I would gladly be part of a neighborhood battery swap pool if it would help get rid of the near constant running of gas powered lawn equipment every morning. The sound and pollution are such a menace.
I actually didn't know this was coming up and just bought an electric. They all kind of suck except for the Ego and the Ego is like $250.
Portland has gotten quite a bit more expensive. We've begun rejecting taxes, which as the self-selected second highest taxed city in the nation is new. Our economy has struggled to return post-COVID lockdowns. There's a lot more I could say but people are really feeling the economic squeeze. I doubt this will help, but is pretty minor when you think about housing, electricity, gas, and water costs that continue to rise as wages go down in the city. I call this place the city of a thousand cuts, there's a lot to like, but there's a lot that hurts too.
This ban has been around for about 20 years in LA and is not enforced at all,
no blowing 500ft of a residence. Recently they banned sales of gas blowers. Everyone’s gardener uses a gas leafblower still because that is what gets the job done in their time constraint.
Gas-powered leaf blowers could be fine, but 99% of the time they're awful, cheap, horribly-maintained hunks of junk that emit horrible clouds of smoke that just floats at ground level for 15+ minutes. Next up ban non-electric cars in the city limits.
I bought a corded electric snow blower this year for my driveway. My neighbor has a gas powered one. I sold mine after two uses because it was so ineffective it mostly just clogged. It is a highly rated unit on Amazon. My neighbor has used his for years.
I hope this kind of environmentalism never comes for winter gear. At least not until we have fuel cell technology that far exceeds what batteries can offer.
Whilst I seriously doubt that this will be regularly or universally enforced, I think that gas powered gardening and construction equipment is incredibly loud and annoying, and that especially in built-up areas it's not really acceptable where good alternatives exist. Noise pollution is usually very avoidable, and it can be quite disruptive and sometimes damaging to health.
Further, where I live (in the UK), there needs to be a serious reckoning about modified cars and road noise. At least 5-10x daily people drive through the city centre near my home with cars modified with unbelievably loud pop and bang ECU tunes and exhaust noise (close to as loud as gunfire). This kind of deliberate noise pollution is exceptionally antisocial behaviour and should not be tolerated by society.
My last apartment had the basic unending sound of a leafblower from Spring to late Fall, nearly every morning, unending. Never once did I find myself thinking "wow I sure do hate sight of fall leaves" or "this grass really needs the mm of grass every meter removed", yet they were paid to come multiple times a week year round and blow things around for hours on end. Felt like such a waste in an otherwise neglected apartment complex as far as maintenance.
I get the use of leafblowers for some. I lived in the deep woods and we'd have to clear a pretty large swath of area every fall to not swim through shin-deep leaves for half the year, but if you already are in an area with light enough tree density to grow nice grass I just personally don't understand the utility of some 1000CFM gas leafblower. I got my parents a relatively cheap electric leafblower and it's been excellent for clearing their driveway and paths.
It's definitely a more personal gripe, but those obnoxious droning leafblowers are one of the worst sources of noise pollution in suburban areas by a large gap.
It's a quality-of-life issue (noise pollution), more than anything.
I recall that Palo Alto had this 10-15 years ago and it was somewhat enforced. Although I did see someone put a Honda gas generator on a furniture dolly connected to an electric blower with a 50 or 100 foot extension cord to blow their yard.
Good. I don't mind the noise since it happens during daytime. Put on headphones and lock in or something. But it's impossible to get good air quality during the day with them running nearby constantly. Always smelling the gas and thinking about the CO content and other toxins you're inhaling. Thus having to shut the windows and watch your CO2 levels rise, knowing it's degrading your mental acuity while you're trying to code..
I live with a national forest literally in my back yard. I've got to deal with more leaves than most people can imagine. I don't own a leaf blower. I use a rake (with my human hands) to get the leaves into the lawn and I'll mulch em down into bits about once a month with a mower. After mulching down the monster pile I'll run the irrigation system to get the microbial activity going. Things break down fast if you can keep em small and wet. Blowing the leaves off the lawn or collecting them for pickup is crazy to me. This stuff is free fertilizer.
The HOA quants who need their lawns immaculate 24/7/365 are neurotic freaks and no law is going to stop them from finding some new way to be obnoxious to those around them. You may one day find yourself wishing for the return of the leaf blower noise if you aren't careful with rules like this.
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[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 42.1 ms ] threadPortland has gotten quite a bit more expensive. We've begun rejecting taxes, which as the self-selected second highest taxed city in the nation is new. Our economy has struggled to return post-COVID lockdowns. There's a lot more I could say but people are really feeling the economic squeeze. I doubt this will help, but is pretty minor when you think about housing, electricity, gas, and water costs that continue to rise as wages go down in the city. I call this place the city of a thousand cuts, there's a lot to like, but there's a lot that hurts too.
Context: https://www.oregon.gov/osfm/pages/self-serve-fueling.aspx
A gasoline leaf blower (or vacuum) that you ride instead of carry would also be allowed.
I hope this kind of environmentalism never comes for winter gear. At least not until we have fuel cell technology that far exceeds what batteries can offer.
Further, where I live (in the UK), there needs to be a serious reckoning about modified cars and road noise. At least 5-10x daily people drive through the city centre near my home with cars modified with unbelievably loud pop and bang ECU tunes and exhaust noise (close to as loud as gunfire). This kind of deliberate noise pollution is exceptionally antisocial behaviour and should not be tolerated by society.
I get the use of leafblowers for some. I lived in the deep woods and we'd have to clear a pretty large swath of area every fall to not swim through shin-deep leaves for half the year, but if you already are in an area with light enough tree density to grow nice grass I just personally don't understand the utility of some 1000CFM gas leafblower. I got my parents a relatively cheap electric leafblower and it's been excellent for clearing their driveway and paths.
It's definitely a more personal gripe, but those obnoxious droning leafblowers are one of the worst sources of noise pollution in suburban areas by a large gap.
I recall that Palo Alto had this 10-15 years ago and it was somewhat enforced. Although I did see someone put a Honda gas generator on a furniture dolly connected to an electric blower with a 50 or 100 foot extension cord to blow their yard.
The irony: I often run my corded electric leaf blower off of my portable generator just so I can check to make sure the darn thing runs.
The HOA quants who need their lawns immaculate 24/7/365 are neurotic freaks and no law is going to stop them from finding some new way to be obnoxious to those around them. You may one day find yourself wishing for the return of the leaf blower noise if you aren't careful with rules like this.