Energy for the Environment

Last year, Las Vegas decided to ban all ornamental grass. This means that all grass that is nonfunctional and isn’t meant for walking on will be banned. Some examples of this include medians and grass by offices and other businesses. However, in Las Vegas (and everywhere else), ordinary homeowners have not thought much about their yards and what they can do to better the environment while still creating a visually pleasing area. Well, the podcast episode “How to Save the Planet, Starting With Your Yard” explained it quite well with a couple easy pointers. The first big tip is to add trees! This reduces the amount of grass, adds a pleasant visual, and is beneficial to the environment in several ways. At a general level, trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Next, as is stressed in the “How To!” podcast episode, trees provide a safer environment for wildlife and birds. A main goal for your yard should be to keep the species of plants and trees native to your area. In this way, wildlife can have a more natural habitat. To continue, another good tip is to switch up the grass in your yard (maybe just your backyard) for a different ground layer, such as clover. Clover is just as sustainable but requires less irrigation and attention. Finally, a worthwhile tip involves mosquitoes. Living in South Florida, I have experienced many a mosquito. The podcast discusses that many people turn to obvious solutions, such as Mosquito Joe (which, I’ll admit, even my family uses). However, this does not just kill mosquitos, it kills ALL bugs. This is not healthy for the environment or for the ecosystem in general at all. So what to do about these pesky party-ruiners? Here’s an alternative solution directed just at mosquitoes. Take a bucket of water and add some grass. Then, let it ferment for a couple days and after, place it outside. You may be thinking, “Are you crazy?! This is literally creating the exact ideal place for a mosquito to lay her eggs.” Yes, it is. Once the mosquito lays her eggs, place a “Mosquito Dunk” in it (these can be found at Home Depot). This will kill off all the larvae and will reduce your mosquito population without reducing the good pollinators and other bugs that have to survive in order to sustain a healthy environment. Overall, the takeaway of this post should be that when you can, seize the opportunities that arrive to make your yard healthy without being an eyesore.

Sources: https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/wireStory/las-vegas-pushes-ban-ornamental-grass-77006404 

How To Save the Planet, Starting With Your Yard (A. Ripley, Interviewer; season 4, episode 162). (2022, August 9). Slate.