(From the Freakonomics piece above):
STEINBERG: Overtreatment is the single biggest problem that we have here in the United States with respect to lawn care. Right away, scale back on the chemical applications. You can get away with three applications of fertilizer per season. People also need to actually learn a little bit about the ecology of their yard. To do it right, you should get a soil test. Not a big deal. Leave the clippings on the lawn, for God’s sakes. Don’t put them out on the curb because the clippings break down and they return nutrients to the soil. I would argue, consider stopping the irrigation. Brown’s not so bad.
My dad and I planted Zoysia plugs in my front yard when I was a kid. The Zoysia is still doing well, although over the years, invaders like Bermuda grass, some dandelions and clover, etc. have come in.
All I care personally is that it's not mud, and that the neighbors and police don't bother me over it.
So I do one weed and feed a year in April (early to middle Spring here), and that's it (mainly to control the dandelions. The grass stays nice and thick. It grows slowly. If it gets dry or winter it turns brown, but nothing kills it.
Occasionally we get a long drought here (like several months) that can actually damage foundations due to ground recession. If we get into one of those on the odd occasion, I'll water a little right around the house to prevent foundation damage. But that's it.
I don't care what the back yard looks like, as long as it isn't mud. Too much shade for the Zoysia when I was a kid, so it's a mix of all kinds of stuff. Kind of looks like a field, with lots of violets, etc.
I don't get the obsession with lawns. That was my father's generation, it seems to me. Is it a status thing?
If there were a practical, cheap, hardy grass that truly repelled invaders, stayed healthy, never needed mowing, etc., I'd be all for it. Basically no maintenance. But doing a little reading, there are issues like such grass tends to attract lots of pests like ticks.
Making it all asphalt or something is worse. (Runoff, less oxygen produced, etc.)
Given the track record of the perma-doomer blogs, I wouldn't bet a fast crash doomer's money on their predictions.