A Greener Shade of Golf?

Golf courses use dangerous pesticides and hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to maintain their manicured look. Many people would like to change that. But some golf courses says you can have your cake and tee off, too.

November 4, 2009, 1pm PST | Alek Miller

The Problem:
"Just this past July, residents near a golf course in Tampa, Florida, citing health problems, won their yearlong battle to halt the use of a synthetic soil fumigant, the active ingredient in which is considered likely to be carcinogenic by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The manufacturer said the residents' claims were unfounded, but agreed to the stoppage to avoid further negative publicity and legal fees. The fumigant, not used in colder northern states due to fears it could poison drinking water, continues to be used on other golf courses in Florida."

The Solution?:
"There are a handful of other courses worldwide pushing the environmental envelope, opting to go totally organic-using no synthetic pesticides at all. One of those pioneers is Kabi Organic Golf Course, in Queensland, Australia. In addition to 27 holes of golf, Kabi is home to 1,200 organic fruit trees and 200 acres of land for wildlife. Kabi is organic right down to its compost toilets, the waste from which is treated by a sand filtration system and pumped back into the forest as fertilizer. Kabi is certified organic and monitored by Australia's Biological Farmers Association."

Full Story:

Greener Pastures

Published on Monday, November 2, 2009 in Good