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How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.

theatlantic.com

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Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.

#61

Post by cjensen »

adamswann wrote: post #22

The ban is on gas -powered leaf blowers. I’ve switched to all electric yard tools at home. No regrets; the tools are durable, can easily handle the whole job on a single charge, quiet enough that I feel comfortable letting my children assist (they can hear my instructions and generally what’s going on around them), and no gas engines to maintain.

Sure. But the issue is professional gardeners -- including those who just have a pickup truck and and a few dozen clients. It's not just "handle a job on a full charge" since they need to work all day. The Stihl backpack batteries help a lot, but it's still going to be a lot of investment for a guy who just takes care of lawns for a living.

Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.

#62

Post by apostacy »

yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #21
HarryHirsch wrote: post #8

What is wrong with using a rake to pick up leaves? Leafblowers are loud, dirty, they raise huge clouds of dust, they stink of gasoline, and at the end of the day, blowing leaves into a pile isn't even faster than raking them together. Using a leafblower is a sign of entitled loutishness.

> Using a leafblower is a sign of entitled loutishness. You were fine up until here. Insulting people for wanting to use an easier option isn't a great look.

This is absolutely about selfishness. Growing up in the suburbs, every Saturday at 10 AM and every weekday at 8 AM, the leafblowers would start. They wouldn't be done until the early afternoon. And most of the people who people used them when they weren't home, and would just hire contractors to blow their lawns several times a week, while disturbing their neighbors.

Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.

#63

Post by [deleted] »

HarryHirsch wrote: post #8

What is wrong with using a rake to pick up leaves? Leafblowers are loud, dirty, they raise huge clouds of dust, they stink of gasoline, and at the end of the day, blowing leaves into a pile isn't even faster than raking them together. Using a leafblower is a sign of entitled loutishness.

[deleted]

Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.

#64

Post by iguy »

ars wrote: post #52
HarryHirsch wrote: post #8

What is wrong with using a rake to pick up leaves? Leafblowers are loud, dirty, they raise huge clouds of dust, they stink of gasoline, and at the end of the day, blowing leaves into a pile isn't even faster than raking them together. Using a leafblower is a sign of entitled loutishness.

A rake only works on grass. But if you have taller bushes and other types of plants it's pretty much impossible with anything else except a leafblower. Also, good luck raking on the side a small, but steep, hill - you can't even stand on the hill without lots of pain and damaging the surface. But you can use a leafblower from the top. i.e. just because you have a limited experience in the world, doesn't mean others d…

Do those need to be leaf-free? I mean I thought the point was lawns, with less labor than a rake. But on land far too steep for lawn, can't you just leave things alone?

(I own exactly 2 pot-plants, FWIW.)

Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.

#65

Post by plussed_reader »

mc32 wrote: post #2

Instead of outright banning them, why not require a strict maximum dB level rating (in other words as tested by an independent lab). Personally I’m in favor of limiting noise output rather than outright banning. Otherwise it’s tyrannical for a minority to tell the majority what they may and may not do.

This was addressed in the article; the overall sound output was much more dense in the equivalent two stroke versus a battery powered options at 75dB.

The lower frequencies generated in the two stroke options output link to human biological issues over time as well as the distance traveling issue of the sound at the heart of the article.

Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.

#66

Post by gumby »

dbcurtis wrote: post #36
gumby wrote: post #26

Not mentioned is that leaf blowers blow away the topsoil and little bugs that maintain it. The ground becomes hard and no longer water permeable (it’s why the suburban ground in California looks — and acts — like concrete. My gardeners don’t use leaf blowers and people are always asking what chemicals I use to keep my garden looking so lush. I don’t use any of those either; the process is called “nature”.

> it’s why the suburban ground in California looks — and acts — like concrete. Look, I am as fanatical about soil biome issues as anyone that you are going to find, but your assertion is overly simplistic. If you look at a soil type map for large parts of Sili Valley, you will see big chunks labeled "Adobe". As in clay. As in it doesn't percolate. As in naturally sparse in organic matter. As in gardening contractors…

Yes, but the topsoil has been blown away exposing that clay.

You just have to look at the "nature strip" in front of my house compared to my neighbors on the same street. We're all on the same terrain. Mine is the only one with grass (and flowers despite people getting out of cars and treading on them).

Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.

#67

Post by codingdave »

larrywright wrote: post #56
gerbilly wrote: post #5

Glorious day! I wish they would ban them where I live. I detest noise, but judging by the popularity of Harley's I must be in the minority.

If we could band together and get motorcyles banned I would be ecstatic. Loud mufflers of any kind, really.

Motorcycles do not have to be loud. Many riders believe that loud pipes make them safer, but I haven't seen data to back that up. I've owned bikes for years, commuted to work on them (when I've had office-based jobs), and mostly my neighbors are surprised to find out that I ride them, because I don't sit outside and rev them up in the mornings before leaving, or gun them up to high RPMs while leaving the neighborhood.

Motorcycles can be far more efficient than cars, so fight the noise, fight the obnoxious riders.. but not the vehicle.

Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.

#68

Post by yummypaint »

I wish universities would ban leaf blowers. In addition to pollution, they kick up spores that contaminate people's experiments in the bio sciences. I know people who had to turn around and go back home to shower because they got blasted by a leaf blower walking to work.

Given that campuses are eager to ban smoking, which produces vastly less pollution by volume, leaf blowers should be a no brainer.

Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.

#70

Post by chrisseaton »

mrfredward wrote: post #6

>Noise, they have come to understand, is the secondhand smoke of this era. Most of the author's points about sound come down to hand waving and weasel wording. He says hearing loss is "coming up fast on the list" of public health problems (a meaningless assertion), and then he never presents evidence that leaf blowers are a significant cause of this. He started with the conclusion (leaf blowers make an annoying sound…

> Most of the author's points about sound come down to hand waving and weasel wording.

It's not complicated - people don't like loud annoying noises and air pollution.

No weasel words in that.

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