The Origins of America's Toxic Obsession With Lawns

Why is America so obsessed with lawns and order? Max and Erin get into the weeds of how the founding fathers made cultivating grass an American pastime, why our lawn mania is a creation of corporate marketing, and how it all feeds class anxiety. Why is it so bad for our environment? Does milkweed bring all the bees to the yard? And how much do lawns and instagram face have in common? Listen to this week’s How We Got Here to find out.

SOURCES

The History of the American Lawn

The rise and fall of the American lawn, at least in California - The Washington Post

USDA ERS - Wheat

Grass takes up 2% of the land in the continental US

They Fought the Lawn. And the Lawn’s Done. - The New York Times

The History of the American Lawn

Climate Victory Gardening: How Does It Work? | Green America

Where Lawns Are Outlawed (and Dug Up, and Carted Away)

Lawn wars consume America's neighborhoods

Lawn Conversion

Keeping your lawn cleaner and greener; new law limits fertilizer use - pennlive.com

Why stop mowing your lawn and what happens when you go no-mow - Washington Post

A Brief History of Our Deadly Addiction to Nitrogen Fertilizer – Mother Jones

Grand Prairie Man Served Jail Time For Too Tall Grass - CBS Texas

Single Mother 'Arrested for Grass' After Not Mowing

Sheep Graze on the White House Lawn