Synthetic grass might save water but mocks the idea of nature’s beauty

He may have got the idea some seven years after a Japanese man did, but the Kolkata taxi driver who has grown a grassy lawn on his car roof — as well as mini potted garden behind the passenger seats — needs to be commended. It has certainly added a new and welcome dimension to the term ‘green vehicle’. While growing grass on roofs may have different connotations in some circles, given that the cost of air-conditioning is rising as high as temperatures these days, anything that can provide coolness without adding too much to monthly expenses should be emulated.

The caveat, of course, is that water availability should not be an issue as lawns, golf courses and other manicured grassy expanses are notorious water guzzlers, making them the pet peeve of green activists.

The recourse of some Californians after four consecutive years of drought, however, highlights a rather peculiar dilemma. Plastic grass, no matter how natural looking and pleasing to the eye, should not be allowed to replace real greenery even though lack of need for water would be the obvious reason why so many Californians are opting for it lately.

The only places where fake grass — frass — could be countenanced are tennis courts and as cladding for other equally synthetic surfaces such as concrete or metal, not soil.