As the finish carpenters pack up their tools and the last coat of paint dries, the new lawn is emerging outside. On what had been a barren construction site only weeks before, grass seedlings are poking up through a layer of carefully spread topsoil, fortified with fertilizer and protected with straw. Around the house are round balls of the most popular cultivars of yew, rhododendron, and cedar. A few tree saplings, staked in place on the gently rolling landscape, will in a few years begin providing shade where the owner can sip lemonade during a break from her weekend lawn-mowing chore. Though the shrubs and trees will vary by region, this basic scenario is repeated over a million times each year as new single-family detached houses are completed and the lawn put in. The process is not much different with most commercial buildings, though the scale is larger and the landscaping budget may permit larger trees and established sod instead of grass seed to be planted. Is there anything wrong with this process? Yes, from an environmental perspective, plenty.
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