I loathe lawns.

Yes, lawns do serve their purpose. I'm not going to pretend that I don't enjoy sauntering across a nice plush lawn, or that I don't find inner peace by contemplating the unreasonable greeness. And why shouldn't I enjoy and partake in the grass for its intended purposes? After all, I do pay the university to keep it in such pristine condition. And I do, in a way, benefit from the prestige that that grass portrays.

I had already developed a deepening distaste for the maintenance of lawns, but today I listened to a guest speaker lecture about the civil obligations of maintaining a lawn in order to preserve societal bonds. I think my new hero is Paul Robbins, predominately for his work in this specific field (I think he called it "civil ecology") and, to be honest, partly for his charming way of lecturing. (yes... yes, I do have a crush on him.)



He's done extensive work and research in the phenomenon of the lawn-based community that America has developed, and focuses quite a bit on the very serious environmental and health side effects of the chemicals used to preserve these lawns. (It's interesting to note that we continue to pour these chemicals onto our lawns despite knowledge of the side effects, justifying the lifestyle with pleas of civil duty and neighborhood value.)

His lecture was especially interesting to me because, in the past few months, I have decided quite seriously that I want to pursue work in developing a better alternative to our existing suburbian lifestyle, the maintenance of which is currently fed by resources that will eventually be exhausted. I want to develop a career around sustainable housing - and a more positive (prestigious) connotation of it.

Anyway. He wrote a book called Lawn People... read it if you're as excited as I am.

you can also google him. i know i have. <3