If you’re a gardening or fake lawn fan
then you will like hearing when artificial grass makes its mark on the world,
especially when that mark makes a real difference. You probably already know
that fake lawns look great
and make life easy but when they are used as tools for helping people and
solving problems they are something to be proud of. Read on to see what we
mean.
California is in the midst of its worst drought on
record. California’s desperately dry period comes at the same time as much of
America is suffering from a Polar Vortex. Despite the arctic conditions in
America’s East Coast and Mid-West, California’s temperatures are uncomfortably
high and the forecast seems to be permanently set to sunny.
California’s current drought is being
labeled as the region’s driest period since rainfall records began which is
making life increasingly difficult for the state’s 38 million residents as well
as its giant economy driven by primarily by agriculture. Homes, businesses,
nature reserves and farmland are all suffering from the dry drought conditions
and the restrictions imposed in the wake of them. In January 2014 California’s
Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of drought emergency following 2013’s
record low rainfall recorded in San Francisco (5.59 inches) and Los Angeles
(3.6 inches). On top of this low rainfall, the snow water from snow packs like
those in the Sierra Nevada Mountains is just 12 per cent of what it normally is
in winter – a significant concern considering the snowpack provides a third of
the state’s water supply. The snowpack is not the only tell-tale sign of how
serious California’s current drought is though.
The San Gabriel Reservoir in the Angeles
National Forest has a “bath tub ring” around its basin which shows how
dramatically its water levels have dropped whilst the great Folsom Lake is so
dried up that it looks more like a puddle surrounded by a sandy beach. The
lake’s waters have receded so drastically that dried up fish scatter the lake
bed which is becoming a visitor attraction itself, the submerged towns that
once stood where the lake now resides being visible and accessible (pictures here). Meadows
normally covered in snow are bone dry and appear to be in the midst of summer
whilst the Sierra Nevada range has faced more challenges than a disappearing
snowpack. The range’s forests are dried and primed for major forest fires like
the devastating rim fire that destroyed hundreds of acres in Yosemite National
Park in 2013 along with the Colby fire which ripped through homes in Southern
California.
These conditions and the drought that caused them are nothing new
according to scientists who have been studying the region and its long-term
climate. California has suffered from such patterns before and megadroughts
are considered part and parcel of the state’s semi-arid climate. Some of the
droughts evidenced by geological markers occurred long before records began,
the most severe of them lasting for 180-240 years. Scientists like Scott Stine
(professor of geography and environmental studies at California State
University) are concerned that California reacts to droughts as a short term
(5-7 year) issue but the emergencies are historically more frequent and much
longer lasting.
In the wake of these scientific revelation
and all of the current drought-related problems, restrictions have been put in
place with some counties in the state having been banned from watering their
lawns and all Californians being asked to reduce water consumption by 20 per
cent.
It is here that artificial lawns come in. With so many
uses for water and not enough water to go around, the people of California need
to find alternatives for everyday things. Long, leisurely showers are a thing
of the past, swimming pools are not the home essential they once were so it
makes sense that where possible, installing, and using alternatives that don’t
require water at all is the best way to help California in the drought crisis.
Artificial grass is one such alternative. It allows people to stay proud of
their homes without wasting water which can keep spirits high in trialing
times. At the moment there is a boost in sales of fake lawns in California,
following the driest year in state history (2013) and The Daily Mail explained
that this is because “fake grass has emerged as a way of achieving a constantly
green front yard while saving water”. So, as people are being asked to adjust
their entire lifestyles, stopping “long solo showers” and following requests
not to flush the toilet more than needed, it is nice to know that problems
which normally waste water (like lush green lawns) have practical and
sustainable solutions. Whilst there may be a million ways to help the
Californians in their difficult drought, artificial grass can do its bit by
giving people the freedom to focus on the bigger issues at hand and take other
measures that could make a real difference.
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