England is approximately 50 million acres in size. About 50 millions acres of land in the United States is covered with lawns. Think these are unrelated statistics? They aren't if you know the history of how the custom of lawns originated in the United States. In the early years of American history, lawns were not seen. It wasn't until wealthy Americans who traveled to England, saw the beautiful lush lawns on the estates of wealthy English noblemen. Not wanting to be outdone, the Americans brought this custom back with them to the U.S. Quickly it was realized that the native grasses that grew in America would not produce the beautiful lawns seen in England.

Back in the early 1900's, the U.S. Department of Agriculture helped the U.S. Golf association in their quest for a suitable grass for the many golf courses that were sprouting up all over the country. After several years of research, they came up with grasses that would grow well on these golf courses. Once these courses were established, the golf clubs needed to keep these non-native grasses looking good in order to attract customers, so pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers were developed.

The proliferation of lawns, the widespread availability of chemicals, and the gas powered lawn mower were the catalyst that made the lawn so popular here in the United States. Lawns are a big business generating millions of dollars of revenue from the sale of the grass itself to the care and maintenance of that lawn.

Fertilizers and Lawns

The problem with having these beautiful lawns is that the fertilizers being used to keep them green is wrecking havoc on our waterways and causing a severe water pollution problem. While Nitrogen and Phosphorus, the two main ingredients of fertilizers help us grow those beautiful lawns, they also

· Result in aquatic plants snd algae overp producing.

· Cause algae blooms

· Cause clogged waterways

· Use up the oxygen in the water when they decompose

· Block available sunlight causing death to native aquatic plants

· Cause the death of fish due to the lack of oxygen

Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Fertilizers

Fertilizers normally contain three major ingredients, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in the form of potash. The numbers on the bags indicate how much of each of these elements are found in the product and always indicate the amount of N-P-K, always in that order.

Nitrogen and phosphorus are naturally occurring elements and are essential to plant growth. Just like most anything, too much of a good thing in the form of fertilizers, is destroying our waterways. Scientists are still studying the role that fertilizers, which contain these essential elements, are contributing to the decrease in the quality of our oceans, lakes and streams.

Their research is leading to the conclusion that Phosphorus is causing the algae blooms and other problems in fresh water, while nitrogen can be the cause of pollution in our coastal waters.

The movements are on to ban or limit the use of fertilizers in many areas. Westchester County, one of the most affluent counties in the United States, recently banned the use of phosphorus on lawns and put restrictions on the use of fertilizers in an effort to protect their nearby waters. More and more municipalities are putting fertilizer bans or restrictions in place.

Conclusion

America's love affair with beautiful lawns has to change. No longer can we dump millions of pounds of fertilizers on our lawns and also expect to have clean water. The big problem with the bans that have been put into place is that it is difficult to enforce them on residential properties. Much education is needed to change the mindset of those people who insist on these green lawns. They need to be shown the direct correlation between the fertilizers used on their lawns and the effect it has on our waterways.

Eventually though, a lush green lawn will no longer be a status symbol , just as huge gas guzzling expensive cars are losing their status symbol. As the world goes green, lawns will be a thing of the past.