what the hell27:12Here's the climate dirt from leaf blowers
Mark Nevitt describes the landscape while walking or biking to work in Atlanta, Georgia, as “incredibly beautiful” thanks to the city's lush tree cover.
But when fall comes, not only do the trees lose their leaves, there's another seasonal change that the Emory University environmental law professor says he'd rather do without.
“My lovely bike ride to the Emory University campus was very interrupted and very annoying by my gas-powered leaf blower,” Nevitt said in an interview with the magazine. what the hell. ““That's what led me down this rabbit hole of looking at climate damage.”
A typical gas-powered leaf blower has a two-stroke engine, Nevitt says. This means it generates more greenhouse emissions than the largest pickup truck you can buy.
Nevitt said he got angry when A.J. The bill passed the Georgia Senate. last year that seeks to prevent cities and counties in the state from banning gas-powered leaf blowers.
“We're seeing a strong lobby from landscaping companies that are really against this,” Nevitt said. “(They) make a lot of claims about switching costs…during the transition from gas to electric.”
In Canada, there is a similar debate over banning gasoline-powered two-stroke blowers. in vancouverThe West End neighborhood became the first neighborhood in Canada to ban it in 2004. Last October, (Westmount in Montreal). Blowers were also banned. Toronto has proposed allocating $305,000 in its 2024 budget for a possible ban on gas-powered lawn equipment.
However, in cities like Calgary, The ban is still in the proposal stage. A community group called Project Calgary has launched a petition with over 2,800 signatures toward their goal of collecting 3,000 signatures at the time of publishing this article.
Except for yard work, Nevitt says almost all other uses for two-stroke gasoline engines have been eliminated, including cars.
Impact on the environment and health
Leaf blowers pose environmental and health problems, says Joe Vipond, an emergency physician in Calgary and former president of the Canadian Society of Environmental Physicians.
“What comes out of the leaf blower exhaust is a mixture of combustion products, like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and PM 2.5, which is the really bad pollutant that people know about.”
“If you used it for an hour, the amount of smog air pollution would be comparable to driving a sedan 1,750 kilometers,” he said, citing data from the California Air Resources Board.
This pollution also has a direct impact on health.
“PM2.5 in particular has a direct relationship with mortality,” Vipond said. “The more exposure you have annually, the higher level of mortality you will have.”
TO he studies PM2.5 pollution causes millions of premature deaths annually around the world, as well as health problems such as cancer, mental health and reproductive problems, Environment America, US PIRG and Frontier Group said in 2023.
Both Vipond and Nevitt also say that regulating these devices is a matter of equity and social justice.
“The people most exposed to the pollutants and noise from these machines are those who work with them every day,” Vipond said. “Generally, these are low-income people who are least able to avoid these risks.
The sound produced by gas-powered leaf blowers causes tremendous damage, Nevitt says, likening the experience to “standing next to a jet engine at the local international airport.”
“Simply exposure to it can cause permanent hearing loss,” he said.
“There is a good alternative”
When it comes to climate action, people often resist change unless a viable alternative is available, Vipond says. However, with the availability of efficient electric leaf blowers, both electric and battery-powered, “there's really no reason to have gas-powered leaf blowers.”
Sheldon Rideout is the owner of The Silent Gardener, an electric gardening company based in British Columbia.
“We've been in this business for about 24 years,” Rideout said. When we started, we didn't use any electrical equipment at all. “They were torches and brooms.” “Unfortunately… on larger sites, it becomes more difficult.”
About 10 years ago, Ridout began using equipment with lithium batteries, and now all of the company's tools run on lithium batteries.
“All those little myths about 'Oh, I have to have a lot of batteries, and they only last 15 minutes, and they're not that powerful'… those are problems that existed 10 years ago,” Rideout said.
Ridout says he sees significant improvements in battery technology every year: longer run times, higher efficiency and even waterproof features in commercial equipment.
“Technology changes every day. The excuses that used to exist really don't exist anymore. The only thing they have is a lack of vision.”
In fact, Ridout opposes municipalities banning gas blowers.
“It's a carrot and stick thing,” Rideout said. “If you pressure someone to do something, you will feel more resentful.”
Instead, Ridout says to make change, residents must advocate for it as consumers.
“Choosing which companies will do things the way they want should be up to the residents.”
“You have to have the people who hire: the property management groups, the purchasing groups… for companies like mine to get in there, so other companies say, 'Wait, I'm losing business to this guy because It's battery. motorized.'” equipment.'”
“This is the fastest change you have.”
