The fact is
Did anyone notice that the other day when the list came out for the top 10 states with the highest number of bankruptcy, eight were RED states. So much for a Conservative/Republican standard of living and leadership.
Jim Hall, Clearlake Oaks
Grass Roots
Plastic grass sounds like a great idea. No more watering your thirsty lawn. It looks good, too. You can hardly tell it from real lawn. No chemical fertilizers or pest control substances to keep your green lawns looking luscious.
The fake green lawn has a warranty of 10-15 — maybe even 20 years.
Time passes, warranty is up! Then what happens? Sunshine breaks down the plastic blades of grass into little tiny pieces of plastic. Those pieces exposed to the elements will then wash into the gutters, ditches, roadways, streets, the creeks, streams, rivers, our lakes, our delta, our bays — placing plastic particles all along the route to the ocean.
Fish can’t eat the plastic and stay healthy. We can’t eat the plastic “poisoned” fish and stay healthy. It’s no good for the health of the ocean, and soon those pieces we can no longer contain will be floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Heap of plastic that has been estimated to be 700,000 acres and growing. The Pacific Ocean GYRE. Think of the gyre as a floating graveyard because it damages sea life we depend on for our own survival.
Pure, clean and safe water is a precious resource and should be conserved and carefully guarded. The drought conditions in California will change the behavior of its citizens. Please do your own research. Find the answers before you rush into a quick-fix solution. That quick solution will be far worse than the inconvenience of having a brown lawn.
Also, even when the plastic lawn is installed properly with inches of granite beneath it, if you have too many urinating pets for the size of your yard, and you have no water for long periods of time, the fake lawn will get bacteria under it and may smell very, very nasty.
Instead of installing plastic lawn, educate yourself about the rich and varied plant choices available and create a yard that encourages birds, butterflies, produces oxygen, delicious vegetables and lovely flowers and grasses. Then the pleasure and variety of nature can surround you on a daily basis.
Ask a master gardener. Join a garden club. Ask at your favorite garden store. You’ll save water for California as you are improving your own small part of the California and making the rest of the world a healthier environment for us all now and for your grandchildren in the future.
A “Grass Roots” movement is needed to spread the message — not the plastic! Please make an educated, thoughtful, caring decision and pass the message.
Leanne Harvey, Lakeport
