Rant #1

With some added ethics

Recently my university decided they were going to replace large areas of biodiverse plant cover with artificial, plastic turf grass. They have already installed a large turf lawn near the student union during its recent renovations, and they plan to install another one around a new building that just started construction. This practice brings a large variety of environmental and human health issues.

The biggest issue is the removal of a biodiverse plant community. At the university, most of the “grass” is actually short plant cover with a good variety of native species. This provides food and habitat for insects, many of which are important pollinators, as well as many species of birds, reptiles, and mammals. Eastern Cottontail rabbits are often seen munching on plants all over campus. Granivorous birds such as Common Grackles (which, yes, are only partially granivorous) can be seen in large flocks in the evening foraging in areas with live short plant cover. Small rodents can also be seen in these areas, which provide food for the native raptors and snakes found on campus.

Another issue caused by artificial turf is heat. In a recent news interview to bring attention to this issue, a professor at the university took a thermometer and compared the temperature of the ground between an area with artificial turf and an area with live plant cover. The live plant cover measured in at 104° F, which tracks with the ~110° F heat index that day (Florida is an oven right now, thank you climate change). The turf measured in at 124° F, a 20° F spike in temperature! The presence of turf poses a serious heat sickness risk to faculty, staff, students, and visitors of the university, as well as the local wildlife.

There is also a risk of plastic pollution and the release of harmful chemicals into the environment. Florida experiences many powerful thunderstorms throughout the year, and of course an intense hurricane season that threatens to damage or even rip up artificial turf. The university sits neatly on a wetland that they pride themselves on conserving, yet they are willing to worsen the pollution issue. Turf typically contains PFAS, aka forever chemicals that are knows to have harmful toxic effects on both the environment and humans.

Allegedly, this idea was proposed by some members of student government to create an area for students to sit that wasn’t “muddy grass”. I think the school would make better use of their money by better maintaining the plant cover so there is less exposed dirt in those areas, and also install more benches/hammocks. The truth is, it’s usually either too hot or too wet outside anyways for students to want to sit outside. Plastic grass is not going to change that, and as we’ve discovered will likely make it worse.

I think that this plan is simply ironic given the university’s goals of sustainability and alleged promises to conserve its wetlands. If the university wants to have sustainable practices and be cost effective in doing so they should consult the very intelligent and experienced ecological sciences faculty on campus and foster a rich community of native plant species to be the foundation of a healthy campus ecosystem.

We cannot sustain our planet (and thus ourselves) by altering the native ecosystem under the false pretense that it will make life more convenient for us. We must understand that we are just another animal that is a part of the natural order of earth, even if we are hyper intelligent and extremely self aware. We do not have domain over the land as the Bible would like us to believe. Instead, we are a cog in the environmental machine that keeps the temperature stable, the forests lush, and the oceans clean.