On the East Coast: In Montgomery County, Maryland, which borders Washington D.C., the county Department of Transportation (MCDOT) has set up its first lawn mowing will all battery-powered equipment. You can read the full report here. Highlights, with emphasis added at the end.
“The equipment produces zero emissions and is noticeably quieter than traditional gas-powered equipment.
”MCDOT will use the pilot program to evaluate the ability of the equipment to perform and experiment with battery charging logistics. The aim of the pilot program is to reduce noise pollution, air pollution and fuel costs….
“ ‘Electric powered mowing technology will continue to grow and transitioning from gas powered machinery is an integral part of our efforts to combat climate change,’ said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. ‘MCDOT’s transition to all-electric mowing is an important first step and I appreciate their sense of urgency to initiate this pilot program. We will replace all County landscaping equipment with electric powered as soon as possible to reduce carbon emissions and noise pollution.’”
The MCDOT produced a video about the program, which you can see below. (Original link here.)
Congratulations to Montgomery County and its Department of Transportation on this step.
On the West Coast, in California: the state legislature is considering a bill to outlaw the sale of gas-powered blowers altogether — a statewide counterpart to what Washington D.C. has enacted. As Andrew Sheeler points out in his story in the Sacramento Bee:
California would ban the sale of new gas-powered leaf-blowers, lawnmowers and other “small off-road engines” as soon as 2024, under a bill being considered by state lawmakers.
If approved, the ban would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, or as soon as the California Air Resources Board determines it is feasible.
Members of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee this week advanced the proposed law, Assembly Bill 1346. Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, wrote the bill and described it as an important effort to reduce air pollution….
One hour of use of a gas-powered leaf blower produces the equivalent emissions of a vehicle driving 1,100 miles from Los Angeles to Denver, according to the California Air Resources Board.
“Gallon for gallon, these engines pollute at a substantially higher rate than other equipment and vehicles,” Berman said Wednesday.
Unsurprisingly, the main witness testifying against the bill was from the same industry-lobbying group, the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, that testified against the D.C. bill. After hearing his argument, the D.C. City Council approved the bill unanimously.
We’ll follow the progress of this proposal in California, and the Montgomery County pilot program.