Green is good — right? Not necessarily when it comes to lawns, according to a new study by UCI researchers. For the first time, scientists compared the amount of greenhouse gases stored by ornamental turfgrass to the amount emitted in the irrigation, fertilizing and mowing of the same plots.

In four parks near Irvine, they calculated that emissions were similar to or greater than the amount of carbon dioxide stored through photosynthesis — a finding relevant to policymakers seeking to control the gases that trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. “Green spaces may be good to have,” said geochemist AmyTownsend-Small, the lead researcher in the paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. “But they shouldn’t be automatically counted as sequestering carbon.”

The paper is particularly timely, she added, because governments are calculating their carbon footprints, and discussing whether parkland could offset other sources of emissions, such as refineries, power plants and automobiles. Turfgrass covers about 1.9% of the U.S. and is the most commonly irrigated crop. It is increasingly in demand in urban areas.

Townsend-Small and colleague Claudia Czimczik measured the carbon stored in the parks’ soil samples, and compared that with emissions from producing fertilizer, from mowing with gasoline-powered equipment and from pumping water to irrigate the plots. The pumped water was recycled — but if it were fresh water transported from the Colorado River, as is much of Southern California water, emissions would be higher, said Townsend-Small. They also factored in the nitrous oxide released from soil after fertilization. Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, which is released by fossil fuel combustion.

California has no regulations to control turfgrass, but the study “shows the importance of full life-cycle analysis for greenhouse gases,” said Mary Nichols, head of the California Air Resources Board, which is charged with reducing the state’s carbon footprint. Research is underway, she noted, to develop varieties of grass that need less mowing and use less water.

What about the heat island effect, the vaunted benefit of plants as a way to cool cities? “Irrigating trees in urban Southern California reduces the heat island effect,” said Stephanie Pincetl, author of “Transforming California: A Political History of Land Use and Development.” “But lawns have no such benefits, and also contribute to water pollution because they are heavily fertilized.”
Townsend-Small said that turf emissions vary according to region. Studies would need to be done in wetter northern climates. There, she said, grass might not need irrigation, but it would also store less carbon during cold winter months.

For Southern California residential lawns, she noted, using rakes rather than leaf-blowers and hand mowers rather than gasoline-powered equipment would improve their carbon footprint.

“About 40% of the drinking water we import at great financial and environmental expense is used for outdoor irrigation,” said Paula Daniels, an L.A. Department of Public Works commissioner. “This study hopefully will motivate more of us to make changes in our landscapes.”

–Margot Roosevelt

Water, as simple as it is to drink, will be an obvious opportunity for investment. this the finding of a venture investment conference took place up in Sacramento, California.

• More importantly, there will be new paradigms for water management—
• Home purification tools to identify and eliminate chemical pollutants such as perchlorates and MTBE, as well a bacteria and viruses in real-time home water purification units that provide “personalized” taste for each user in a household
• Small-scale comprehensive water management solutions for remote hospitals, schools and resorts that include waste water recycling
• Real-time sensors to provide a comprehensive and also highly accurate measure of the specific chemicals and pathogens and monitor water management.

Enter the On-Site Water “Appliance”
Complete on-site water management “appliances” will be one of the strongest investments for the savvy early-stage investor. For a home, office or commercial establishment, recycling water to toilets and irrigation will save

• 50-90% of their water use
• Energy and CO2 emission—in places that use significant amounts of energy to distribute water, like Los Angeles and San Diego, on-site waste water recycling saves up 80% of the energy
  The systems might look like very different boxes, but they will share these features:
• Self-operating, self-healing—comparable to a PC as compared with a mainframe computer. These appliances will automatically transmit key data about water quality directly to the utility
• Multi-Process—combining some set of biological, ozone-based, ultrafiltration, electrocoagulation, electrolysis or chemical solutions to provide for “gold standard” efficiency and variable levels of purity for different applications.
• Modular—to accommodate the latest innovations in membranes and other water-purification solutions
• Highly subsidized—Within the next few years, water scarcity coupled with the cost of maintaining the water distri bution network will bring many localities to remove customers from the edges of their delivery grid.

Experts estimate that 70% of the costs of running a water utility are in the water transport network. According to the EPA, the US will need up to $1 trillion to upgrade its water and wastewater infrastructure over the next 20 years to maintain regulatory standards.

Water might be free—but it will cost more and more to ensure a pure, ready supply. Right now, you pay your municipality for water infrastructure. In the future, some ground-breaking innovation will be necessary to get that water to your kitchen sink. Can you imagine getting “house calls” from your water company?