The Autumn Leaves

Imagine autumn in New England. On a quiet fall day, one sits and watches the red and gold leaves swirl down to a softly gurgling brook. Cool, clean breezes refresh the soul.

Now, shift to Atlanta. As the first leaves of autumn fall from the oaks, panic grips the residents of apartment and condo complexes. There will be leaves in the parking lot. Leaves will clutter the space between our parked cars on the street. Even before the leaves fall, three, four, five workers rev up their blowers to max speed: 200 mph. Their instructions? leave not one leaf on the grounds, the walks or the street. Get rid of them! Of course there's no need to worry about where you blow them. If there get to be too many, we'll scoop them up in a tarp. But meanwhile, we'll just blow them until they aren't visible any more, or cleverly concealed in the groundcover.

Consider the results: at 200mph, the hot winds from the blowers lift not only the leaves, but enormous quantities of dirt. The dust and dirt rise as high as the rooftops of three story buildings and coat everything as they begin a slow descent. The hot wind destroys whatever grass there is and, week by week, kills the shrubs. Landscapes that are blown weekly, especially in times of drought or hot weather are bare, whatever fertile soil there was-- gone with the wind. All one needs to do is walk around the neighborhood of a complex that is blown to see the damage. In contrast to the healthy shrubs, green lawns, and blooming groundcover of all the neighborhood properties, the blown landscapes are dead. The difference is startling.

Consider this as well: those workers who spend their days blowing dirt and dust, including the lead filled dust of the street, the anti-freeze, the organic and inorganic compounds of car drippings, animal feces, mold, and allergens are very likely to suffer respiratory illness.
Autumn is an interesting time in Atlanta. Though we are all aware of the city's infamous air pollution, many of us do little to prevent it. We drive SUVs and we blow our lawns dry with gasoline fumes that add significantly to the pollution. The price we are paying for anal retentive tidiness may be an insidious filth that coats our houses inside and out, and settles in our lungs and sinuses.

On the other hand, looking at the ordinances of over 350 progressive communities around the country that limit the use and kinds of blowers used, might eventually bring us back to the good old days of quiet contemplation of the beauty of autumn leaves, the refreshing breezes of cooler weather, and the peace of mind of a quiet fall day.



About 350 cities and towns have banned or controlled blowers nationwide

Towns that banned blowers (partial list) Most recent:
Greenberg, NY 2007 (read)
Mamaroneck, NY 2007 (read)
Palo Alto, CA starting Jan 1-06 (read)
Pelham Manor, NY starting Jan 06
Aspen, CO July 18-05 (read) and (pdf)
Houston, Texas July 18-05 (read)
Evanston, IL 2005 (read)
Vancouver, BC Feb 04 (read)

In process:
Greenwich, CT, June 06 - considering citizen request for a ban (read)
Cambridge, MA - March 20, 2006 and November 2006 (read) - City Manager ordered by Council to report on an amendment to the Municipal Code to ban leaf blowers

Also:
Berkeley, CA (read)
Belvedere, CA
Beverly Hills, CA (banned in 1978 read)
Carmel, CA (banned in 1975)
Claremont, CA (read)
Del Mar, CA (read)
Hermosa Beach, CA
Laguna Beach, CA (read)
Lawndale, CA
Los Altos, CA (read)
Malibu, CA
Menlo Park, CA (read)
Mill Valley, CA
New Rochelle, NY (read)
Pelham, NY (read)
Princeton, NJ (1998)
Rye, NY
Santa Barbara, CA
Santa Monica, CA
Scarsdale, NY
Seattle, WA
West Hollywood, CA
White Plains, NY


Towns with blower use & noise ordinances (parial list)

Most recent:
Toronto, CND starting Feb-06 (read)

Also:
Boulder, CO
Foster City, CA (read)
Indian Wells, CA (read)
Los Angeles, CA (read)
Montclair, NJ (pending read)
Oyster Bay, NY
Portsmouth, NH (read)
Sacramento, CA
Sunnyvale, CA
Winnetka, IL

States controlling leaf blowers:

California
Small Engine Pollution Rules - 2007 read

About 13% of Californians live in cities that ban the use of leaf blowers, and six of the ten largest California cities have ordinances that restrict or ban leaf blowers. All together, about one hundred California cities have ordinances that restrict either leaf blowers specifically or all gardening equipment generally, including the cities with bans on leaf blower use (IME 1999). In 2000. nationwide, two states, Arizona and New Jersey, have considered laws at the state level, and five other states have at least one city with a leaf blower ordinance (IME 1999).
Source: California 79-page Report of the State's Environmental Protection Agency (pdf)

Arizona
Pending legislation - 2007 read

Silence of the Lawnblasters

From Concord, New Hampshire:

Ban on leaf blowers worth consideration

Published: Saturday, Sep. 29, 2007

KEY POINTS BACKGROUND: Several hundred cities and towns across the nation have banned the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. CONCLUSION: Given the negative impact they have on the environment and quality of life, more communities should consider doing the same.

Falling leaves, once the inspiration of poets and songwriters, now mark the death of peace and quiet. As soon as they drop, homeowners and landscapers attack them maniacally with leaf blowers. The din from the screeching machines bores into the brain. The crisp fall air fills with exhaust fumes and dust.

More than 200 cities and towns have declared gas-powered leaf blowers a nuisance and public health hazard and banned them. Other communities have restricted the hours they may be used and banned blowing dust and litter onto the property of others or onto public property. Some have prohibited use of the machines where population density is high.

In the Live Free or Die state, a ban would bring wails of protest. And, if courtesy and common sense were common, a ban would be unnecessary. Unfortunately, at least in the most densely settled parts of Concord, it's worth considering. Enact one, and the growing number of people who work from home or work nights would be eternally grateful.

Noise isn't the only problem with leaf blowers, which tend to be run longer and more often than string trimmers, lawn mowers and other gas-powered tools. New Hampshire, on many days, has unhealthy air.

According to the Asthma Regional Council of New England, the Granite State has the highest rate of adult asthma in the nation. New Hampshire places third in childhood asthma rates behind Maine and Massachusetts.

Leaf blowers are a small part of the problem, but they contribute to it in dangerous ways. Like other two-cycle gasoline engines, they generate a remarkable amount of pollution for their size – the equivalent in one hour of driving a car 100 miles, the Los Angeles chapter of the American Lung Association says.

Worse perhaps, they make airborne stuff that should stay on the ground: lead dust from the paint used on older homes, asbestos dust from car brake linings, mold, pollen, herbicide residue and tiny particles of dog feces.

Many people who use leaf blowers blast the dust into the road – the modern equivalent of emptying chamber pots in the gutter – where each passing car or truck makes it airborne again.

Children and people with breathing problems are advised to go indoors or leave the area when the machines are in use.

Concord has ordinances to control noise and make it illegal to create "fugitive dust," but they're inadequate and rarely enforced. The noise ordinance prohibits the operation of lawnmowers or "an internal combustion engine blowers or power fan" between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., which most of the year, means when it's dark. Those laws need to be toughened and, when prompted by complaints, enforced, first with warnings then with fines.

Landscapers will argue that requiring the use of rakes or brooms or even less powerful electric blowers will take more time and drive up prices. But what price should be put on the ability to breathe decent air, hear the church bells and birds on Sunday morning, or hold a conversation in one's own yard?

– Concord Monitor