Going Green - Chemicals
The use of chemicals has become an essential part of our lives. Chemicals are beneficially used in all types of products from plastics to paints, but have we gone too far when we infuse our food with these chemical products so they have a longer shelf life or don't spoil rapidly. Do we have any idea of the short and long term impacts on our health.
It hit me the other day when I looked around our neighborhood and noticed the green spring grass. The lawn service companies suggest you apply chemicals five times per year to keep the grass in top shape. In the spring the grass is naturally green and grows just fine without any chemical stimulation. When we add chemicals the grass growth surges and now requires more cutting, then when the hot summer weather begins with higher temperatures and lower rainfalls the grass dries out. The chemicals and weed killers dry out the grass quicker resulting in root stress and brown grass, but even worse when do all the chemicals go, does in leach into the ground impact our water. Do the chemical impact the soil's good organisms such as earthworms.
One of the best weed deterrents is long grass which can choke out the weeds. Treating your lawn once or twice is fine but 5 times a year or more is excessive. Of course we are told that grubs are destroying our lawns and are sold another lawn treatment. I recently learned that Milky Spore is a natural self propagating material that controls grubs without impacting beneficial organism such as earthworms.
We can all take simple common sense approaches to cleaning up and protecting the environment starting right in our own backyards.
All the Best,
Coach K
Tom Kaufmann
CoachKaufman.com
