Raking leaves is chlld’s play!
Happy Autumn! Leaves have started to fall and many of us are enjoying the brilliant oranges, reds and yellows as we walk or drive through our neighborhoods. If you are a composter, you know the value of these little bits of carbon. (Learn more about composting leaves here.) They prevent the compost pile from smelling like poop. Not a composter? Then you or your gardener can rake them into a pile and toss them in the green bin provided by the city. So where does a leaf blower fit into this process? That is what we will be talking about at the Mar Vista Green Tent this Sunday, November 27.
Want to make a difference right now?
Reduce or discontinue your own leaf-blowing activity. Compensate your gardener if they need to spend extra time on your property. Triple your impact…share this information with 3 of your neighbors. Everyone will benefit by eliminating noise pollution and invisible health hazards.
Below are some of the reasons to discontinue the use of blowers in case you are short on facts..
"Fun" Facts
1.2 billion gallons of gas are burned in lawn and garden equipment in the United States annually.
Toxic gas & oil, carcinogenic emissions, noxious exhaust, and unsafe noise levels make gas-powered lawn care a very hazardous job — particularly for unprotected lawn crews working full-time at the source of emissions and noise. Workers may have few options and little agency.
Ground level ozone (formed by VOCs and NOx in the presence of sunlight) and fine particulate matter cause and contribute to early death, stroke, heart attack, congestive heart failure, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cancer.
The ongoing fueling and maintenance necessary with gas lawn machines results in huge amounts of extra waste in our landfills.
Harsh chemical solvents are used to degrease and clean carburetors, spark plugs, fuel and air filters, and decks of gas-powered machines. These elements end up evaporating into the air, poured into the soil, or washed down a drain.
Gas emissions degrades air, soil & water. It affects neighborhood quality of life and contributes to climate change
Still not convinced?
Noise pollution poses critical physical and psychological health effects including tinnitus & hearing loss, stress, hypertension, headaches, and productivity loss.
Now that many of you are working from home, you may be more aware of the frequency with which these menaces are operated. Let's use this break from business as usual to fix some of our long-standing health and environmental issues.
This one is pretty simple.
Thanks for listening.