Everyday Poison

            I vividly remember, as a child, the bags of lawn treatment on display at Home Depot.  Crabgrass was depicted as a frightening plant-monster, desperate to destroy the life of your precious grass.  Troublesome weeds were no problem for brightly colored jugs of powerful spray.  Even grubs and other insects were shown as massive problems, ones that could somehow be easily eradicated through just a few douses of easily purchased pesticide.  I remember pushing the cart that spread these chemicals throughout my yard and spraying the weeds that grew between cracks in the pavement.  And yet, I never thought twice about it.  I watched as weeds curled up and browned in the sunlight.

            We normally think of poisoning the planet as the actions of the government, commercial companies, or through trash waste.  I never once considered the detrimental effects of “curing” a lawn.  I fully understood that I was dumping chemicals into the backyard where I played and relaxed, but it seemed so terribly normal to me.  Even prior to reading Silent Spring, I never thought twice about the fact that so many people treat their lawns.  Yet, this fact hit me like a ton of bricks once I read it.  It’s insanity to me that we somehow are comfortable with the fact that we all are actively poisoning our backyards.  I’m nearly certain that a majority of the users of over-the-counter lawn care have never even considered reading the warning labels.  We need to try to move away, as people, from attacking our earth.  We all contribute to the negative, not just big companies and the government.  Therefore, we all need to recognize the harm that we can create.