Ed Begley on Losing the Lawn, telling Half the Story

I don't blame Begley for this omission - he had to make a compelling case in 200 words or so.  So his contribution to Twelve Things the World Should Toss Out in the Washington Post is to boast about having ripped out his lawn and replaced it with California natives.  But some of the space went to a veg garden, and some of it, as we posted here, went to synthetic turf. 

Begley's never hidden the facts and he sounds really normal and human when this whole, more complex picture is given - the wife wanted some grass and there in SoCal, synthetic may be a more responsible choice than the real stuff.  I bet that story is more helpful and motivating to readers than the black-and-white conversion presented in the Post, though I'm happy he was able to at least raise the issue.

Here's the full list - and it's a good one.  They're calling for other ideas and I may have to suggest something else we might toss out - the notion that we can afford to finance putting ourselves on other planets.  At least until we've funded health care and transitioned off fossil fuels.

Comments

[Hoover]

Amen on the insanity of borrowing money to send a few people to Mars, when more real science was accomplished with the Mars Rover, built on a shoestring budget from parts bought mostly at Radio Shack.

[rainymountain]

How about diplomacy not wars? Toss out the armaments industry, everywhere. No more dead and terribly injured young soldiers and civilians.

[ksb]

We could definitely do with losing cars that do less than, lets say, 30mpg.

[Spidra Webster]

Amen, amen. No manned space program until we've cleaned up our mess here on Earth.

[Percy]

There really isn't any need for manned space exploration. The robotic and computer technologies available these days have made manned space exploration obsolete. You get much more for you buck without endangering any lives.

[commonweeder]

No need for manned expeditions to Mars or anywhere else. All very glamorous to talk about such things but we really need more applied science to help us with all the problems here on earth, pollution and energy production.