I don't know about you, but I always thought the whole lawn care thing was stupid. My dad spent his whole weekend mowing the yard when I was a kid and it looked so boring. It didn't help that when he taught me how to mow the lawn I ran into the clothesline. I never mowed again.

But seriously-- why do we care so much about lush green yards? It's supposed to be a sign of dedication, hard work, neighborliness, and pride. Unfortunately lawns across America are poisoning the people living on them and their neighbors. See, the green grass in all these yards is not native grass which means it requires a lot of upkeep, including a pesticide called 2,4-D. 2,4-D causes lots of nasty problems, the most terrifying is a type of blood cancer. It's easily absorbed through the skin and lungs and causes other problems besides cancer, like nausea, vomiting, and birth defects.

I'm a huge fan of the This American Life radio show and recently I watched the TV show on Netflix. In season two episode two there is a story about a Bulgarian man living with his wife in the United States. He loves his home, neighborhood, and wife, but he refuses to mow the lawn. This is seemingly the only argument he and his wife have, and his wife is terrified of what will happen if he doesn't start mowing the lawn. I mean, terrified. Rightly so. Slow Death by Rubber Duck mentions three cases where people were taken to court for not keeping up their lawn. In all these cases the lawn owners won, but I'm sure there are cases where they have not.

Interestingly the writers of this book didn't really do any experiment related to 2,4-D. The reason they didn't is cosmetic pesticides are illegal in Ontario. And Quebec. And Alberta. Rightly so, as "[i]n farming families in North America, for instance, there is a higher incidence of miscarriages and birth defects than in the general population. Farmers in Ontario who use pesticides also have lower sperm counts and poorer-quality sperm than non-farmers" (202). The effects of pesticides aren't just limited to farms and those who apply pesticides to lawns though, they effect everyone. Unfortunately cosmetic pesticide bans are extremely rare in the U.S. because it is such a huge industry and people continually buy into the green lawn dream, whether they really believe in it or are just following the crowd.

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Unusual exit: How Harry is said to have left the Goring Hotel hours before his appearance as best man at his brother's wedding
Sources have revealed that the best man was out socialising until 3am – eight hours before the wedding.
And he is said to have left the party venue with an athletic leap from a balcony which saw him land awkwardly on one ankle.
The scene of the raucous goings-on was The Goring, the hotel which the Middleton family had taken over in the days before the wedding on Friday, April 29.
On the Thursday evening, a group of the young Royal circle had congregated in a bar there and were enjoying themselves heartily.
The festivities came to an end only at 3am when a young copper-haired reveller casually jumped off a veranda balcony, landing with a clumsy thump on a lawn 6ft below – to roars of laughter from his friends.
Proud moment: Prince Harry accompanies his big brother down the aisle for the wedding
According to sources, that reveller was the athletic Harry, whose looming day of duty had not stopped him sharing a few drinks with friends.
An onlooker said: ‘Harry was with Pippa Middleton and Chelsy Davy among other friends for some pre-wedding drinks.
'He was the life and soul of the party until the early hours.
‘People were surprised to see him there so late before one of the biggest wedding days of the decade, and even more surprised when he jumped off the balcony – and landed with a thump.
'He had struggled to climb up the railings to get into position, so when he jumped over the edge he did so rather unsteadily and landed awkwardly next to a flower bed.
‘He flinched for just a moment before he stood up, rubbing his ankle. Then he looked up, smiled and waved to a roar of cheers before disappearing on to the lawn where there was a secret exit.
‘People were laughing and joking that his fall could have seen him walking through Westminster Abbey the following morning with a broken leg. At one point it was thought he’d twisted his ankle.
A spokesman said: ‘Prince Harry had a private dinner with his brother, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. What he did after that is a private matter.’
source :dailymail

VIA Was a 3am balcony leap the reason Prince Harry looked a tad under par at the Abbey?

Rain barrels it's economical

Rain barrels during the winter period

VIA «Rain barrels — for economical owners!»