Killing Grass to Save the Planet

Saving the planet and destroying their resale value all at the same time:

Anna Hartridge and Matt George are so concerned about the environment that when they bought their home in Sacramento, California, they made sure they were close enough to work that they could ride their bikes. The Sacramento Bee reports the couple also installed solar panels, bought a hybrid car and started drying their laundry on a clothesline.

So when California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought on June 4, they decided it was only right to let their front lawn die to save water.

But the brown grass irked a neighbor, who complained to the city, and the Code Enforcement Department slapped the family with a citation and is threatening a $746 fine unless they fix it. The couple has been told their home is a public nuisance and is in violation of a code that says front yards should be irrigated, landscaped and maintained.

No good deed goes unpunished.