On a gorgeous fall afternoon yesterday, several alders, many landscapers taking time out of their work day, Jonathan Dame from the Tab, and interested members of the public (including even a woman from Lincoln) gathered on the Comm Ave median across from City Hall for a leaf blower demonstration organized by Programs & Services chair Amy Sangiolo. Alderman Lisle Baker brought his rake.
The purpose was to compare sound levels of different models, as well as effectiveness in clearing a patch of land along the woods in five minutes. Chris Pitts came to shoot video of the whole thing (which Amy was grateful for, because otherwise there would have been no record). I will post the link to Chris’ video when it’s available, but with him shooting the whole thing on a real came
ra, I was able to do some stills and 1-minute Tout videos, which you can view in reverse chronological order starting here.
How it worked was, several sectors had been marked off (they tried to make them all the same size), and each leafblower/operator had five minutes to work to clear their sector, with Amy timing. Zoning enforcement officer Anthony Ciccariello from Inspectional Services, as well as a Newton police officer, had sound meters, and others were measuring decibel levels with apps on their phones. Lisle Baker did a sector with his rake, and may not have quite finished in five minutes — it was hard to tell. And apparently the Comm Ave traffic and the sound of raking combined were about 60 db, although I don’t know what each would have been alone.
I was juggling three cameras including my iPhone, so my note-taking was rather sporadic, but this was my takeaway:
— The landscapers’ leaf blower of choice, a RedMax model, seemed to be significantly faster than the other models, or raking, as it finished in only three
minutes.
— Electric leaf blower plus generator was the loudest of all, because the generator is so noisy. Landscaper Joe Caruso pointed out that it’s impractical to use extension cords on large properties where there may not even be outlets to plug into, so generators are necessary (with non-battery operated electric blowers).
Near the end of the demonstration, a ‘green’ landscaper, EcoQuiet Lawn Care owner George Carrette, showed up with his equipment — a battery-powered leaf blower and a leaf broom. That didn’t seem to be part of the planned program. He did some leaf blowing, which did seem quieter, b
ut we never got to see the broom in operation. He explained his method and answered questions from skeptical conventional landscapers. I think I heard him say he tries to match the price of conventional landscapers, but basically his answer on price was ‘it depends on the property.’ He said his batteries last only 30 minutes to an hour, with his biggest battery pack (the kind you wear in a backpack, I guess), lasting three hours. He has 16 batteries.
One other point Joe Caruso made, was that this demonstration was in optimal conditions, with dry leaves. He said heavy wet leaves would put less heavy-duty leaf blowers at even more of a disadvantage.
I have this update from Amy on last night’s Programs & Services meeting:
No vote. We discussed amendments – took out phase into a total ban and we are entertaining language regarding exemptions. We will allow representatives from the local landscapers, Newton Safe and Sound, the woman landscaper from Brookline, the green landscaper, and someone from either a golf course and/or institution to comment on the draft ordinance only – since we’ve already had a public hearing on the general issue itself. Looking to vote this out first meeting in December.
Meanwhile, I’ve got my own leaves to rake!
Lisle Baker, our very own John Henry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xaq0t9OQOd8
If this is not a completely overblown issue, I do not know what would be. Any reasonable community would have settled on a fair set of conditions over when (times of day and maybe months of the year) these devices can be used months if not years ago. Newton though is not reasonable. Populated by a small though vocal minority of Gladys Kravitz’s and enabled by Aldermen uninterested in (or perhaps incapable of really comprehending) the larger and more complex issues the city faces, the rest of us are left shaking our heads in disbelief. With winter around the corner we can all be reassured that these same people will be up in arms over the state of our sidewalks.
I hope the proposed ordinance minus a ban has also lost it’s discriminatory language banning leaf blowers on Sundays, and replaced it by having later start times on both Saturdays and Sundays.
Also, I’d like to see landscapers encouraged (not by ordinance) to offer the option of mulching instead of leaf removal – I think there would be demand for that from households looking for more ecofriendly choices (mulching is good for the lawn and doesn’t fill up landfills).
I watched the snipet videos posted by Julia on Twitter and there were some interesting takeaways. I think it’s great to have Julia back keeping us all up to date on meetings in Newton along with pictures and videos. Her live tweeting from hearings offers a good perspective too.
Thank you Julia for your hard work and dedication to keeping Newton informed. And congrats on a race well run.
Great to have you back Julia.
Overblown. Could not agree more, Elmo! And welcome back, Julia!
How incredibly disingenuous and frankly disrespectful. I wish that Newton Safe and Sound would take this matter more seriously. The amount of time and energy wasted on this topic is unbelievable. As Alderman Gentile said at Wednesday night’s Program and Service’s committee: he has received more response on this topic than anything in the last 20 years! And when Newton Safe and Sound had their chance to shine and prove the point they have argued so tirelessly over for the last 2 years they supply a leaf blower? I almost feel that I should pinch myself, no wait…this is reality.
How incredibly unfair to the landscapers who gave their time and absorbed the financial cost to perform this demonstration during their workday. Supplying the equipment and man power to perform at the request of the Aldermen and Newton Safe and Sound not holding up their end of the agreement is reprehensible.
Let us discuss George from EcoQuiet Lawn Care, located in Concord, MA. Not listed as an Accredited Business on the Better Business Bureau website. George told the crowd at the demonstration that he does not carry insurance because he pays his employees as 1099 vendors and therefore does not have to. He also stated that he has only been in business for about a year. Was this the best “Green Landscaper” Newton Safe and Sound could find?
Now I am left scratching my head as to what Newton Safe and Sound’s argument really is anymore? I am calling their bluff on the health risks of leaf blowers when they supplied a Gardner using a leaf blower. Does he not also blow the same “particulate matter”? What are the effects on the environment from his “16 batteries”? Was the noise level he produced really THAT much less than the traditional leaf blowers?
I have a story to share about another “Green Landscaper” Newton Safe and Sound was supporting. Earlier this year I went through Newton Safe and Sound’s list of about 8 approved landscapers who “understood the effects on the environment” and agreed to use rakes instead of leaf blowers. Only one returned my phone calls. He came to my house and gave me an estimate. He arrived in a black pickup truck without a company’s name visible anywhere. He told me that he would charge about the same for raking OR leaf blowing. He said that he did not have any insurance and IN FACT if I paid him in cash instead of by check he would lower my bill because he would not have to report it to the IRS. I informed Newton Safe and Sound that they should remove this gentleman from their list (especially because they had a very vocal member who uses his services advocating for him) since his practices were illegal. This member was strongly pushing his services because she (and we have documented proof of this) said that if a group of newton residents got together to hire him they would all receive lower rates. She even went on to say she advanced him money for his snow removal service so that he could purchase a plow. Fortunately Newton Safe and Sound removed him from their list. I would not want to think they were advocating for a change in the law that would benefit one of “their approved landscapers” which in turn would bring financial benefit to them all….
I hope that Chris Pitts video is more comprehensive than the snip-its Julia was able to put up. Although when I read her statement regarding all of the different cameras, iphone and notes she was taking at once it’s a surprise she was able to catch anything at all!
On a side note, I also agree with Elmo. This issue is completely overblown and should be settled. If the Program and Service Committee drag their feet any longer the draft of this ordinance will not go to the full Board until the new Aldermen are installed in January. New Aldermen that may be more in line with their views on this issue. I heard Alderman Hess-Mahan state Wednesday night at the Program and Service’s Committee that he knew that the ordinance probably would not pass with a total ban and he would rather pass something now and revisit the ban again in the future. This is the second attempt to ban leaf blowers in the last 10 years and I hope it will be the last.
Very interesting Leaf Blower Demonstration on Wednesday afternoon. The Newton Landscapers brought 4 different kinds of Leaf Blowers –1. an Electric Leaf blower that was powered by a Generator as there was no electricity available outdoors and this simulated what is necessary at a customer’s house where you cannot access their electricity 2. An 77 db Leaf Blower 3. A 65 db Leaf Blower and 4. A Push blower.
Karen Bray’s Organization Newton Safe and Sound was supposed to supply a RAKER. All we have heard for MONTHS is how she wanted to challenge the Landscapers to a contest to see who was faster – a Leaf Blower or a Raker. So who do they send? George the Green Gardner who showed up with a Battery Operated Leaf Blower. This demonstration was Newton Safe and Sound’s chance to prove to everyone that Raking was better and faster than leaf blowing and they did not have the ability to follow through.
The only logical conclusion due to their failure to supply a Raker is it must be true – raking really doesn’t get the job done. If not they would have raked.
Kudos to Alderman Baker who did bring a Rake. He raked for 5 minutes and did an OK job but certainly not up to the standards of the Landscaper’s Customers. One landscaper pointed out to Alderman Baker all of the leaves he had missed under the bushes etc. He stated that if he had done a job like that he would have messages waiting for him from his customer to return right away and finish the cleanup. But at least Alderman Baker tried and put his best raking forward.
Shame on Newton Safe and Sound – How Disingenuous can this organization and their members (which include some Alderman on the Program and Services Committee) be. Now was the time for them to show that Raking is “so wonderful” and unfortunately they FAILED or maybe they knew they couldn’t do what they have been claiming for months. Maybe they think that we are too stupid to figure them out and everyone would be OK with their Battery operated Leaf Blowing Gardner. Interestingly enough the Newton Safe and Sound website says:
“We are Newton citizens who are concerned about the harmful health hazards to children and adults, and the harm to our environment caused by the noise, dust and exhaust from leaf blowers. The serious harm done by these machines is very well researched and extensive literature documenting this is available under the ‘More – Files’ tab at the top of this page. Leaf blowers are a hazard to our health, they disrupt our lives and their use causes contention in our community. Only the manufacturers of these machines actually profit from their use. Commercial landscape workers, others who use them, and all who are exposed to their noise and breathe their dust and exhaust, pay for it with our health, well-being and the denial of our basic right to enjoy peaceful lives and quiet in our homes and communities. Efficient alternatives are available and there are landscapers who provide excellent services without using leaf blowers.”
Too Bad they didn’t produce their Imaginary Green landscaper that can “do excellent services without using leaf blowers” as they claim!
Their lack of a landscaper who rakes proves what the Newton Landscapers have been saying for MONTHS. This job, which many of them have done for Years, cannot be done by raking- you need a high powered leaf blower to do it.
Thank you Newton Safe and Sound for Proving that Raking doesn’t get the job done. If it did they certainly would have provided a Raker.
Haha… overblown! See what I did there? Anyone?
Yes I did Adam. Very funny! It’s nice to laugh amongst all this ridiculousness. Thank you for the comic relief
Here’s Chris Pitts’ leafblower video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYXAP4KYu58&feature=em-upload_owner
Hi Amanda and Pati:
I’ve got very little stake in this leafblower debate. I don’t use a landscaper, and while I own a leafblower I use it once a year to help with the leaves in the fall.
So a few points:
1) Amanda, I remember your posts from April of this year. My recollection is that you defended a poster named Joanne, and had a series of arguments with Ted Hess Mann. There was a legal argument about defamation, too. I got the impression that you came from a family of landscapers or landscaper architects. I also got the sense that you were related to Joanne. Please correct me if I’m wrong. Pati, are you related to Amanda? I ask because you use a similar writing style.
2) I have no objection to either of you posting here on this issue, and in fact would welcome a landscaper’s view of the potential ban or limitation. But you are bringing a fair amount of anger to the issue, and I’m not sure if it is because you are just super passionate about leaf blowers, or if you stand to lose money on the ban being put in place. If you choose to post, can you let us know which it is?
3) With all that said, put me in the group that would back a ban on hours and times of year. I think leafblowers are a useful tool in the fall, and should be allowed. I get annoyed when they wake me up at 7 am or 8 am on the weekend. But I can’t understand the need during the spring or summer. I only take mine out during the fall.
4) Like most things, I’m sure there is a compromise here that wouldn’t please either interested party fully, but would allow both sides to keep a portion of what they want. Hopefully our aldercritters can find it. I do think many of the landscapers in our city are excellent, but there are also definitely some that violate the noise and other restrictions. Clear cut rules would be best for everyone.
5) I’ll also note that in many other towns, once a year in the fall folks are allowed to leave large piles of leaves in the berm, and the city comes by and sucks them all up and mulches them offsite. New York towns do this all over. Why can’t we do that?
6) And Amanda/Pati, other jurisdictions have enacted bans or limitations, and the landscape companies survive. We are not the first community to discuss this. You seem focused on a volunteer organization more than the issue at hand. I’m pretty sure I could find a rake only landscaper (although I’m also sure it is more expensive). Are you really claiming there is no other solution except to allow all types of leaf blowers no matter what? How did folks survive before they came into heavy use?
7) Some of my neighbors with allergies or noise issues care deeply about this. Is the only response you would support is that we should ignore their concerns?
And Amanda, are you posting under two different handles? Or are there two different Amanda posters?
Now it’s about handles “fignewtoville”? Seems like Amanda’s comment struck a nerve…..Elmo is correct in saying that the issue is “overblown”. The agenda NS&S and their supporters have against landscapers is quite evident but I think they know its losing steam. Their agendas are to do away with things they don’t like. ……Let me dare resurface a rumor/conversation I heard a few years back around the time Ted started his coup against the back pack blower/landscapers after his ridiculous and demeaning display using one inside the aldermanic chambers, are the “holiday lights” Christmas lights or religious displays such as crèches, Christmas trees, stars of David or menorahs going to be banned from being displayed on our properties next? I fear the agenda list will keep growing if NS&S and their followers are allowed to continue to bully people into their way of thinking. (Sounds like a cult to me) Oh and by the way, I saw a bike rider had fallen off their bike on walnut street (near the cemetery oddly enough) the other day, had bloodied face and was visibly shaken up, probably because the side walk and street couldn’t be distinguished from where they met/separated with the large blanket of dry leaves on the ground. Imagine what can happen when wet..? Thankfully a concerned motorist stopped to help the young man out. That said, hopefully I’ll be seeing more “rakers” out there this weekend cleaning up their properties to help avoid any further accidents. And please, clean up after your dogs, no one wants a crusted over shoe of dog poop and leaves.
Have a peaceful weekend everyone & love thy neighbor.
hi in response to fig the problem with the issue is exemptions to the golf courses and large property owners are going to be given out as well as the city so i guess the abutters of these areas are collateral damage to the health concerns of Newton Safe and Soumnd while the landscapers and the residents can not be AFFORDED THIS RIGHT.Can you spell discrimination? Also they will be allowed to use any blower of their choice all year round.Construction can start at 7 but landscapers at 8 am.I guess a backhoe, jackhammer,, skill saw roof nailer gun areQUIETER THAN a leafblower?WE have offered up many times the Arlington plan less blowers governed by the sq ft of the lot and 30 minutes of use at a time .year round use and no need for an exemption .it works ;since its inception it has had only one complaint,and there is no discrimination
Newton Safe and Sound is a web-facilitated discussion group. It is not an organization, it does not have an elected board of directors or officers, and it does not ‘represent’ its participants, of which I have been one. I had nothing to do with the presence or use of the battery-powered leaf blower at the demo. I am opposed to any and all use of any leaf blowers for any reason at any time, as I have made clear on numerous occasions. There is an extensive literature on the serious health hazards from these machines. References to this literature are available under the “Pages” and “More -Files” tabs on the Newton Safe and Sound web-page (http://www.meetup.com/newtonsafeandsound/). These hazards, from the particulate matter and exhaust emissions and, mostly, to operators and proximate others from the noise, are well documented. That’s why I am opposed to their use. Many other communities have responded to these hazards by prohibiting or otherwise effectively regulating the use of these machines to eliminate or minimize their effects. Evidently, such regulation or prohibition has had minimal or no financial consequences for the landscape businesses in those communities.
The only thing overblown is the leaves… and this thread. Take it down a notch, people. I’m sure I could have raked my yard in the time taken to read all this.
And there’s a bike lane on Walnut Street. The cyclist should not have been on the sidewalk. Let’s not make any assumptions there.
I am happy to see that “phase in a ban” has been removed from the proposed ordinance. I think “banning” is overzealous and wonder if it had it not been in the first proposal, would it have had such a negative reaction. That first proposal, which was ready to pass, itself created backlash because it had been put forward without much thought about unintended consequences, without consulting landscapers and with members of Safe and Sound on the committee that writes and passes the ordinance.
Safe and Sound has been given the clout of an organization, not an Internet discussion group, in the committee. Including SAS “representatives” in further discussion along with the “green” landscaper with his 2 noisy contraptions and no “raking” landscapers – I’m still not sure there are any.
The whole thing seemed like a back channel, skirt around that almost succeeded.
The appearance of trying to keep controversial issues below the radar, both by aldermanic committees and the mayor, has become tedious to people who live in Newton.
It leads right to an angry response which is why the reaction to learning of the possible passage of the first proposal was not just centered on “solving the leaf blower problem” but centered more on the appearance of a “conflict of interest,” the livelihoods of people being threatened without being included in the process and the appearance of committee members with pet projects deciding and implementing what they think is best for residents of Newton like parents of unwieldy children. And most of this occurred because of the ordinance ending with “phase in a ban.”
Compromise always seems to work best in situations like this one. “Reaching across the aisle” in municipalities is more like “reaching out to businesses and residents” and is how compromise is accomplished. I would recommend committees not continuing to create us vs them, city vs residents, situations by being open and inclusive from the beginning. Yes, you may not get your way, but you also won’t create contentious reactions and can concentrate on the issue itself.
But please don’t put time and effort into doing this again in a couple of years. Move on to issues most residents are concerned about.
Really Adam, showing no compassion for someone hurt while biking? True colors? He was using just what you advocate in transportation, but just not the correct way. The leaves were obscuring part of the street too. Sometimes bikers don’t feel safe in the bike lanes on Walnut when traffic is heavy. Most bikers use sidewalks at times in Newton.
It was Elmo who used overblown first.
Ann and Adam,
Regarding the “bike Lane” on Walnut Street and how the cyclist should not have been riding on the side walk. Do you ride a bicycle in this city? As some on who graduated from the treacherously dangerous rides on city streets after a spill on Center Street ( resulting in the same bloody face ,.. and a broken wrist ), I have sworn off riding on the streets forever. It was a groove in the street between roadway and curbing that took me down, and I have lost complete faith in the cities ability to keep up maintainance of its roadways ever since. I ride on the sidewalk where ever I have a chance, and always on Beacon, Walnut and Center Streets. The condition of our roadways as well as the overwhelming abundance of drivers distracted by their cell phones, kids in cars, cosmetics application etc almost mandates same for any sane rider.
Thank You Marti !
Oh, and let’s put forward an Ordinance against riding on sidewalks too.
Arrest Me !
Sad commentary on our society watching Chris’ video. I find it surreal Newton is seriously legislating the use of leaf blowers. Brookline is actually talking about “registering” leaf blowers (like dogs, cars and guns) – to what end?
Were we as judicious about the gunk used to cover grass (synthetic turf) when we went ahead and spent tens of thousands “paving” playing fields in open spaces at Newton High Schools for our kids. Looks like this may cause cancer as well. How do I know, I saw it on NBC News, so it must be true! 😀
All participants in this video show more valuable time spent in the name of progress at Newton City Hall.
And isn’t the high school turf being replaced? Super progressive ideas aren’t always the best ideas just like super conservative ones. There is a lot of room in the middle to find a sufficient compromise.
I watched the video. Agreeing with others it seems a complete waste of time, although Mr Caruso did a good job describing the blowers and the reasons behind their choice. We already knew the decibel range. Wasn’t this supposed to include one of the “raking only” landscapers that Safe and Sound advocates? With alders being members, I’m surprised they didn’t include them, if indeed they do exist. The echo guy just “showed up?” What does the “woman from Brookline” add to the drafting of the ordinance, whoever she is?
The only things I learned from the video are
The Echo guy’s leaf blower has the most annoying sound and we didn’t hear his mulcher, although that was shown only in Julia’s snippets and edited out of the video along with the conversation he had with the other landscapers.
The push blower and the generator were the loudest.
Lisle Baker, who at the beginning looked quite dapper in his hat holding a rake in Julia’s snippets, is an excellent raker.
Move on to important issues. Do we actually need this Programs and Services committee if this is the only type of issue they handle?
An important clarification: Newton Safe and Sound had nothing to do with having a “green” landscaper showing his wares at the demonstration on Wednesday. Mr. Caruso and Amanda Bryan and others are making an incorrect assumption. The electric leaf blower demonstration was brought to you by our Aldermen in conjunction with some individual Newton residents.
Newton Safe and Sound is a discussion forum and a meet-up group. No statements or actions are made on behalf of the group.
To Mr. Caruso, Joanne Caruso, and Amanda Bryan, I would recommend checking your facts before starting rumors. Checking facts is much better for good community relations.
Really, Marti? I’m truly sorry what I wrote could have been read that way and that you felt it necessary to make character judgements. I was merely suggesting that we don’t have the facts, just some gossip — not a good basis for discussion — and that the rider could very likely have been in the street, not the sidewalk.
I am calling BALONEY on Newton Safe and Sound as an organized group. Otherwise how would they be able to gather as organized group before the Newton P+S Committee in order to make a presentation?
Bray’s defensive and accusatory statements about members of the Newton Community
are attemps to minimize and defend the lobbying activities of this organization (actively supported by P+S Committee members sitting Aldermen Hess-Mahan and Leary).
It seems fact checking appears to be something Mrs. Bray has NOT chosen to participate, herself. I am also wondering why didn’t show up to the demonstration with a rake only to leaf it up to Alderman Baker?
Agree with Janet. And Karen Lane Bray is listed as the Organizer for the Newton Committee meetings. She also lists the green landscaper as among those coming to the demonstration.
Ann:
Her comment didn’t strike a nerve at all. This really isn’t my issue. My comment regarding Amanda’s “handle” was that she posted twice under two different names, which I’m sure was an oversight, but it is helpful if she picks one. As for my name being a handle, I’ve been posting here for years and always use the same handle. I thought it was more significant that Joe Caruso and Amanda Bryan (and Pati and you?) are all from the same landscaping family. Again, I welcome you posting here, and I thought Joe’s post especially was helpful, since I don’t know how Arlington regulated their blowers. And I’m glad Amanda and Joe posted enough for us to identify them, so I don’t hold it against them that they are connected. Clearly this is an issue that is personally significant to them, and they are looking at this from that perspective. I point out the connection just so folks have the information, not to discredit the source. Again this isn’t my issue, so I’ll let folks judge for themselves. There are others far more passionate about this issue than me.
Regarding your comment:
“Let me dare resurface a rumor/conversation I heard a few years back around the time Ted started his coup against the back pack blower/landscapers after his ridiculous and demeaning display using one inside the aldermanic chambers, are the “holiday lights” Christmas lights or religious displays such as crèches, Christmas trees, stars of David or menorahs going to be banned from being displayed on our properties next? I fear the agenda list will keep growing if NS&S and their followers are allowed to continue to bully people into their way of thinking. (Sounds like a cult to me)”
Let me just say that that particular rumor is clearly false. I think you know that. Equating the regulation of leaf blowers with the banning of holiday lights is just fear mongering. You may not agree with the regulation, perhaps it affects your business or your family’s business, but there is no need for that. Leaf blowing clearly affects neighbors. It has a larger footprint than just your business or your clients. Statements such as this convince folks like me that you and your side are unreasonable.
As for who came to the presentation, Newton Safe and Sound being an organization or a random group of righteous dudes and dudettes, whether or not it is possible to rake effectively, whether or not we need leaf blowers in the spring and summer, I leave that to folks who know this issue far more than me.
Hi folks, it is really great to read all those comments. I am the “woman from Brookline.” I actually own a landscape business, have Newton clients and grew up in Newton. I founded Brooklineleaves.org to give real information about leaf blowers and to educate the Brookline community about Warrant Article Ten-also a ban on leaf blowers. My group has spent hundreds of hours tracking down every report and study put forth by the opposition. They are all out of date, and unfounded. We have a great powerpoint under the Just the Facts tab at Brooklineleaves.org that refutes all the “evidence”
against leaf blowers. We already have a partial pan and a decibel level of 67 we must adhere to. I think that some of the issues can be compromised on and I am willing to work towards that with others in Newton. Nov 18th is our Town meeting where I will be making my presentation.
Faith Michaels, Faithful Flowers
Ms. Michaels, I did what you said and read the web page you cited. But I didn’t see that you refuted anything, and in particular you did not address:
1. The Edmunds study that showed that even a small leaf blower pollutes many times as much as a big pickup truck.
2. The many letters written by doctors around the country advocating bans on leaf blowers because they pollute the air.
3. The studies done by grand juries around California and the California Air Resources Board that contain compelling evidence that leaf blowers are harmful to health and hearing.
I could go on.
What you have done is taken snippets out of context and presented them as facts, which is very typical of the leaf blower industry. I know you have, because I have actually read all that stuff. Even so, your own tables (taken from the UC Riverside study done for the EPA) show that power blowing of packed dirt (which is what leaf blowers do often, as anyone who has seen them in action can testify) produces from 80 to 160 times as much dust pollution as raking lawns, depending on what is being measured.
But there is no reason to get bogged down in statistics. Here is a test you can perform for yourself. Find a landscaper that is clearing a lot with three or four big 78 dB blowers (which remain in use in Newton even though they are not legal). Stand right there and breathe deeply until they are done. You won’t be needing a mask, since you point out that leaf blowers produce only 9% of total lawn care pollution. All that stuff flying around in the air and getting into your nose and eyes and lungs is just your imagination, because your web site says that leaf blowers are equivalent to rakes. No ear protection for you, either; remember how quiet these things are. Now, wasn’t that fun? Now try standing next to somebody raking. Can you tell the difference? If not, see your doctor, soon.
For your consideration
The study at the College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology University of California, Riverside, CA 92521 and San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District 1990 Gettysburg Avenue, Fresno, CA 93726 mentioned by Faith Michaels. This the link to the PDF:http://www3.epa.gov/ttnchie1/conference/ei15/session5/
Of course none of this makes any difference if you follow the above advice, which no sane person would. Things like that make your arguments less viable.
According to the study, Particulate matter dissipated completely within 5 minutes.
Emission Factor
Cleaning Action and Surface Cleaned
Type of Emission Factor Obtained from Test PM 2.5 PM10 TSP (mg/m^2) (mg/m^2) (mg/m^2)
Power blowin lawn Average emission from leaf blowing 1 2 3
Power Blowing Packed Dirt Average emission from leaf blowing 80 120 160
Power Blowing Cut Grass on Walkway Avg emissions from leaf blowing 2 6 9
Raking Lawn Average emissions from raking 0 1 1
OK. No sane person would stand next to a working team of leaf blowers. Except, of course, the landscapers themselves, and they do it for hours at a time. I see them with ear protection most of the time, but almost never with dust masks. There is no protection from the vibration up the arm. You seem to be taking the side of the landscapers, and I suspect that you have some in your family. Does the landscaper in your life bear a greater risk of respiratory illness, orthopedic problems and hearing loss because of the leaf blowers? Are you OK with that? When the man from the leaf blower company tells you that there is “no proof” that using leaf blowers causes health problems, doesn’t he remind you of the tobacco companies? Don’t you wish, when nobody can hear you, that the landscaper in your family didn’t have to use them? Do you wonder whether his future years might be a lot more comfortable if he used a battery powered blower that eliminates more than half the noise, most of the vibration, and all of the volatile organic compound exhaust? Do you really believe that selling his health for a 50 in. plasma screen is a fair deal?
I know somebody will raise this, so I will say now that I am not terribly concerned about what happens to the landscapers, now that everyone is required to buy health insurance. But human nature interests me, and I do wonder why those closest to them don’t seem to display any concerns along these lines. It just seems so weird to me that you are not desperately looking for some new technology that will get your loved one away from these things. I should have thought that the sight of those battery powered blowers would have caused you to drop to your knees in tears to give thanks for the promise of deliverance from the 78 dB gas blower. I’m missing something, here. Surely, you don’t actually believe all that garbage that Echo and the other leaf blower companies try to feed you. It must be something else.
But let’s say you are just a neighbor or a person walking down the street, how far away would you have to be in order to feel safe? If you are walking your two year old in a stroller, how far then? If you are elderly and suffer from difficulty in breathing, how far then? Let’s say your house is right next door, 25 feet away. Should you go inside and close all the windows or would it be safer to leave entirely, as I have had to do on ocassion? And, of course, a substantial number of people just can’t stand that sound. Have you any advice for them? Perhaps they should sit in their parlors wearing the same heavy duty ear protection that the landscapers use. Let me quickly add here that I saw no rebuttal of the article explaining exactly why leaf blowers sound so much worse than other lawn equipment. It was written by a doctor who made a study of the problem. Here’s the link: http://raisethehammer.org/article/1221
My point is that all that nice clean Brookline air won’t do you any good if you are in the neighborhood when the leaf blowers whine and roar. And it doesn’t do much good if that tiny percentage of all the hyrdocarbon exhaust in America is mixed up with all that dust and blowing in your direction. Comparing large environments, such as all of Brookline, with small environments, such as the three block area around your house, is a good way to go astray. It completely ignores the real source of the problem: concentration of this pollution and in a small residential rarea, with the leaf blower as the source. It’s bad science. Arguments like that convince nobody except those who were convinced to begin with. To the rest of us, you just look silly.
If you put up a web site full of carefully selected specious comparisons, pseudo-statistics and outrageous propaganda supplied to you by the manufacturers (such as that leaf blowers pollute no more than rakes), you have to be prepared to take a little flak.
First, no landscapers of any kind in my family. So I have no dog in this race. So nothing in most of your post pertains to me or my family.
Second, I leave it up to adults to decide what is best for them, so I don’t go meddling in their decisions. Obviously the leaf blowing landscapers have decided to use leaf blowers. I don’t think health risks are for anyone else to determine for them – they probably know more about that subject than you do. You are being quite presumptuous.
Third, the noise and debris kicked up by a leaf blower is no wider than a tractor lawn mower which is pretty close to them but it also dissipates completely within 5 minutes. So I will continue to walk or bike down the street and so will my family. I’ve been around tractor mowers, leaf blowers and other lawn equipment over many years.
Fourth and most important, I believe in compromise. As I said in my earlier post, Super progressive ideas aren’t always the best ideas just like super conservative ones. There is a lot of room in the middle to find a sufficient compromise. No one will get exactly what they want, but restrictions on months and times of use works quite effectively in other areas. No ban necessary.
Like I said, the landscapers can eat leaf blower soup for all I care. If they want to give themselves all sorts of illnesses, AND I don’t have to pay for it, I’m fine with that. That’s one nice side effect of affordable health insurance. But what they do affects me on my own property and on public property, and that’s when I get to complain and look for help from my town.
But it is a puzzle to me why people are so devoted to this machine that is so unhealthy for them, especially where there are good alternatives. I have to believe that they really don’t know the risks, or they would not be doing what they are doing. Just like the smokers, they won’t find out until it is too late. Then I suppose they’ll sue their former friends, the leaf blower companies.
From your last paragraph I see that you are willing to accept considerable restrictions on leaf blower use (are your landscaper friends still speaking to you?), which is certainly worth being called “quite presumptuous.” I took it like a man, just a few tears and I was right again. Believe me, I’ve been called a lot worse.
Enjoyed chatting with you, ma’am.
Yours truly,
Not
What a piece of work – your comment. I have no doubt that you will continue complain to the city for help.
Unfortunately I have no “landscaper friends,” but they seem like a good bunch of folks and my friends are still talking to me, so no worries there. There are many landscapers who want compromise unlike you.
Comparing the health knowledge of landscapers, who have information available to them, to smokers who did not know about the health risks, when there was no information available, has reached the hyperbolic level at which I invoke Godwin’s Law.
Marti, you don’t get to invoke Godwin’s law until someone mentions Nazis. That’s sort of the point.
Oops.
Actually Adam, although you are correct in the pure sense, it’s now commonly being used to represent any over the top, hyperbolic posts.
No, that would be a perversion of the perverse. There’s really nothing like Nazi hyperbole. To quote Jon Stewart, “please stop calling people Hitler when you disagree with them. It demeans you, it demeans them, and to be honest, it demeans Hitler. That guy worked too many years too hard to be that evil to have any Tom, Dick or Harry come along and say, “Hey, you’re being Hitler.” No! You know who was Hitler? Hitler!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ReFrDc8Plk
I give. I believe that if Jon Stewart said it must be true. I wish he was still saying things like that on his show.
Would these be banned too? 🙂
https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/wild-things/hungry-elephants-turn-trunks-leaf-blowers
Only seasonally.