 |
New option can make grass even more green
08:49 AM CDT on Monday, July 13, 2009
NEW YORK – Tending to the lawn and being kind to Mother Nature have been at odds since the first power mower was manufactured in 1919, with the environment generally coming out the loser.
The worst culprits are emissions and water waste. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, each year Americans clock in more than 3 billion hours using yard equipment, emitting as much hourly pollution as 11 cars with a gasoline-powered push mower and 34 cars with a riding one.
Habits at the spigot can be just as careless. Collectively, we douse our lawns with more than 7 billion gallons of water in just one day. As much as half of that is lost to evaporation, wind or runoff.
But there's good news. Although it can be pricey, new technology allows you to be almost as green as your thumb. The Associated Press
ROBOTIC MOWERS
Your new best friend could be a battery- and solar-powered robotic mower. Husqvarna's Automower Solar Hybrid zigzags across the lawn within the boundaries of a wire staked in the ground. It moves around obstacles with its lip sensor. To protect people and animals, the blade stops when it senses a bump or if the mower is lifted. Solar cells extend the battery life from 10 percent to 30 percent, and when the mower has puttered out, the 22-pound device crawls back to its base to recharge. Similar products are on the market. Robotic mowers cost $1,000 to $3,000.
PROPANE POWER
The Department of Energy says that replacing gasoline with propane in small engines like lawn equipment leads to substantial reductions in emissions, though the full impact has yet to be quantified in studies. Lehr Inc. offers propane-powered lawn equipment such as the Eco Trimmer and the new Eco Blower. The Eco Trimmer meets new EPA standards that will take effect in 2010 and 2011, the company says.
GARDEN SENSORS
Maybe you don't even need a green thumb. Plant Sense's EasyBloom environmental sensor ($40-$60) analyzes the temperature, sunlight, humidity and soil drainage. Stick it in the soil for one day, then plug it into your computer's USB jack. Matching the data from the soil to EasyBloom's library of plants, the device suggests the best vegetables, herbs, trees, shrubs and flowers for your garden. Meanwhile, house plants can be rescued with the Botanicalls kit ($100), a device that enables plants to tweet their owners, calling out such commands as, "URGENT! Water me!" or "You over-watered me."
INTERNET IRRIGATION
With status updates and personalized settings brought directly to your laptop, Cyber-Rain's XCI Controller ($570 to $675) enables your sprinkler system and laptop to communicate wirelessly. It pulls weather updates, then irrigates your yard accordingly – potentially slashing your watering times.
Create A Screen Name
Screen names can only consist of letters and numbers.
Your screen name will appear to everyone.
NOTE: You cannot change, delete,
or edit your screen name once you hit "Save".
RSS
E-Mail newsletters
- Internet Explorer 7+
- FireFox 3+
- Safari
If you are using Internet Explorer 7, make sure Phishing Filter is turned off by going to Tools / Phishing Filter / Turn Off Automatic Website Checking. If you are using Internet Explorer 8, make sure InPrivate Filtering is turned off and InPrivate Filtering data has been cleared. To turn off InPrivate Filtering go to Tools / InPrivate Filtering Settings, select the "off" button and click "OK". To clear InPrivate Filtering dataYou must be logged in to contribute. Log in | Register Now!
You are logged in as screenname | Log Out
You are logged in, but do not have a "screen" name. Create a Screen Name