No need to ban them, just tax their use at a level that pays the costs. Want to use a two stroke blower instead of electric? OK, $20 per hour tax.
Same with light bulbs.
How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
81–90 of 250 posts
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sound pressure levels are dependent on distance. A leaf blower might expose you to 90dB if you're using it, but someone stood 10 metres away would only be exposed to 70dB, which is well below the threshold for damage.
exposed to 70dB, which is well below the threshold for damage. 70 dBA is at the threshold for hearing damage (65-70 dBA range). It's below the OSHA limit of 85 dBA, but that is not the threshold for hearing damage, it's the threshold for acceptable [0] hearing damage. [0] where "acceptable" means that a person exposed to 85 dBA for an average of 40-hrs per week for 10 years can still understand conversational speech…
Interesting. Is there any reliable way to tell db noise from headphones? For example, apple airpods on an iphone.
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
If we could band together and get motorcyles banned I would be ecstatic. Loud mufflers of any kind, really.
The motorcycles in Europe have drastic noise limitations, most as on the same level with your average car while consuming less fuel and polluting less. No ban is needed here.
I'm fine with that. I just hate the loud noises. Harley's get a lot of the blame, but there's plenty of crotch rockets that are loud as well.
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#84No need to ban them, just tax their use at a level that pays the costs. Want to use a two stroke blower instead of electric? OK, $20 per hour tax. Same with light bulbs.
And how do you propose to levy and collect that tax?
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#85No need to ban them, just tax their use at a level that pays the costs. Want to use a two stroke blower instead of electric? OK, $20 per hour tax. Same with light bulbs.
What, exactly, are the costs associated with destroying the hearing of everyone within 500 feet? With waking all the sleeping children within that range? With disturbing the concentration of everyone working from home in that range?
A tax that reflects the actual externalities of the usage would be functionally the same as a ban and impossible to actually manage.
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#86For what it's worth a gas powered leaf blower puts out as much pollution in a day of work as a Ford Raptor will in 100,000 miles. Source: https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/emissions-test-...
Maybe they could have required them to have catalytic converters.
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
>The acoustic study found that in a densely settled neighborhood, a gas-powered blower rated at, say, 75 decibels of noisiness can affect up to 15 times as many households as a battery-powered blower with the same 75-decibel rating.
The motor of engine is part of the noise, the other is the fans pushing air through, their speed and pitch affect noise levels too, so even an electric leaf blower can be loud and uncomfortable.
Yeah, but not the same kind of loud and uncomfortable, as anyone who has actually heard these things in person knows immediately.
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#88I saw someone blowing snow in New York with a leaf blower the other day...
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
Really my objection is to the loud noise. If Harley Davidson makes a silent electric one, I'll rescind my call to ban them.
If Harley Davidson made an electric bike, then people would start buying aftermarket noise makers that play the Harley sound at 140dB.
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#90Glorious 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.
You couldn't hear my motorcycle over the sound of your own engine idling, I guarantee it.
The problem is not motorcycles. The problem is people who think loud vehicles of any kind compensate for their shortcomings.