# Nevada bans grass



## Thejarrod (Aug 5, 2018)

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/drought-stricken-nevada-enacts-ban-on-non-functional-grass

I was ready to be very angry about this. but its actually somewhat measured response to water shortages. the ban doesnt apply to homes, parks, etc, so it shouldnt impact anyone who is tending to their own turf.


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## daniel3507 (Jul 31, 2018)

I think this is a good response. As much as we hate to admit it, water shortages are becoming a significant issue. The more we can conserve in areas like those the better.


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## CenlaLowell (Apr 21, 2017)

Never should have had grass to begin with. Who the hell thought putting grass in a desert was a good idea


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## PhxHeat (Oct 18, 2019)

Plain and simple this is a money grab by politicians and those who grease their palms with cash from their dealings. It even says in this article that the politicians with the support of builders pushed this agenda to secure future building and increase growth. Politicians love to use catch phrases and well funded marketing to push their garbage.

True "conservation" would be to stop issuing building permits and essentially put a cap on population density. This can be expanded beyond that, but it would actually require people to put effort in.

The more that grass and trees are taken out under the bs of conservation it makes those regions HOTTER. The more that gets built means more hard scape (concrete, paved roads, etc)that just adds to the heat sink effect. Xeriscape and "desert conservation" landscaped yards are marketing terms to sell plants and services. Those yards are NOT natural landscape and come from farms/growers. Pristine beautiful desert scaped yards don't occur naturally and most still get watered. The more cities and regions do this, the hotter it gets. The hotter it gets the more it pushes moisture sytems around them.

You know what helps reduce heat in a region???? Grass and trees. Short term it can take some water to establish. However, long term it's beneficial. More grass, more trees means "cooler" temps. "Cooler" temps in regions like ours actually helps to pull in moisture from coastal regions (gulf of mexico, gulf of california, and the pacific) when the right pressure systems move through (our monsoon season).

The old timers (those in their 70's/80's older) that live around me all say there used to be a lot more rain here. Temps were lower and decently cool at night. Tons and tons of citrus and pecan orchards. When city governments started pushing developement over crops to increase the tax base, the temps started and have kept rising. As more people moved here, more hardscapes have been added, less trees/grass/water, and higher temps. It's a horrible mismanagement of the resources all in the name of profit and increased tax base.

At least Phoenix and some of our surrounding cities have realized a portion of the error of their ways and have implemented a program to replant thousands of trees they cut down 25 or so years ago under the bs of conservation. They have a goal of something like 65% replacement in the first 5 years and then slowly adding and maintaining them in the decades to come.

It may sound counter productive to have grass and trees in the desert, but it actually helps to offset the increased human impact. They help to reduce our temps, which in turn helps to bring us monsoonal rains like there used to be. The added bonus is improved air quality as well.

Of course this is a small portion of what can be done, but undoing the generational brain washing is a tough task.


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## daniel3507 (Jul 31, 2018)

I think not allowing grass in places like road medians and stuff is more for water conservation rather than reducing the heat island. All the concrete and non porous surfaces are an issue though too. It definitely adds to the heat but having more native landscaping is never bad regardless of where you're at. The key though is making sure the trees and plants are native to the area so they require less inputs. My front flower bed is native plants and the most I do is pull weeds. They are able to handle the weather. The neighbors who buy annual plants from Lowes are constantly having to water.


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## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

There is a golf course at Marine Corps Base 29 Palms in California. Imagine how much water it takes out there in the Mojave.


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