On the Sierra Club’s site, a strong new article by writer Michael Shapiro, on California’s new legislation to phase out gas-powered leafblowers. You can read it all here. The headline is below.

Here is a sample:

Those most at risk are the gardeners who work for commercial companies. Many of them are immigrants who don’t have other employment options; they work, day in and day out, with leaf blowers just inches from their lungs and ears. A CARB exposure study found that operators of gas-powered devices could “potentially double their current cancer risk from carcinogens emitted by gas equipment.”
CARB’s analysis projected that the transition to zero-emission equipment will yield $8.8 billion in health benefits in the next two decades and 892 fewer premature deaths due to cardiopulmonary causes. That’s staggering: In California, hundreds of people are dying every decade for the sake of blowing leaves and cutting grass.

It’s worth reading in its entirety. Congratulations to Michael Shapiro and the Sierra Club.