We almost all want green lush lawns for our homes. What is the cost of this in terms of the environment? Florida is semi arid for more than half the year and yet many plants thrive on much less water than the ubiquitous flora-tam sod that most folks favor. The fertilizers and pesticides have had and are having a terrible effect on the land and in the water that surrounds us which has led the stunting and death of native species and blooms of algae leading to the devastating red tide. It is time for all of us to start looking into plants and grasses (xeriscape) that help our Florida environment instead of adding to the problem.