Want to save on gas? Tell VDOT to snip mowing

By The Daily Progress

Published: September 23, 2008

It’s very sad that the House of Representatives has passed a bill to allow more offshore drilling (“Goode votes against offshore drilling bill,” The Daily Progress, Sept. 18).

According to data from the U.S. Minerals Management Service, which oversees exploration and production in federal waters, offshore operators have had 40 spills greater than 1,000 barrels each since 1964 (13 in the past 10 years). Oil spills are deadly to sea life — already greatly diminished in numbers — so it’s incumbent upon people to be prudent consumers of this expensive natural resource.

If people would just stop cutting grass in areas that don’t need to be mowed — areas that cumulatively add up to a huge amount of land and a huge waste of gas — demand for oil would be much less. American society is obsessed with cutting grass, even though mowing and weed-whacking pollute the air we breathe and the waterways that sustain us.

Look at the scenery whenever you drive. If you travel on Interstate 64 west to Afton and get off at Exit 99, notice the hill you drive around (to your right) to reach U.S. 250. This hill, situated in the midst of highway, is completely mowed. Does that make sense?

Acres and acres of land are unnecessarily mowed by the Virginia Department of Transportation, wasting not only gas but also taxpayer dollars. It makes sense to mow where line of sight is required for safety purposes, but VDOT mows a lot of land that does absolutely nothing for safety.

It’s not just VDOT that wastes gas, time and money. Most homeowners mow way more land than is necessary, whether they own a huge estate or a home with less acreage. Owners of businesses surrounded by land instead of pavement follow suit.

But land that won’t be used for recreation should be left in a more natural state to benefit both wildlife and people. Landscapes are part and parcel of the natural world and thus should be managed in a nature-friendly way.

Until this country stops using gasoline for creating an unnatural aesthetic, it’s hard to justify more drilling in the oceans for oil.

Marlene Condon
Albemarle County