Guest Blog

Since spring is upon us here in the Midwest, I have begun to think about the care of my lawn and the effect it has on my family. I have heard so many horror stories about pesticides, so I wanted to look into using natural lawn care in my yard. The concept behind natural or organic lawn care is that you do not use synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.

I know we live in a somewhat paranoid society about chemical toxins, pesticides, and pollutants but I think we should let the science speak for itself. The National Coalition for Pesticide Free Lawns (www.beyondpesticides.org), reports the following facts:

Pesticides have been linked to birth defects, developmental disorders, kidney & liver damage, cancer, central nervous system disorders, endocrine disruption, and reproductive effects.
The National Academy of Science reports that children are more susceptible to chemicals than adults and estimates that 50% of lifetime pesticide exposure occurs in the first 5 years of life.
The World Health Organization cites that over 30% of the global burden of disease comes from environmental exposures, including pesticides.
According to the Journal of National Cancer Institute, household and garden pesticide use can increase the risk of childhood leukemia seven fold.
A study by the American Cancer Society finds an increased risk for non-Hodgekins Lymphoma in people exposed to common herbicides and fungicides, particularly the weedkiller mecoprop (MCPP). People exposed to glypho-sate (Round-up) are 2.7 times more likely to develop NHL.
75 out of 99 human studies done on lymphoma and pesticides find a link between the two.
A 2004 study finds that young infants and toddlers exposed to herbicides (weedkillers) within their first year of life are 4.5 times more likely to to develop asthma by age five, and 2.5 times more likely when exposed to insecticides.
Scientist believe that the amount of chemical toxins found in the environment that cause developmental and neurological damage are contributing to the rise of physical and mental effects found in our children.

It's pretty scary that some things that are so widely used and accepted can be so harmful to our children, not to mention our wildlife and groundwater! I do believe that you need to be vigilant to protect your family and cannot always believe in the safety standards put on products by our corporations and our government.

In addition to the safety concerns, I have found that natural lawn care is more affordable. I used to pay $80 per application for the conventional lawn care from a major lawn company and now I pay $50 per application from a local organic lawn care provider. But more important to the money is the piece of mind knowing that my family is not being exposed to chemical toxins from our yard.

We'd like to hear from you. Have you used organic lawn care in your yard? How would you rate the experience and do you have any useful tips for our readers?

-April Bixel, Guest Blogger for Green Energy TV