Author: Cut that lawn obsession

The warming breezes of spring may fan the obsession many Americans have for maintaining a perfect green lawn, but an author coming to U-M challenges this custom.

Ted Steinberg questions the wisdom of spending $40 billion annually on lawn care products in the United States. "That's about the size of the 2003 domestic product of Vietnam," he says. "A better way to go is to consider some moderation here."

Steinberg, professor of history and law at Case Western Reserve University near Cleveland, is scheduled to discuss his book, "American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn," in a program from 4-5:30 p.m. March 23 at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens (MBG) Auditorium. His appearance is sponsored by the Program in the Environment, MBG and Nichols Arboretum.

Steinberg recalls leaving his native New York City for suburban Merrick, Long Island, as a young boy. "It was on the south shore. My folks bought a three-bedroom ranch. My father took care of the yard; I got a plastic toy lawn mower and would follow him around."

Steinberg says he never really thought much about lawns or lawn care until 1996, when he moved to an upscale area in the Cleveland suburb Shaker Heights.

"I took a little walk in the neighborhood and I was horrified," he says, by the level of attention most neighbors paid to their lawns. He found that for those obsessed with lawn care, even thick, trim green grass is not enough. "They roll it. You'd swear you're at the Augusta National Golf Club."

Steinberg says his lawn, which he maintained with a push mower, stood out. "I was talking to my neighbor across the street. He pointed (at Steinberg's lawn) and said, 'Are you thinking about doing anything about that?' I was kind of taken aback," he says, laughing.

"It's a post World War II phenomenon. The idea of a weed-free, ultra-trim, super-green lawn is essentially a product of the 50s and 60s in the United States," Steinberg says. The author maintains that as American industry became more efficient in turning out innovations people needed—such as washing machines, stoves, cars and more—there still was plenty of capacity left over to turn out even more products that were less essential—such as those that could be used to create and maintain perfect lawns.

Because most grass used to seed lawns is non-native to the Midwest and East, Steinberg says many products are needed to maintain lawns. "To get the perfect lawn people continually have to go back to the store to get chemicals. It's a self-fulfilling failure, they have to return to the store over and over again," he says.

"A low-input lawn approach is less taxing on resources of oil and water. You can let your lawn go brown and dormant in the summer; you don't have to haul out the hoses," he says, adding grass typically survives summer.

"You've got to get over somehow this obsession with perfection. If you at least get people to think about it, there's at least some hope."

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