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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.

#91

Post by andrei_says_ »

sfopdxnonstop wrote: post #73
cjensen wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Yeah it totally sucks when you were accustomed to externalizing your business costs onto others but now you have to pass those costs on to your customers. I mean sucks for the customers, not for you (you earn the same) or for the people no longer paying those costs (with their hearing loss). Me? I don't employ anyone to blow my leaves so I'm a winner in this transaction.

Well this is pretty much the model of most industries, and especially with energy, the oil gas and coal industries.

As for one person’s choice, I wish all my neighbors would make the same choice.

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

#92

Post by Nasrudith »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #29
yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

I don’t think it’s wrong to comment on people who care more about convenience and cost then the externalities they’re creating (air and noise pollution). “Selfish” is not a protected class.

I am in the "screw even bothering with leaf raking for anything but recreation" camp but I think that is essentially the longstanding state of progress when it comes to efficiency. It often pays off but not without costs and it shouldn't be done to extremes. We don't use x-rays to fit shoes anymore for instance.

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

#93

Post by AnthonyMouse »

cjensen wrote: post #61
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.

All you need is to have a battery that takes less time to charge than discharge during normal usage. Then you have one charging from the truck or local mains power while you're using the other and whenever it runs down the other is charged and you can swap them.

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

#94

Post by Nasrudith »

jfk13 wrote: post #25
Datenstrom wrote: post #13

A few weeks ago I saw someone leaf blowing snow on the sidewalk in Alexandria, or at least trying to. One of the most absurd things I've ever seen.

Maybe they'd heard of a snow blower, and thought it was basically the same thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_blower

I think they had basically no experience with snow removal and tried to "improvise" a solution. There were plenty of people who cracked their windshields by following the meme advice "boil water and pour it over your winshield to de-ice it quickly. Meanwhile northerners know you have to scrape it. It is clever but wrong as an approach.

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

#95

Post by reificator »

larrywright wrote: post #77
codingdave wrote: post #67

Earlier 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.

So I can't have my fuel-saving super-efficient quiet vehicle because you're upset with the people who buy a Harley specifically to be loud?

Banning motorcycles will not fix loud noises. They'll just buy loud trucks and cars and/or "upgrade" them to be loud.

I watch for other motorcycles because motorcyclists wave at each other as they pass. Around here (Colorado) it's maybe 1/20 motorcycles that are louder than a car under normal conditions. Probably 1/12 or so that are louder than a car when they're driving like an asshole.

I honestly encounter loud cars more often than motorcycles, usually when some idiot thinks I pulled up to the light on my motorcycle to race them in their civic. (When I'm just on my way to or from the damn grocery store)

Though if you're looking for the loudest thing on the road, I'll grant that it's usually some 60 year old dude on a Harley.

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

#96

Post by larrywright »

gerbilly wrote: post #89
larrywright wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I think you're right. The sound seems to be part of the appeal, for whatever reason.

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

#97

Post by winnin_the_game »

HarryHirsch wrote: post #42
toomuchtodo wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think it’s wrong to comment on people who care more about convenience and cost then the externalities they’re creating (air and noise pollution). “Selfish” is not a protected class.

Especially on this website, where you can find a substantial number of people working from home in upscale developments. Also this: the leafblower ban was voted on and passed. The majority of Washingtonians thinks that running your petrol toy in public is so rude and bothersome that the practice needs a city ordinance banning it.

Your comparison doesn't actually hold. Working from home, while more convenient, actually decreases the externalities we pass on to others.

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

#98

Post by jhoechtl »

nraynaud wrote: post #80
cjensen wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

don't big truck have a power outlet from the engine? I think welders are plugged into the engine. I'd share some concern about transition, in particular because I live in Arizona, but I guess things will be better in the long run.

And now guess how the trucks are powered? Now you use a cobustion engine to power an alternator to charge a battery. What is the net gain, if any?

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

#99

Post by crushcrashcrush »

cma wrote: post #86
shiftpgdn wrote: post #10

For 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.

Get too hot for use on a device like a leaf blower. Also would add non-negligible costs.

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

#100

Post by freeone3000 »

jhoechtl wrote: post #98
nraynaud wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

don't big truck have a power outlet from the engine? I think welders are plugged into the engine. I'd share some concern about transition, in particular because I live in Arizona, but I guess things will be better in the long run.

And now guess how the trucks are powered? Now you use a cobustion engine to power an alternator to charge a battery. What is the net gain, if any?

It's a more efficient engine, with better particulate filters, a catalytic converter to reduce NOx emissions, and yearly emissions inspections to ensure all of the above is up to standards. It's a gain.
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