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March 20, 2006

Gas-Guzzling Garden Gadgetry

They're noisy, they're dusty, they're smelly. I guess I've never understood why a good rake is so much more difficult than wearing the Ghostbuster get-up. Leaf blowers, to me, are one of the oddest bits of garden gadgetry and also the most annoying. Push-mowers, riding mowers, and weed wackers I can understand, but the purpose of the gas-guzzling leaf blower eludes me.

Today's California Report from NPR talked about a leaf blower ban in Los Angeles, part of their smog-control policies. Since gas-blowers were introduced into the United States in the 1970's, they have been embraced by some, and loathed by others. Various cities, including nearby Palo Alto have passed some form of ban on leaf blowers - usually in residential areas only. California still leads the nation on leaf blower sales, though.

Noise pollution seems to make up most of the complaints and I certainly understand. In our area, the leaf blower guys rev 'em up at 8AM every Tuesday and I have to scramble to close the windows, or we get a nice layer of dust, not to mention fumes, blow into our house.

I knew the leaf blower was annoying, but I hadn't realize how harmful the gadgets could be to the environment and to public health. The emissions from these gas-powered blowers are surprisingly bad:

Emissions from the two-stroke combustion engine include particulate matter [dust] as well as gaseous carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons (CO, NOx, and HC). Leaf blowers also raise (entrain) dust from the ground. And evaporative emissions of fuel occur during the refueling process, which sometimes spills gas on the operators, and from the fuel tank.

...

According to the Lung Association, a leaf blower causes as much smog as 17 cars.

Street dust includes lead, organic carbon, and elemental carbon according to a study conducted for the California Air Resources Board . The Lung Association states "the lead levels are of concern due to [their] great acute toxicity... Elemental carbon...usually contains several adsorbed carcinogens." Another study found arsenic, cadmium, chromium, nickel, and mercury in street dust as well.

More At: NPC QuietNet: Air Pollution From Leaf Blowers

Various companies are working on quiet blowers and cleaner air blowers. For more interesting facts on leaf blower impact on the environment, check out this list of leaf blower resources.

Posted by sorsha at March 20, 2006 2:59 PM