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Siren Song of the Rider Mower

6/21/2014

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    Remember Odysseus?  On his journey home he had his men lash him to the mast so when he was lulled into complacency by the song of the Sirens his ship wouldn’t be directed off course.

    Does today’s riding lawn mower have anything in common with the ancient Greek Sirens?  Maybe so!  Who, aside from professional lawn care folks, doesn’t think it’s kind of cool to ride around on these cute little mini-tractors?  They’re relatively comfortable, require no physical exertion, and “work” gets done while riding - work that’s easier than any other lawn or garden chore I can think of. 

    If you’re like me, with a rider it’s easy to be lulled into deciding to trim up the yard more often than may actually be necessary, or to extend the mowed area.  We love seeing those green expanses!  And when riding is all it takes, it’s easy to keep lawns cleanly cropped.  (Imagine how our priorities would change if we did all this trimming using old-fashioned reel push mowers.) These beautiful green expanses are what we’ve come to expect.  But they exact a price.
  • According to the EPA one gas powered lawn mower produces the same amount of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides emissions air pollution in one hour of operation as 11 cars each being driven for one hour.
  • Estimates vary, but it's likely Americans burn more than 600 million gallons of gasoline a year cutting grass.
  • Somewhere between a third to half of residential water use is for lawn and garden irrigation; half is wasted by poor watering practices.
  • Lakes, like those in Madison, continually struggle with excessive algae growth partially as a result of lawn fertilizer run-off.
    Perhaps the ease of those riders is a bit like a Siren song lulling us into frequent and expansive trips around the yard.  As sweet as the sounds of the Sirens were to Odysseus’ ears, he knew he’d have to limit his exposure to them if he ever wanted to reach home.  Likewise, as beautiful as those cropped green expanses are to our eyes, we may be wise to consider the benefits of including more natural, unmowed areas as part of our landscape. Wild flowers, prairie grasses, butterflies, birds and healthy lakes and steams are beautiful too – and necessary to a sustainable world.  After all, this planet is the only home we’ll ever know.  We are forever…Earthbound.

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    I'm interested in the topics of sustainability and climate change especially in regards to our local area in southwest Wisconsin.

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