Grass values

This is a picture I took of a grassy curb in Downtown Denver, near my office. Sherman Street is peppered with sprinklers, but not all homeowners are diligent about watering their lawns.

This is one particular curb that sits in direct sunlight, unshaded by trees. A month ago, during rainy May, this patch was green and dewy. Today, it is shriveled up, after only a few weeks of the strong Colorado sun.

This begs the question - why do we try so hard to grow green grass where it doesn't belong? If this is what it looks like without a daily downpour from a sprinkler, is it really worth the effort? Not to mention the water, for a purely aesthetic feature.

Green grass is more than just a status symbol. It has become part of our cultural identity, American as apple pie. Could their be a more patriotic activity than mowing one's lawn? But turfgrass's value in our society has reached the point where it now threatens our environmental sustainability. Is it worth it, in water-stressed states, to keep our lawns green while our reservoirs dwindle?