Dandelions
On a recent morning, I took an inventory of the wildflowers growing on our lawn. In addition to dandelions (hated by most Americans but beloved of bees) there were buttercups, forget-me-nots, creeping speedwell, ajuga, creeping charlie, and white and red clover.
I found a patch of wild onions, picked one, and bit into the pungent, tasty stalk. This is a healthy lawn, lush, long, and variegated, with “weeds” and wildflowers growing freely among the grasses. No herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers have touched our lawn. This is the opposite of the grass monoculture that is heavily promoted as the norm by the makers of lawn chemicals, a birdless and beeless sea of bright green monotony, interrupted only by the little white signs warning us to keep off the grass.
Seventy-eight million U.S. households use pesticides and herbicides on their lawns, supporting a $35 billion lawn chemical industry. Ninety million pounds are applied to lawns and gardens every year. Unfortunately, many of these chemicals kill more than weeds and destructive insects: They are “biocides” that can cause indiscriminate harm. Potential health risks include carcinogenesis, birth defects, neurotoxicity, liver or kidney damage and hormonal disruption.
Children are particularly vulnerable; studies have linked lawn pesticides with increased risk for asthma, childhood leukemias, developmental delays and hyperactivity disorders. The effects on insects and birds are devastating. Lawn chemicals have been estimated to kill up to eight million birds per year, and are suspected as a major factor in the decline of the bee population.
Dogs exposed to herbicide-treated lawns and gardens have twice the normal risk of developing canine lymphoma, and an even higher risk for bladder cancers. In addition, many herbicides and pesticides have been detected in groundwater, and fertilizer runoff contributes to toxic algae blooms that damage aquatic life.
None of this is new information. Rachel Carson eloquently described the effects of herbicides and pesticides in her 1962 classic, “Silent Spring,” which led directly to the banning of DDT and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Since then, much progress has been made, but there are many loopholes and flaws in our existing regulatory system that favor the lawn chemical industry. For instance, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency relies on health data collected by the manufacturers in the registration of pesticides, and “inert” ingredients (which are often biologically active and can be more toxic than active ingredients) are protected as “trade secrets” which are not disclosed to the public.
Also, EPA does not concern itself with low-dose exposures and synergistic effects of various chemicals. Finally, most states have “pre-emption laws” that prohibit localities from passing regulations that are stricter than the state rules, inhibiting local control of the problem.
I suspect that most lawn chemical-users have vague concerns about these dangers, but assume that any products that are approved for sale in stores must be 100 percent safe.
At the same time, I think they are seduced by the television ads showing attractive, prosperous-looking people with lovely houses spraying chemicals on their lush, green, perfectly manicured lawns. Furthermore, in neighborhoods where most people use herbicides, there is a strong tendency to conform and avoid criticism (real or imagined) from neighbors who might blame them for spreading the horror of dandelion contagion.
Wake up, people!
If you're concerned about the environment, and your family's health, stop using lawn chemicals. Then you can kick off your shoes, lie down in the grass, and watch contentedly as your kids make dandelion chains and look for a four-leaf clover.
Clifford D. Packer is a physician and Chagrin Falls resident.