QUESTION FAKE GRASS in LGUSD.

Ph.D. Sarah-Jeanne Royer of  University of California, San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography  urges prohibiting the use of synthetic turf in playgrounds and athletic field surfaces. Because synthetic turfs are made out of polyethylene, they are responsible for emitting methane, CO2, and other  greenhouse gases.  They are therefore potentially contributing to climate change. "Synthetic turf has a huge surface area --much larger than the size of the field-- because of all the small plastic “blades” in this large carpet of fake grass."  This huge surface area emits much higher amounts of greenhouse gases than a flat sheet of polyethylene. As the surface area of plastic continues to increase due to weathering and break-down, there is a tremendous increase in off-gassing of methane.  "For example, [polyethylene] powders off-gas methane 488 times more than when the same weight of [polyethylene] is in pellet form."  "While the negative effects of plastic

LGUSD is in the process of designing elementary school outdoor classrooms outfitted with artificial turf. The imitation-grass blades they've chosen will be coated w/antimicrobials. Antimicrobials are associated w/human & environmental harm.   Kids need more daily exposure to nature, not more daily exposure to biocides. Outfitting #LGUSD elementary school outdoor classrooms w/antimicrobially-coated green plastic carpets made to imitate nature is not an "upgrade". View full antimicrobial video: https://t.co/93kQlVqYmd pic.twitter.com/JCZfv5u7hj — Question Fake Grass (@QuestnFakeGrass) February 17, 2022 Reduce unnecessary use of chemicals from the 6 classes of concern. Skip the artificial turf, especially for little kids. Image from SixClasses.org , The Six Classes Approach to Reducing Chemical Harm

Image from The Story of Stuff  video in this post on "externalized costs". LGUSD is proposing to install artificial turf on its campuses.   Artificial turf contains PFAS. PFAS have been linked to reproductive problems, cancer and other health issues. Concerns have become grave enough that, as of just recently, California has: banned PFAS chemicals from items for young children and food packaging. (Beware: Artificial turf remains unregulated . Artificial turf is, incredulously , not classified as a childrens' product.) forbidden manufacturers of cookware to label their products as free of any particular toxic chemical if the pots or pans contain PFAS.  restricted use of environmental labels claiming product compostability or recyclability. PFAS is so persistent and so pervasive in our environment that, coupled with the fact that it bioaccumulates in our bodies, it's now found almost universally in blood and breastmilk samples tested! However, it is completely il

To conserve water costs, should we rob kids of equitable access to nature?   Certainly given increasingly-dense urban housing in Los Gatos, not every child's family is afforded their own private land from which to benefit from daily exposure to nature.   As a community working together to share natural resources, is THE place to severely restrict water the shared field? A field that may serve as the only regular daily exposure to nature that hundreds of our kids in dense, urban developments get? No. This is wrong. This constitutes an equity issue. LGUSD Equity Action Team and the many other Los Gatos community members that value equity, it's time to be an upstander for those children with less privilege. A tweet from LGUSD's superintendent about the district's commitment to equity. Elementary school play fields and public parks are absolutely the outdoor green spaces that make sense to judiciously water. In fact, this could very well be part of the rationale San Jos

The Story of Stuff  explains "Externalized Costs" in the video below. As apparent from the financials in the district presentation, artificial turf will cost the district at least a million dollars more than natural grass. While that's already a jaw-dropping amount of money, it does not even reflect the full true costs of artificial turf products. This often goes unacknowledged because true costs are not reflected on financial expense records. There are costs to artificial turf that neither the district nor the community will pay with cash from their pockets. These are called "externalized costs". These costs include the costs to environmental and public health and extend beyond LGUSD campuses. These costs are incurred and effect real people along the entire length of this product's lifecycle, from the toxic pollution that comes from harvesting of natural resources, through manufacture, through degradation over years of exposure to the elements and foot

Image from  Safe Healthy Playing Field 's  Facebook post . Marketing artificial turf as "recyclable" is greenwashing. Being "recyclable" and being "recycled" are not the same thing.  Artificial turf is classified as a single-use plastic .   While some single-use plastic water bottles may be recycled, artificial turf is  NOT being recycled in the U.S. It's challenging to separate the infill and contaminants from the carpet. There are no facilities in the U.S. that recycle artificial turf, and it's unlikely we're shipping it overseas.  Industry confirms in the video below that no artificial turf has EVER been recycled in the U.S.: 🟢👀🟢We spy something green...an industry greenwashing tactic! 🚩Artificial turf has long been touted as being recycled, giving communities a false sense of being good enviro stewards. 💀BUT @TenCateGrassUS admitted that NO artificial turf has EVER been recycled in the US. NONE. pic.twitter.com/Q8RTjoxEwZ — PFA

It's December 5th.  Happy World Soil Day ! "Did you know Soil captures more carbon than trees!"  asks Candide Soil affects the climate that makes our planet habitable.  Soil is an essential foundation for all life on Earth! L et's work together to protect and restore Los Gatos soil health on our private and public properties, and in doing so, help slow changes to our climate and bolster our town's resilience to climate-induced weather extremes. Artificial turf installations in Los Gatos desertify our soils.   Desertification of soil is the permanent degradation of previously fertile land .   Converting a living landscape to artificial turf begins with  soil excavation.  The ground beneath is then compacted and covered with crushed rock similar to how construction of roads and parking lots begin. On top of that is layered other non-absorbent lifeless materials like, in some cases, a manufactured foam shockpad and finally rugs of green-colored plastic.  Life under a