Lawns in the United States

Lawn grass zones of the U.S.

In a 2005 NASA-sponsored study, it was estimated that the area covered by lawns in the United States to be about 128,000 square kilometres (49,000 sq mi), making it the nation's largest irrigated crop by area.[1] Lawn care is thus a popular business in the United States; proper maintenance, construction and management of lawns of various kinds being the focus of much of the modern horticulture industry. Estimates of the amount spent on professional lawn care services vary, but a Harris Survey put the total at $28.9 billion in 2002 (approximately $1,200 per household using such services).

In her book The Lawn: A History of an American Obsession (1994) Virginia Scott Jenkins traces the historic desire to kill weeds. She notes that the current rage for a chemically dependent lawn emerged after World War II and argues that "American front lawns are a symbol of man's control of, or superiority over, his environment."

According to the EPA, "of the 26 billion gallons of water consumed daily in the United States, approximately 7.8 billion gallons, or 30 percent, is devoted to outdoor uses. The majority of this is used for irrigation."[2]

Along with trees, lawns are a vital element in the fight against urban heat islanding. Lawns provide:

In comparison to bare dirt, a lawn may be 20 °F cooler on a hot day, and up to 40 °F cooler than cement surfaces.

Lawnmowers

Some companies and brands of lawn mowers in the US include:

US lawn mower patents

US patent Lawn mowers
US patent Mowing machines
Designs
Reissued US patent

See also

References

  1. "Looking for Lawns" - general interest article about the NASA study
  2. "Conserving Water" - EPA tips to conserve water
  3. Ben Ikenson (2004). Patents: Ingenious Inventions, How They Work and How They Came to Be. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. 288 pages. Page 213

Further reading

External links

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