Conscious Choice Seattle: Greener Grass and Houses

August 2004 | Letters to the Editor

Greener Grass and Houses

The Grass, Naturally, Can Be Greener

In the Living Green section of your July 2004 issue, a reader asked about the best way to care for her new lawn. There are a couple of things that weren’t mentioned in your response.

One very important tip is not to cut your lawn too short. The more of the leaf that is left, the healthier the lawn will be. Beer makes an excellent natural fertilizer for lawns. Also, watering in the evening conserves water by cutting down on water loss from evaporation.

If the reader follows these tips, she should have a very healthy lawn. One thing you told her is to pull weeds by hand instead of using a chemical herbicide. If she keeps her lawn healthy enough, the lawn will take care of the weeds itself. Weeds compete with your lawn, and the best way to beat them is to make sure your lawn is too great a competitor for them.

William Cook, Internet

Your House Can Be Greener Too

I have been enjoying your magazine in recent months. I especially appreciate the “EM Roundtable” format (March-April 2004, “Faith, Love and Relationships; July 2004, “Green Team”).

I have learned a lot from the real roundtable conversations among real people. What I appreciated most about the July article on green remodeling was learning about the resources available here in the Seattle area.

Thanks for introducing and reinforcing the important topic of saving our precious resources when redoing our homes.

Jill Rankin, Internet

One More Letter On Tobacco Ad Decision

When you wrote an open letter to readers about whether or not to take cigarette advertising (”A Difficult Decision,” May 2004), I immediately decided you should not run the ads. Then I talked to friends who are smokers. They didn’t feel strongly about the decision, but admitted they might be swayed by more natural tobacco products with no chemical additives.

A nonsmoker friend of mine made the valid point that as long as people intend to smoke, wouldn’t we be better off growing with natural or, better yet, organic methods?

So, whew, what seemed an easy decision is more complicated than I thought. I’m still not convinced your decision to turn down the ads is the right one, but it’s the clear it was made in a conscious fashion.

Susan Rosen, Internet

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