Autumn in New England emotes tranquility and reflection. It is a time to
quietly collect ourselves and say goodbye to the blazing days of summer and brace
ourselves for the bitterness of winter. I was always grateful for this gradual transition;
yet, over the last decade it has been marred by the noise pollution from all the “necessary”
gas powered lawn equipment that surrounds us. The escalating and incessant noise of
leaf blowers escalates each year and is unnerving. As a result many municipalities across
the US have banned or restricted their use. Most of us are forced to accept the ever-present
obnoxious incursion. We ask-have all the rakes in the world been recalled and are suddenly
unusable?
For me the act of raking is a perfect closure to the summer.
It feels good to clear away the leaves, lay them to rest, almost as if to repay a
debt to the trees and have a part in turning the seasons. I enjoy the sound of
the rake against the grass as it sweeps the mounds of leaves into order. I fall
into a rhythm as I work and I feel my heart pumping and it feels good to physically
exert myself. The crisp wind blows and from somewhere nearby comes the smell
of burning wood. It is easy to breathe deeply during those hours and the cares
of my world escape me for a while as I focus on this singular act.
It is also a communal thing as well. I see my neighbors
venturing out to areas of their yards that they haven’t visited all year bent
over working, sharing in this ritual. We shake our heads and shout over to each
other about the enormity of the task. Some seem unaware and just wait for their
leaves to blow into their neighbor’s yards. Others don’t care to be involved and
hire strangers to whisk away any trace of what had been littering their
immaculate, chemically treated lawns.
Then, there is that portion of people who fire up their gas
powered leaf blowers, mulchers and tractors and spend hours polluting the air
with exhaust and sound. The leaf blower subset especially confounds me as they
spend two or three times the energy and time to move the same amount of leaves
that they would move if they just picked up a rake and raked. Click this link
to read about how a grandmother in her late 50’s using a rake and broom took on
gardeners with leaf blowers and proved in all three tests that she was just as
fast and more thorough in cleaning specified areas.
A 2000 report by the California EPA
determined that “the average residential leaf blower produces 145 times more
hydrocarbons, 7.5 times more carbon monoxide, and 11 times more particulate
matter in one hour than a 1999-2000 light duty vehicle driven at 30 mph,
getting 15 miles to the gallon. The hydrocarbon emissions produced from
one-half hour of residential leaf blower operation are equal to the emissions
produced from driving 2200 miles, comparable to a round trip from Denver
to San Diego. Commercial leaf blowers with more horse power are even more polluting.”
It also pointed out that “pollution from dust and debris is
also a significant issue. Leaf blowers’ powerful engine jets have the
unintended consequence of disturbing and suspending smaller particulate matter
such as dust, fecal matter, pesticides, fungi, chemicals, fertilizers, spores,
and street dirt that consists of lead and organic and elemental carbon,
according to the California EPA.”
I must admit I did buy a leaf blower a few years back when the above considerations barely crossed my mind. I only
used it once or twice because I quickly came to the same conclusion as did the
aforementioned grandmother. So it hangs in the garage never to be used again, a
symbol of something I have learned. Now I don’t even want to give it away as I don’t want someone else to use it to menace
the environment with noise and pollution.
We all need to move around to be healthy and to feel alive. Depending upon your age and body size you can burn
about 200 calories an hour raking. Go to fitday.com to calculate your own estimate. Making thoughtful decisions
which will positively impact our own health and that of others usually benefits
the environment as well. If our life situation permits and we are presented
with the choice maybe one by one we can put aside the gas blowers. Instead we can reach
for a rake and just go outside and… rake.
Recent Comments
No comments.