Bormann, F. Herbert : Yale University

F. Herbert Bormann is emeritus professor of forest ecology at the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Balmori, Diana : Yale University

Diana Balmori holds appointments as a lecturer in the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Yale University School of Architecture. She is also principal at Balmori Associates, Inc., New Haven, a landscape and urban design firm.

Geballe, Gordon T. : Yale University

Gordon T. Geballe is associate dean and lecturer in forest microbiology at the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

�Conventionally maintained lawns are sterile, unhealthy habitats that consume time and precious resources and poison watersheds. This classic book, updated and in a new format, provides an essential foundation for a new culture of conservation starting at home.�

--Frank Gill, Senior Vice-President for Science, National Audubon Society

�An extremely readable summation of the origins of the addiction to lawns, and of the environmental reasons why Americans should kick the habit.�

--Anne Raver, New York Times Book Review

�A manual for improving a large part of the American environment while reducing pollution, saving Americans a large amount of money, and beautifying the landscape.�

--Edward O. Wilson

"Redesigning the American Lawn is a great guide to a new kind of environmentally sensitive landscape. For those of us who are gardeners or lawn enthusiasts, it makes clear that through our choices and our actions we can indeed practice the kind of individual stewardship increasingly needed to assure we leave this good earth a better place for our children."

--William K. Reilly, Senior Fellow, World Wildlife Fund, Former Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

"Redesigning the American Lawn is a considerable achievement: A manual for improving a large part of the American Environment while reducing pollution, saving Americans a large amount of money, and beautifying the landscape."

--Edward O. Wilson, Baird Professor of Science, Harvard University

"Redesigning the American Lawn gives homeowners with yards an opportunity to "think globally and act locally." The book offers lawnowners a chance to enjoy their grounds without polluting the environment with pesticides, fertilizer and other lawn care products which contribute to non-point pollution."

--Fred Krupp, Executive Director, Environmental Defense Fund

"Redesigning The American Lawn literally brings the environmental quandary to our front door. What better way to understand the world than in blades of grass?"

--Dr. Thomas E. Lovejoy, Assistant Secretary for External Affairs, Smithsonian Institution

"It's about time someone examined the effects--environmental, medical, and aesthetic--of our odd addiction to manicured greensward. The freedom lawn described herein is a great step forward; one hopes the authors will turn their attention to golf courses next."

--Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

"An extremely readable summation of the origins of the addiction to lawns, and of the environmental reasons why Americans should kick the habit."

--Anne Raver, New York Times Book Review

"Redesigning the American Lawn is a good starting point for examining our ideas of natural beauty. . . . the book offers a rational approach for undoing the damage brought on by too much faith in technology."

--Robin Hohman New Haven Register

Yale University Press Web Site, July, 2001

The authors in this book argue that our dedication to maintaining beautiful lawns is contributing to the serious environmental problems facing the planet, and they offer strategies for creating and caring for aesthetically pleasing and ecologically sound lawns. This new edition updates the original text and adds a chapter and illustrations showing what progress has been made in the ecological management of landscapes over the past decade.

Americans enthusiastically plant, weed, water, spray, and mow an estimated twenty million acres of lawn. But is our dedication to these lawns contributing to the serious environmental problems facing the planet? The authors in this book argue that it is, and they offer aesthetically pleasing strategies for creating and caring for ecologically sound lawns.