Emailed on December 4th, 2020 in The Friday Forward

Let's take a little break from the tech news and talk about something you probably don't know much about: the environmental impact of a leaf blower.

In DC over the last few months there's been an effort to speed the transition from gas-powered leafblowers using dirty, noisy two-stroke engines to a range of alternatives, including the emerging generation of much quieter, dramatically less-polluting electric models.

You're probably thinking, "well that's ridiculous," and since I'm writing the words you're reading, I would agree.

But check this out. The obvious issue is the noise, but the real reasons for attention are pollution, environmental justice, and public health.

Two-stroke gas-powered engines are so exceptionally polluting that they have been banned in almost all applications except lawn equipment.

Simplest benchmark: running a leafblower for 30 minutes creates more emissions than driving a F-150 pickup truck 3800 miles.

About one-third of the gasoline that goes into this sort of engine is spewed out, unburned, in an aerosol mixed with oil in the exhaust.

Emissions from the engines, combined with the dust, mold, and other fine particulates created by the high-velocity (up to 200 mph) wind from the blowers, create public-health problems for a community.

In a famous letter in 2010, the pediatric medical staff of Mt. Sinai hospital supported leafblower restrictions because of the damage done to children’s lungs. The American Lung Association has spoken up to similar effect.

You can follow along with the efforts in DC here.