The Hortisexual

Is there a hotter topic than global warming?

You can’t turn on the TV, radio, surf the ‘net, pick up a newspaper or magazine without seeing green. Even Sports Illustrated featured a climate change cover story. View image

I’ve been around long enough to see environmentalism go from long-haired radical to so mainstream even Democrats and Republicans are hugging the same trees.

Our culture elevates environmentalists to rock star status. Some even get to take home an Academy Award. View image

Fortunately, protecting the planet has become almost second nature for most of us. My teenage daughter would never think to drop a soda can or cardboard Pop Tart box in the trash bin under the sink. That stuff gets recycled.

When I was her age recycling meant dating the same girl more than once.

The big fear with climate change is greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide (CO2) are causing ornamental cherry trees to bloom in January.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average household is responsible for the emission of almost 60 tons of CO2 annually. Charging all those iPods and cell phones, burning heating fuel, cruising the ‘burbs in SUVs, along with products we consume day in and day out add up to a pretty hefty carbon footprint.

Yikes!

If you’re searching for someone to save us from a climatic cataclysm, just look in the back yard.

Anyone who gardens is an eco-hero.

Let’s start with the three letters every gardener should know: IPM - - Integrated Pest Management.

More than $5 billion is spent each year in the U.S. on fossil fuel-derived fertilizers that leak chemicals into the ground and accelerate the release of greenhouse gases. The basis of IPM is simply this: healthy plants are less vulnerable to insects and disease. You can significantly curtail the use of chemicals by monitoring and accurately diagnosing landscape problems, and then employing cultural, biological and limited chemical control strategies. Rutgers has a terrific fact sheet about IPM. Download file

Composting vegetable food scraps and coffee grinds, sawdust, ashes, leaves and grass clippings makes for an excellent homemade soil conditioner and helps keep trash out of landfills.

While you’re at it, return grass clippings to the lawn instead of bagging ‘em and placing them at the curb. Grass clippings are rich in nitrogen.

Growing vegetables, fruit and herbs in the home garden saves energy. Home-grown produce rack up fewer “petroleum miles” than tomatoes trucked long distances to your table. They taste better too!

Planting trees is another way to do something about climate change. A single tree can absorb up to a ton of CO2 over its life. Trees and shrubs in the home landscape also conserve energy. Trees shading A/C units, windows and walls, especially planted on the west and southwest side of a house can reduce the energy used for air conditioning and heating by 20 to 50 percent.

While we’re on the subject of trees, composting leaves in the fall instead of blasting them with a gas-powered hurricane can help clear the air. The pollution spewed from a leaf blower in one-half hour is equal to the emissions from driving 2,200 miles - - that’s as much air pollution as driving 15 round trips on I-95 between Longwood Gardens and the New York Botanical Garden. Oh yeah, and the fewer mountains of leaves in the street, the less gasoline and oil being burned by those noisy township vehicles that lumber along sucking up curbside foliage.

Planting native species and xeriscaping cuts down on watering, pesticides and fertilizers. Get a copy of Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants, from the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. View image

And if nothing else, when you’re out in the garden, you’re not using all those kilowatts running the TV or computer!

So next time a neighbor chides you for spending too much time working in the garden, just tell them it isn’t easy saving the planet!

P.S. – Happy Earth Day!

Photo credit: Green Mountain Energy Company