The news is piling up, from all over. A summary just in this past week:
1) Texas: “The War on Lawn Bazookas,” by Sharon Grigsby in the Dallas Morning News.
2) VIrginia: “Making Room: Stop Using Leaf Blowers,” by Jane Green in ARL Now. Sample:
Leaf blowers are a drain on quality of life. Their piercing noise shatters concentration or the enjoyment of the outdoors. They spew noxious gas into the air. They can destroy insect habitats. But as a collective, we have come to expect leaf-free surfaces wherever we go. The pressure to maintain this appearance means that leaf blowers are ubiquitous.
3) Florida: “ ‘A lot quieter’: Miami Beach Commission will consider ban on gas-powered leaf blowers,” by Martin Vassolo in the Miami Herald. The story begins:
After years of discussions, Miami Beach may soon become the latest city to ban gas-powered leaf blowers. The City Commission will consider an ordinance that would outlaw the noisy, pollution-emitting blowers following a transition period that would allow landscaping companies and homeowners to replace their old equipment.
4) Washington DC. “It’s D.C.’s Final Autumn With The Grating Symphony Of Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers,“ by Rachel Kurzius for DCist and WAMU. Sample:
Nancy Sainburg, owner of D.C. and Maryland landscaping company The Enchanted Garden, is already compliant with the forthcoming ban. She made the switch to battery-powered equipment about five years ago when a local wholesaler began selling them.
After presenting the new equipment to her employees that spring, she says, “they were like, ‘Okay, but in the fall, you have to let us still use our big backpack gas blowers.’ And I said, ‘Okay, let’s just keep one or two just in case.’ But by the time the fall rolled around, they had forgotten about the gas blowers. They were so happy not to be sucking in all that carbon monoxide.”
Rachel Kurzius has covered this issue in DC from the start. She gives details on how the DC government and local business and civic organizations are trying to ensure that the implementation of the new law is as successful as the previous legislative, research, and community-organization effort behind it were. For instance, the District’ s Sustainable Energy Utility is offering rebates for landscapers making the switch.
5) Maine. By Bill Nemitz in the Bangor Press-Herald, “Goodbye, gassy leafblower”:
Sample:
The more I read this month about the 26th U.N. Conference of Parties on Climate Change – also known as COP26 – the more fixated I became on my leaf blower. The leaf blower, a gas-powered Stihl that sits in my barn, for years produced a very robust air flow that can clear my large yard of leaves and other debris in less than two hours – all the while belching a carbon-rich stream of exhaust that contributes in its own small way to the aforementioned climate crisis. That’s why I recently decided to stop using the blower. My personal micro just got run over by the planet’s macro.
6) Florida again: By Dell deChant in Daily Kos, “Five Reasons to Let Them Go.” Sample:
(1) They are highly polluting and disproportionally high in production of greenhouse gasses.
(2) They are noisy, with dangerously high decibel levels, and aurally violent.
(3) Efficient electrical alternatives are available, which are quieter and less polluting.
(4) Ultimately, they are not necessary. Why spend the money? Why consume more resources? Remember rakes? Remember brooms? Leaves and grasses can be swept or raked by hand from impervious surfaces if removal is really necessary. Moreover, why not leave the leaves and grasses on the lawn, or rake them into garden beds where they can serve as natural soil amenities?
(5) Finally (and best of all), they are not needed if we just rid ourselves of lawns.
This piece also has a long and insightful discussion about the most effective ways to organize communities in efforts like these.
7) California. “Battle brewing…” by Martin Wicksol, in the Orange County Register. The story begins:
A gas-powered leaf blower buzzing away for an hour creates as much air pollution as driving your car from Los Angeles to Denver, so it’s little surprise state legislators passed a law this year forcing a transition to electricity for the devices, as well as for lawnmowers, edgers, pressure washers, chainsaws and generators.
In fact, such small gas-powered equipment this year surpassed passenger cars in the amount smog-forming emissions created in California, and would create twice as much by 2031, as the state weens itself off gas-powered vehicles, according to the California Air Resources Board.
“Because these (power tools) haven’t cleaned up the way other pollution sources have, this has become a leading source of emissions,” said William Barrett of the American Lung Association, which has been pushing for the changes.
It’s happening. Everywhere.