Green Grass

I saw a commercial the other day for a grass that grows with substantially less water than standard grass. This new, environmentally friendly, grass seed from Pennington made me laugh. The commercial ends with a statement that this grass is better for the environment. Better? Better than, say, normal grass? I always thought of grass as environmentally friendly just because it's...well, grass.

I am in favor of environmentally aware actions and living. Like most people, I want my children to appreciate nature and enjoy the mountains that we live in and around. But this new environmental movement seems a little phony to me. I am overwhelmed with organic, green, and Fair trade products, but nobody really knows what these labels mean. Is there a traceable impact in purchasing a few organic or green products, but continuing one's normal lifestyle?

My office is about 1 mile from my home. If I walk to work, people think I am either crazy or lost my car and I get offered rides to work or church by everyone who sees me walking. The streets of Keyser are full of people like me who could easily walk to work each day if they really wanted to make an impact. In this area, people have a different sense of the environment. It surrounds us and as West Virginians, we identify with the natural beauty of the state. Just ask the Governor about his experience trying to change our state motto.

Now we have to listen to Hollywood stars and big city power players and politicians tell us how we are destroying the world because our cars use too much gas on our 1 mile commute, or because we use bad grass, or leave the lights on when we leave a room. Afterall, the Neo-Environmentalists that are emerging around us care more, just look at their shopping carts. But is this really an effort to make an impact, or does everyone just want to look like tehy are trying? Take the grass example. The goal of course is a lush, green, better than the Jones', lawn that requires less manual watering from the property owner who is trying to conserve water. Afterall, the property owner is economically aware and wants to conserve water. Then again, if the property owner really wanted to conserve water, couldn't they just forego having the greenest lawn on the block? Afterall, they are saving water but probably using gas powered lawn maintenance equipment that is filling the air with toxic vapor and increasing our demand for foreign oil...Clearly this is the Presiden'ts fault. A spotty, untreated, unwatered, natural lawn should be a badge of honor to a true environmentalist. Mow your spotty lawn with a rotary, self-powered mower that uses no gas or electricity and I will applaud that you are trying to make an impact. Otherwise, create a beautiful landscape with non-native plants and I will applaud your creativity and commitment to creating an aestheticly beautiful place to live.