Water is tight. People want lawns. Kids need playing fields. So the answer, logically, is to install more artificial turf. Right? Saves water, looks good, doesn't need mowing. Makes all sorts of sense, or does it? Let's take a look.

Real grass uses about 22,000 gallons of water a year to maintain its growth and health. Not all of the water comes from the hose or sprinklers, of course. During the wet, winter months, rain does the job. And there are drought resistant varieties of grass. In fact, I found a product called Eco Grass sold by Wild Flower Farm, which is described as drought tolerant. What makes it able to weather the dry times are grass blades that are thin, which means less surface for evaporation. The roots grow deeply seeking sustinance from the water table, we are blessed with a high one here in Alameda. In addition, deep roots reduce the need for fertilizers. And the grass is very slow growing, so the need to power up and mow down is greatly reduced.

Please don't get me wrong, I am not trying to push this particular lawn product. There are a number of fescue varieties that create rolling, lush summer lawns without gulping down gallons of H20. One is called Sheep Fescue. Another, named Buffalo Grass after the grazing ruminant, also creates a thick, pleasant summer lawn and grows slowly, so mowing is minimized; and needs to be fertilized just every two to three years. Maybe, just as we need to break our addiction to oil, we need to wean ourselves from our bluegrass habit, which does create water and fertilizer greedy yards, pushing us to pull our mowers, unfortunately usually gas powered, out of the garage every weekend.

And speaking of mowers, yes, real grass needs mowing. Some varieties more, some less. But nowhere is it written that gas-powered mowers are the only legal means of achieving a well-kempt lawn. Electric mowers are a real option. And, come to think of it, so are good, old-fashioned push mowers. No gas, no fumes, no noise. Just the quiet whirr of the blades as the grounds keeper, you or your kids, actually gets some fresh air, sunshine (vitamin D) and exercise.

As for avoiding chemicals and poisons, which disperse in the air and soak into the earth, there is no rule that says petroleum based fertilizers and toxic pesticides are a must for a good, healthy green lawn, either. Grass clippings make great grass food, a nice closed cycle when you think about it.

There are also organic fertilizers including such exotic ingredients as seaweed, and how about compost from your backyard bin? And there are organic pesticides available as well.

Real grass also soaks in CO2 from our air, and through photosynthesis, creates oxygen. It has become quite trendy to refer to all living green plants as CO2 sinks or reservoirs, holding tanks, as it were for all our excess gassy output. But people seem to forget that green plants don't store CO2, they convert it in their green lungs into the oxygen we breathe. I learned this in elementary school. Have we all forgotten this early lesson? And at what cost?

According to a 2005 NASA study, U.S. lawns, which total about 40 million acres, soak up about 13.2 million pounds of carbon dioxide per year. There is no mention of the millions of pounds of human life-giving oxygen produced. The authors contend that the amount of CO2 removed from the atmosphere is negated by the energy going into making synthetic fertilizers and powering gas mowers. Well, we already know there are good alternatives to both those villains of the environment.

Natural lawns, "green" grass if you will, do sometimes, depending on the variety go dormant in late fall until the refreshing rains of winter arrive. Maybe not so pretty, but a lovely shade of light golden tan certainly can be appealing if we change our thinking. And the new burst of fresh verdant growth is a wonderful sign of spring.

As for artificial turf? Well it doesn't take any watering, except perhaps to hose off the greetings of local dogs. They don't know it's not real, after all. And it doesn't require fertilizer. It is the same constant green all year round. Artificial turf is made of plastic and recycled tires (for bouncy infill); it can contain lead; requires an intensive energy sucking, pollution producing manufacturing process; and cannot be recycled but is usually dumped in landfills. The degradation of artificial turf can result in the inhalation of rubber particles. One chemical found in high levels in artificial turf is benzopyrene, a known carcinogen. And, although bugs may not gambol on fake grass, some bacteria find it absolutely irresistible, particularly the germs responsible for MRSA, the extremely serious form of staph infection that many young athletes have developed after abrasions received on artificial turf surfaces.

In fact, a very thorough exploration of this topic by a concerned young blogger at ProgressiveKid, named Sarah, turned up these facts: "A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control found that athletes who had suffered artificial turf burns were seven times more likely to develop MRSA infection. The reason is partly that the burns open the skin to the opportunity for infection. But many studies, most notably the study conducted by the Journal of Clinical Microbiology in 2000, have found that MRSA survives better on artificial turf than on other surfaces. Specifically, the staphylococcus survives longest, up to 90 days, on polyethylene plastic, which is a plastic used in synthetic turf fibers."

One solution to the bacteria problem is, you guessed it, to spray the entire lawn with chemical disinfectants. All this ends up in the air, and soaks down through the ground, if the fake grass is installed to be water permeable. Otherwise it, with rainwater, washes down the gutter and into our water supply. The odds that all this disinfection will create more antibiotic resistant super germs? Very good, I would think. And of course, no oxygen made here.

Fake grass also raises the temperature of its immediate surroundings. My husband, just today, was telling me about professional baseball players complaining of on-field readings of up to 130 degrees during game time. That certainly is not something our already overheated planet needs more of.

Anyone who has read my column over the years knows that I have a definite bias toward natural, organic and green. And that goes for real green grass. Done right, living grass can be a beautiful, and healthy part of our home and neighborhood environments. Real lawns can give us time to connect with nature, prompt us into the outdoors for some good exercise, even allow us to meet folks sharing our streets, without tainting our air and soil. All without draining our water supply, or our pocketbooks.

Noelle Robbins is an Alameda writer.