to the plant. They re-use plastic soda bottles to package their all-natural worm poop products in. A great product and a great company to support.

Another green lawn care option is to pool your resources with neighbors and share equipment. You can actually do this for lots of things and Neighborrow.com wants to help.

And be warned right now, don't ever let me catch you using a hose or a blower when you should be using a broom! You'll sincerely never hear the end of it. So many of the so-called 'conveniences' we've come up with do nothing but harm to our planet and, ultimately, to us. Considering the level of obesity in this country, a little manual-powered sweeping would probably do us all some good.