The estimable Steve Benen, Vermont's most widely read blogger, wants to underline the importance of investing in education. He picked an unfortunate throat-clearing exercise, however, when he cited a Pennsylvania school district that is saving $15,000 on lawn mowing by having seven sheep graze the school lawns. Benen comments,
You know, nothing says “21st century global superpower” like schools turning to sheep because they can’t afford lawnmowers.
Check out the comments: Readers of the Washington Monthly site quickly defended the use of sheep instead of noisy, inefficient, polluting, gasoline-powered lawn mowers whose fuel increases the trade deficit. As commenter pyewacket put it:
I agree with your overall sentiment. But I think the sheep are kind of brilliant. For one things, kids love animals. Sheep don't make horrible noise like a lawnmower, they provide instant fertilizer, and the grass becomes part of a ecological system, feeding an animal, rather than being towed away and wasted (or, one hopes, composted). Throw in the chance for a shearing demonstration or lessons on the uses of public commons for grazing or something like that, and I would say that sheep are a much better choice than a lawnmower.
The comments section even includes a lively sheep vs. goats debate. That's more constructive than a lot of debates on blog comment sections--let's see more debates over which herbivore is best for replacing lawns! Also welcome are spirited debates on topics like which herbs are best for indigestion and whether annual food or fiber plants or perennials are the best replacement for grass lawns.