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You seem to be overestimating the amount water we use for lawns. Agriculture uses 77% of all water in California. Residential is less than 14%, with half of th

You seem to be overestimating the amount water we use for lawns. Agriculture uses 77% of all water in California. Residential is less than 14%, with half of that being indoor use. I am all in favor of low water gardening, but you are not going to save us from the drought by getting rid of lawns.

humanrebar 12y ago
Yeah, but agriculture feeds people. Lawns... look nice?
- jqm 12y ago
  A very good point. But most agriculture water in California is used in livestock production... esp. Alfalfa. If water for agriculture were not so heavily subsidized by taxpayers, the market would likely correct the shortage fairly quickly with changes in diet (which arguably might have some health benefits as well). http://www.publiclandsranching.org/htmlres/wr_guzzling_water.htm http://www.publiclandsranching.org/htmlres/wr_guzzling_water... http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/08/opinion/meat-makes-the-planet-thirsty.html http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/08/opinion/meat-makes-the-pla...
schiffern 12y ago
>I am all in favor of low water gardening, but you are not going to save us from the drought by getting rid of lawns. That's why you replace the lawns with zero-maintenance[1] food forests. Water? Rainwater irrigates the garden, suburbs having an abundance of 100% runoff surfaces like streets, roofs, etc that are usually mismanaged. Reforestation is critical, since ~80% of inland rainfall comes from transpiration.[2] In deserts (read: much of California), minimizing evaporation is key. You also need to harvest the infrequent (and torrential) rains that do happen. If you have a floods followed months later by droughts, that should tell you that your water system isn't set up correctly. ;) Global warming? How about instead of driving to the supermarket, having the produce section is right outside your door? Since an acre of farm-land is now CO2 positive, this is a big win. Fertilizer? Municipal-scale composting of human wastes[3] can safely close the nutrient cycle. In a zero-maintenance system the "weeds" build soil, fix nitrogen, eat minerals, and attract support species like pest-eaters and pollinators (which are really "seed spreaders", since they let the plants re-seed themselves). One challenge is that zero-maintenance food systems can look "messy" to the suburban eye [1] Do you have time to tend a garden? [2] http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~jjgibson/mypdfs/nature11983.pdf http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~jjgibson/mypdfs/nature11983... [3] e.g. http://www.milorganite.com/Using-Milorganite/What-is-It http://www.milorganite.com/Using-Milorganite/What-is-It

humanrebar 12y ago

Yeah, but agriculture feeds people. Lawns... look nice?

jqm 12y ago
A very good point. But most agriculture water in California is used in livestock production... esp. Alfalfa. If water for agriculture were not so heavily subsidized by taxpayers, the market would likely correct the shortage fairly quickly with changes in diet (which arguably might have some health benefits as well). http://www.publiclandsranching.org/htmlres/wr_guzzling_water.htm http://www.publiclandsranching.org/htmlres/wr_guzzling_water... http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/08/opinion/meat-makes-the-planet-thirsty.html http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/08/opinion/meat-makes-the-pla...

schiffern 12y ago

>I am all in favor of low water gardening, but you are not going to save us from the drought by getting rid of lawns. That's why you replace the lawns with zero-maintenance[1] food forests. Water? Rainwater irrigates the garden, suburbs having an abundance of 100% runoff surfaces like streets, roofs, etc that are usually mismanaged. Reforestation is critical, since ~80% of inland rainfall comes from transpiration.[2] In deserts (read: much of California), minimizing evaporation is key. You also need to harvest the infrequent (and torrential) rains that do happen. If you have a floods followed months later by droughts, that should tell you that your water system isn't set up correctly. ;) Global warming? How about instead of driving to the supermarket, having the produce section is right outside your door? Since an acre of farm-land is now CO2 positive, this is a big win. Fertilizer? Municipal-scale composting of human wastes[3] can safely close the nutrient cycle. In a zero-maintenance system the "weeds" build soil, fix nitrogen, eat minerals, and attract support species like pest-eaters and pollinators (which are really "seed spreaders", since they let the plants re-seed themselves). One challenge is that zero-maintenance food systems can look "messy" to the suburban eye [1] Do you have time to tend a garden? [2] http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~jjgibson/mypdfs/nature11983.pdf http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~jjgibson/mypdfs/nature11983... [3] e.g. http://www.milorganite.com/Using-Milorganite/What-is-It http://www.milorganite.com/Using-Milorganite/What-is-It