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)
Pending legislation - 2007 read
