March 1st

By Mutt Mulligan

How living landscapes beat Heat Freak

TurfMutt and The Outdoor Powers have a mortal enemy in Heat Freak. He’s the Environmental Villain that bakes areas like patches of pavement and bare soil that don’t have the luxury of tree shade and grass to cool them.

It’s called the “heat island effect.” It’s a phenomenon where air temperatures in cities, even after sunset, can be as much as 22°F warmer than air in neighboring regions!

But you can help the backyard superheroes cool Heat Freak by protecting your living landscapes. You see, there is a direct relationship between surface temperature and the cooling effect provided by turfgrass, which is represented in TurfMutt land by Green Ranger.

In one research study of surface temperatures, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., natural turf had the lowest average temperature of 78˚. Concrete and bare soil had average temperatures in the mid-90s. Asphalt had an average temperature of 98˚, and artificial turf (also known as plastic grass) came in at a scorching 117˚!

Lawns can be 31 degrees cooler than asphalt and 20 degrees cooler than bare soil. In fact, eight average-sized front lawns can provide the cooling equivalent to air-conditioning for 18 homes.

So as you can see, without grass and other greenery to reduce the heat island effect, communities will be hotter. Let’s not let that happen!

Will you join TurfMutt and the Outdoor Powers in protecting the living landscapes in your backyard and community?