E-mail Sherry Listgarten About this blog: Climate change, despite its outsized impact on the planet, is still an abstract concept to many of us. That needs to change. My hope is that readers of this blog will develop a better understanding of how our climate is evolving a...  (More) About this blog: Climate change, despite its outsized impact on the planet, is still an abstract concept to many of us. That needs to change. My hope is that readers of this blog will develop a better understanding of how our climate is evolving and how they want to respond, and will feel comfortable asking questions and exchanging comments on the topic. It is important that we develop a shared understanding of the basic science and impacts of climate change, to make sense of our actions and policy options going forward. My background is not in climate science, and I'm not even particularly green; my hope is that helps to make this blog more relatable. I studied math and neurobiology on the east coast before moving out here in 1987 for grad school in computer science. After working in the tech industry for about 25 years, I retired a few years ago to better align my time with my priorities. I love spending time outdoors, and feel deeply our responsibility to this incredible planet that we call home.  (Hide)

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My community, Foster City, has a rebate program called LawnbGone available to individual homeowners and HOAs. If you replace an area of turf of a minimum size or more, follow the guidelines for the number and type of drought tolerant plants and arrange pre and post installation inspections, you could get a rebate of $2 per square foot up to 5000 square feet in 2016. I do not know the rebate amounts now. We replaced multiple areas of lawn between the sidewalk and the street. It made a $20K project for our HOA very affordable, it looks gorgeous and requires very little water through the drip system. I would chose drought tolerant landscaping ideas before artificial turf.

Actually looking forward to replacing our front yard with something more fitting to our climate. Plastic grass is not an option since my toes can instantly tell the difference.

Artificial plastic turf looks fake, phony, and "too perfect". It's also hot in the sun. I'd use use low maintenance, grass-length plant landscaping that is viable in a semi-arid climate like ours. No chat, no mulch, nothing that needs to be raked and sprayed with Roundup or other weed killer.

Our backyard has a patch of turf has been there for 17 years, because we've had two dogs throughout, and they run across it with no problem - no mud in the winter and no brown run trail in the summer. Only maintenance is a spray with deodorizer every couple of weeks and some "weeding" of grasses that can grow on the edges. Note that many dog parks have opted for this, the DG is OK but dogs like softer turf.

I can't tell you whether or not wrapping your yard in plastic is good for the environment, but call me a skeptic. What I can tell you is that it looks bad.

It seems to me that at least some grass areas would be ripe for conversion into vegetable gardens. Plenty of useful and tasty plants don't need much water and if you like, much of the dirt can instead be covered with mulch of your choice.

Just measured our front yard grass. About 40x40 for 1600 sq.ft. @$15/sq.ft. for a quality artificially lawn, that $24,000. I like your other alternatives which are dramatically more affordable.

Karla Dailey with the City of Palo Alto recommends native plants in lieu of grass lawns. She spoke at the Palo Alto Rotary Club meeting on August 30.

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We need stable, climate-forward land use policies By Sherry Listgarten | 4 comments | 3,905 views

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