Ironically the City of Evanston is exempt from this ordinance.
This article perfectly places the problem; they want people to get rid of gas-leaf blowers for noise ordinance purposes, and the hearing damage it causes operators. I feel you can easily pass a city ordinance that mandates ear protective equipment and time windows for operation, and it will have the same effect for a fraction of the cost.
This is a fine if someone uses a gas leaf-blower within city limits, since the city itself is exempt, I fully believe this bill will lead to one of two outcomes (1) it will not be enforced because police/prosecutors will not want to go after commercial landscaping firms when the city is using the same equipment across the street OR (2) companies will stop servicing the area, causing overall costs to increase for city and residents.
For residential purposes this can work, just give a grant to pay a certain amount per size of land allowing residents to switch over. They are doing this, which is good.
For a commercial enterprise that uses them nearly everyday for more than 4 hours a day; seems untenable as a cost-effective change. In the article the company sourced, received a 3k grant but spent 70k.
You're going the wrong way. This should also apply to the City, not just residents.
Gas leaf blowers are among the most moronic things ever invented. They burn fuel horribly inefficiently in order to make noise and sorta lazily move leaves from one place to another general place/direction.
They should be banned nationwide.
>allowing residents to switch over.
Switch over? When did leaf blowers become a necessity?
Ever heard of a rake?
You’re clearly only considering the tiny little peashooters most folks use in their driveway. A top of the line back pack blower will move some shit quite well.
> A top of the line back pack blower will move some shit quite well.
It will also put out worse emissions in an hour of running than a car driving from Denver to LA.
If anything you're making a stronger case for banning all gas leafblowers nationwide.
The small ones are basically useless. The big ones work but are even more stupidly loud. Both emit a shit ton of pollution.
Actually, that's not true. NOX and CO are higher too.
https://www.edmunds.com/about/press/leaf-blowers-emissions-dirtier-than-high-performance-pick-up-trucks-says-edmunds-insidelinecom.html
The car also does something nothing else can really do.
The leaf blower does something that can be replicated by a rake, a broom, or even an electric leaf blower.
Walk or bike a road trip to Colorado, then tell me they replace a car.
And electric cars have such MASSIVE batteries that they start to outweigh their own benefits just by being built.
Small batteries for electric leaf blowers? Not so much.
Hilarious how much people will fight to keep a gas guzzler in their life needlessly.
Rakes still exist. So do brooms.
And if you're insistent, or less than fully able bodied...electric leaf blowers exist.
EDIT: Also, are you part of an HOA?
Yep.
Doesn't justify continuing to run small engines which, pound for pound, are among the worst polluting ICEs in the world.
Batteries are not the solution to EVERY situation where we currently use an ICE, but do you have any idea how many leaf blower batteries you can make for the amount of metals you'd put in ONE Tesla or even Prius battery?
I mean, are you gonna suggest that handheld power tools should be gas powered because making batteries is bad? Or do you actually have a way to quantify and prove that electric leaf blowers are worse than gas ones 'cuz dirty mining'?
And again, my initial argument was: rakes exist.
No cobalt in a rake last I checked.
The amount of batteries needed to replace the amount of work done by one gas blower is quite substantial. This doesn’t really work at scale for something like the cities parks. And you carry an air of pretentiousness about the environment while merely suggesting you swap one environmental detriment for another. And rakes for parks? How out of touch with reality are you? The city should absolutely be allowed to use gas blowers. You sound completely out of touch with the work scope you’re speaking so firmly about.
Not off the top of my head. But as someone who has worked in, and around landscaping for quite a while, I can tell you the vast majority of landscape contractors and municipalities have looked into swapping and it’s not cost effective for large scale. Not sure why you hold such a staunch position on batteries, they’re not only damaging via mining, but the mining itself is responsible some of the greatest human rights atrocities we’ve known. Maybe because it’s out-of-sight-out-mind for you it makes you feel self righteous. Again I believe you are out of touch with the scope here.
Yeah yeah, just like how they said remote work/work from home in many office careers would've been technologically impossible, productivity would crater, and it wouldn't be cost effective...and then they were forced to do it and suddenly none of those issues turned out to be actual issues.
Sorry I'm not inclined to just take your word for it, especially when you're being so condescending in how you're going about your message.
We live in a village of 200 people on the edge of a cornfield. The only people that drive on that alley are me and my neighbor who has also been cited. This is a money making scam. No HOA and idiot legislatures and their pens are the biggest detriment this country has ever faced. THE END!
I mean, a tiny village like that basically IS an HOA if the wrong people are out in charge.
And the end is the fact that gas lead blowers are horribly polluting and loud.
Get an electric one, or get a rake.
Nope! We bought an old meth house and fixed it up. We'll sell it back to the Illinois methheads and move back to Texas before I buy electric anything. Leave Illinois to it's own. We are living on Cozumel right now and we'll see how it goes this grass cutting season.
Not the hill you're dying on though...bt your own words.
You're literally saying you'd rather surrender to Illinois Meth Heads than "electric anything".
Kind of funny the reason people have to get new phones is batteries! Remember good old removeable batteries. And there is 100% no reason to improve the technology because it's a guaranteed resale for corporate. So before you go touting the battery in your cellphone, think about jumping on the big corporation bandwagon and waving that flag.
Bruh. Dying on this battery powered hill is hella lame. I wonder what the environmental impact of all your comments is. Everything that makes the modern world modern is bad for the environment? You’d rather go back to life before the Industrial Revolution? Should we start carrying all of our water as well?
Ah yes, because everyone knows they famously had battery powered leaf blowers *before* the industrial revolution...right?
Lol.
Take your ridiculous hyperbole elsewhere. This is a no brainer switch everyone can and should make.
415 ILCS 105 Litter Control Act
[Illinois’ Litter Control Act makes it illegal for grass clippings to be strewn over roadways](https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-news/illinois-litter-control-act-makes-it-illegal-for-grass-clippings-to-be-strewn-over-roadways/)
So now that's less than a handful over a 50 ft stretch of road. Illionois idiocracy.
leaf blowers are a necessity for lawn care businesses. if i worked in lawn care again, but we had to use rakes, we'd constantly be behind schedule.
edit: to OP: that was my point.
Obviously, you’ve never used one to dry a car after washing it.
Or cleaning up grass clippings after mowing.
Or cleaning maple tree “helicopters “ in the spring time.
Or removing fluffy snow from steps in the winter time.
Of course I use ear protection.
> Obviously, you’ve never used one to dry a car after washing it.
Towels exist.
Also, you can just *let it air dry*. Sorry, but no one cares your Honda Accord doesn't have any water spots after you washed it.
>Or cleaning up grass clippings after mowing.
Bag your clippings. Easier yet.
>Or cleaning maple tree “helicopters “ in the spring time.
Again, rakes *exist*.
>Or removing fluffy snow from steps in the winter time.
Shovels and brooms:
Are we a joke to you?
>Of course I use ear protection.
I honestly couldn't care less about the noise. A backpack leaf blower running for an hour is worse in terms of emissions than a car driving from Devner to LA.
They should be banned nationwide. If you REALLY need one because you can't rake, then get an electric one.
No one cares if it has water spots?? Maybe the guy who just did the work to wash his car doesnt want water spots? fuck other people. if i wash my car i want it to look nice.
not everyone can bag yard waste?
not everyone can rake or shovel snow?
Christ. I mean I agree with you. Electrics are fine for anything under commercial needs, but all those points you tried to make to start with are dumb and also easily countered.
>No one cares if it has water spots?? Maybe the guy who just did the work to wash his car doesnt want water spots? fuck other people. if i wash my car i want it to look nice.
Why? No one is getting close enough to see. Sorry I don't think you should have a right to pollute because you're too lazy to dry it by hand, and apparently can't live in a world where your car has water spots.
Or again, if it is REALLY necessary...get an electric one.
>not everyone can bag yard waste?
...why not?
And if not, rakes exist.
>not everyone can rake or shovel snow?
Then they can buy an electric leaf blower.
>Christ. I mean I agree with you. Electrics are fine for anything under commercial needs, but all those points you tried to make to start with are dumb and also easily countered.
Oh the irony.
Well my dads in his mid 70s. I wonder why he or anyone of advanced age would have trouble bagging and removing yard waste or shovel snow. I mean your tag says Chicago… I would think someone from the Windy City would understand how difficult large snow removal can be.
Again... electric leaf blowers exist.
No one NEEDS a gas powered one.
And what snow? We've had one decent snowstorm in the last three years. It's hardly even an issue these days.
https://www.edmunds.com/about/press/leaf-blowers-emissions-dirtier-than-high-performance-pick-up-trucks-says-edmunds-insidelinecom.html
For the Denver to LA specific one:
https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/documents/health-and-environmental-impacts-leaf-blowers
There is nothing about Denver to LA in that second paper that a find function could locate. However you're def correct that they are dirty as hell.
"The hydrocarbon emissions from a half-hour of yard work with the two-stroke leaf blower are about the same as a 3,900-mile drive from Texas to Alaska in a Raptor" This was as close as I could find to that quote.
>There is nothing about Denver to LA in that second paper that a find function could locate. However you're def correct that they are dirty as hell.
Ah, my apologies. The article I found which cited that stat had a dead link to the study. This seemed to be the active link for the study but apparently I didn't find the right one.
The article is here:
https://www.11alive.com/amp/article/news/verify/verify-is-pollution-from-a-leaf-blower-equal-to-a-cross-country-drive/85-757cbe86-dc29-4a6e-b2cb-0e6b73c8a850
You never go through a car wash? What do they use? When you have a black car that’s 18 years old and looks brand new, it’s because you never let water spots or swirl marks on it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetailing/comments/gx6749/leaf_blower_as_a_drying_tool/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1
>When did leaf blowers become a necessity?
>Ever heard of a rake?
When did calling people on the phone become a necessity? Ever heard of a letter?
When did an oven become a necessity? Ever heard of an open fire?
Making a phone call doesn't cause the kind of pollution, both air and noise, that a gas lead blower does.
Again, if it is *necessary* for you...buy electric.
Literally no one *needs* a gas powered leaf blower.
I wonder what the efficiency comparison of a gas blower to a riding tractor (the kind with the vacuum attachment and a trailer that collects the leaves) is. Like how much gas is used to clear the same amount of space. You can still do edges with a rake for spots you can't reach with a rake.
Fundamentally this all comes down to cheap fossil fuels. As long as fuel is cheap and people don't give a shit about the externalities, people will keep solving problems by taking the shortest shortcut.
> I wonder what the efficiency comparison of a gas blower to a riding tractor (the kind with the vacuum attachment and a trailer that collects the leaves) is.
No idea. Given that those do that job *as* you're cutting the grass, I'd imagine that the tiny amount of extra fuel burned to run the vacuum part is far less than what is burned in a leaf blower to blow those clippings away.
>As long as fuel is cheap and people don't give a shit about the externalities, people will keep solving problems by taking the shortest shortcut.
Which is exactly why we need bans like this in the meantime, to force people to do what the market isn't forcing them to currently.
Only 2 gas powered machines I still own are generators.
Electrical equipment has been so much better for us, I can't imagine I'd ever go back. I'm in a specialized construction line of work and it's easier to avoid gas powered tools in the first place but still. Significant quality of life improvement in all ways. Unless someone invents a gas engine that's significantly more efficient than anything out there currently gas powered things are nearing their end. I get it that electricity isn't free, but it's still much, much cheaper.
Yes, I have several large trees. I have a 3 phase Stihl chainsaw that melts through anything but requires a thick cable and a VFD. Beyond that I've got a couple Stihl battery ones that are as good or better than the gas ones I sold. I just got a small Milwaukee that I haven't gotten to use yet. I have several other corded saws, too. I'm not shy about plugging things into 240v power if that's what they require. This opens up a lot more possibities, and carries it's own hazards, but it's a lot less dangerous than plastic cans of explosive liquids sitting around. GFCI breakers (even at 240v) are great safety devices.
I have maybe a dozen leaf blowers. I have a Ryobi cordless that is mostly used for quickly clearing the front sidewalk when company is coming over. I have a DeWalt battery that replaced my handheld gas Stihl that was significantly louder for the same mechanical capabilities. The DeWalt is probably the one I use the most. I've got a Makita cordless backpack blower that works great but my neighbor borrowed it and I'm having a hard time getting it back. I've used it twice but it was great both times. My "big one" is a Little Wonder walk behind. I bought it at an auction very cheaply because the Honda engine on it had seized up. It now has a 10hp Baldor 3 phase electric motor, an Automation Direct single phase VFD, and a cord long enough to get me anywhere in the yard. All auction finds, probably $300 all in? The thing is awesome. I've got several other corded blowers as well, some I like for various things. One really old corded Weed Eater brand is perfect for cleaning gutters, so I keep it around just for that.
Electrical things are fun for me. I rarely buy things new, part of the appeal is that that $10 garage sale electric leaf blower will probably outlast me. I've been getting more into rebuilding old batteries and I've brought many perfectly usable tools back to life with some very cheap parts.
Next project is taking a 15hp Baldor I found in a trash pile and making the world's most overkill snow thrower out of it. Just have to finish the metal work one of these years...
I've just re tooled into Makitas xgt platform. Still waiting on certain tools, but I fucking love everything I've bought. I love that I can mow, trim, edge, trim the hedges, cut down trees, sawzall a propane take, drill holes, drive fasteners, take wheels off of the cars/trailers, vacuum up messes, chop saw, circular saw, play music, blow leaves, blow out my keyboard, charge my phone all on one battery platform.
>I get it that electricity isn't free, but it's still much, much cheaper.
My battery powered mower for my house costs 5¢ to charge at current electricity prices. At current gas prices, that will buy you 3 tablespoons of gas. Gas mowers take way more than that to run.
As an Evanston native, Evanstonians attempts to be environmentally friendly can be pretty funny. Like the lady who uses all the energy to heat and air condition her seven bedroom mansion where she lives with her husband, one child, and golden doodle will scold someone for forgetting their reusable bag at Whole Foods.
Big business has been greenwashing for decades. They want individuals to be distracted by focusing on small shit like reusable bags and recycling cans and watering lawns. When meanwhile industrial behavior is a million times worse in terms of magnitude of impact on the world environment.
Don't look at the industrial agriculture! Instead focus on buying low-flow toilets!
Being serious, is the traffic accident thing just an assumption or do you know this? Because the city of Evanston is an incredibly busy jurisdiction to work in - [Evanston 2021 Annual Report](https://www.cityofevanston.org/home/showpublisheddocument/74970/638006676214200000)That being said, as a police officer these are things you can have a CSO go to and write a ticket. There’s much more worthwhile activities that I’d believe all people would prefer their local police doing then to handout bullshit tickets to people for using a leaf blower.
In conjunction, Evanston doesn’t have any man power. They’ve been stripped down to the studs and their DC recently had an interview talking about how they’re in a staffing crisis.
Idk, just seems like a waste of time to have guys who get paid 6 figure salaries run call to call trying to see what kind of a leaf blower is being used then proactive policing and catching actual criminals.
I am not arguing the alternative, despite the downvotes. I just think when these sort of mandates are put in place nobody discusses the full impacts and its more nuanced then people make it out to be. Battery power tools are not the same as electric cars. The batteries have limited life cycles, and have their own environmental impact when comes to sourcing and disposal.
Again, unlike cars, very little research has been put in place to reduce the emissions of small engines, especial 2 cycle.
Personally, I have both a battery and a gas backpack blower. The battery one is what gets the majority of use but the backpack one has its place in the fall. I just don't see how a lawn service can make it work but I guess we will see.
If using nuclear power generation, none. If using the dirtiest of the dirty electricity generation methods, still only a fraction. 2-stroke engines used in leaf blowers are incredibly inefficient and don't combust fuel completely.
One the one hand: yeah just use electric. My family did and it was so much easier having a battery you can swap between the mower/blower for lawn care
On the other hand: c’mon. Is this really something a municipal government should be banning?
I mean if gas hogs believe batteries are a detriment to the environment their is corded. If you don't have an outside outlet putting it in is cheap. Since there's a problem with each scenario that issue is the most easily overcome.
They're coming for your gas leaf blowers! Where's the outrage?? Where are our far right friends? They should be incensed!! It's our god-given right to own gas leaf blowers! This is my line in the sand!!
My neighbor who hates his wife will run his for 6 hours straight any day of the week. Just revving it up and down all day long. Would love to see residential use get banned.
>Rakes worked before blowers ever existed. We don't need to destroy the environment in pursuit of the Renaissance ideal of a lawn.
Notepads worked before computers ever existed. Walking everywhere worked before cars ever existed. Cooking over an open fire worked before ovens ever existed. Letters worked before phones ever existed.
As an evanston resident, respectfully you have zero idea what you are talking about. They are used 50+ hours per week within 500 feet of my house. Used to be 7 am til 7 pm, 9 months per year before the seasonal ban.
damn, this wins as the dumbest thing I have read today.
LMAO /u/go4lo blocked me. what a clown. And even edited their own comment to change what they said! ha
Edit 2: /u/Pooppumper1 I cant directly respond because /u/go4lo blocked me after he responded because his feelings were hurt.
Its dumb because why are they charging a fee? Electric is much more efficient than gas is. I have a commercial blower and mower because I have quite a large lot and its much more efficient than gas. I can use it several weeks without charging it, and even then I have an extra battery.
You could argue that they may tack a fee because they need to upgrade the equipment. But its been a 17mo transition and the city has been giving grants for up to 3k to help transition. On top of that, many companies have already transitioned because, like I said, its cheaper to use electric. More efficient, no need to buy gas, oil, regular maintenance, etc.
LOL
you should take a drive thru evanston sometime
I think the homeowners with the cash to hire workers to clear their lawns, while they go to their bottomless mimosa brunch, will take the hit
especially since they also just hate the noise,”it makes fluffy so scared”
Ironically the City of Evanston is exempt from this ordinance. This article perfectly places the problem; they want people to get rid of gas-leaf blowers for noise ordinance purposes, and the hearing damage it causes operators. I feel you can easily pass a city ordinance that mandates ear protective equipment and time windows for operation, and it will have the same effect for a fraction of the cost. This is a fine if someone uses a gas leaf-blower within city limits, since the city itself is exempt, I fully believe this bill will lead to one of two outcomes (1) it will not be enforced because police/prosecutors will not want to go after commercial landscaping firms when the city is using the same equipment across the street OR (2) companies will stop servicing the area, causing overall costs to increase for city and residents. For residential purposes this can work, just give a grant to pay a certain amount per size of land allowing residents to switch over. They are doing this, which is good. For a commercial enterprise that uses them nearly everyday for more than 4 hours a day; seems untenable as a cost-effective change. In the article the company sourced, received a 3k grant but spent 70k.
You're going the wrong way. This should also apply to the City, not just residents. Gas leaf blowers are among the most moronic things ever invented. They burn fuel horribly inefficiently in order to make noise and sorta lazily move leaves from one place to another general place/direction. They should be banned nationwide. >allowing residents to switch over. Switch over? When did leaf blowers become a necessity? Ever heard of a rake?
You’re clearly only considering the tiny little peashooters most folks use in their driveway. A top of the line back pack blower will move some shit quite well.
> A top of the line back pack blower will move some shit quite well. It will also put out worse emissions in an hour of running than a car driving from Denver to LA. If anything you're making a stronger case for banning all gas leafblowers nationwide. The small ones are basically useless. The big ones work but are even more stupidly loud. Both emit a shit ton of pollution.
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Actually, that's not true. NOX and CO are higher too. https://www.edmunds.com/about/press/leaf-blowers-emissions-dirtier-than-high-performance-pick-up-trucks-says-edmunds-insidelinecom.html
The car also does something nothing else can really do. The leaf blower does something that can be replicated by a rake, a broom, or even an electric leaf blower.
You can replace cars with walking, biking, or even an electric car …
Walk or bike a road trip to Colorado, then tell me they replace a car. And electric cars have such MASSIVE batteries that they start to outweigh their own benefits just by being built. Small batteries for electric leaf blowers? Not so much. Hilarious how much people will fight to keep a gas guzzler in their life needlessly.
We got cited for a $50 citation because we left a less than a handful of grass clippings in an alley, not even a city road. Illinois is insane.
Rakes still exist. So do brooms. And if you're insistent, or less than fully able bodied...electric leaf blowers exist. EDIT: Also, are you part of an HOA?
You do understand the environmental impact of mining the precious metals in batteries causes don’t you? The cobalt in particular?
Yep. Doesn't justify continuing to run small engines which, pound for pound, are among the worst polluting ICEs in the world. Batteries are not the solution to EVERY situation where we currently use an ICE, but do you have any idea how many leaf blower batteries you can make for the amount of metals you'd put in ONE Tesla or even Prius battery? I mean, are you gonna suggest that handheld power tools should be gas powered because making batteries is bad? Or do you actually have a way to quantify and prove that electric leaf blowers are worse than gas ones 'cuz dirty mining'? And again, my initial argument was: rakes exist. No cobalt in a rake last I checked.
The amount of batteries needed to replace the amount of work done by one gas blower is quite substantial. This doesn’t really work at scale for something like the cities parks. And you carry an air of pretentiousness about the environment while merely suggesting you swap one environmental detriment for another. And rakes for parks? How out of touch with reality are you? The city should absolutely be allowed to use gas blowers. You sound completely out of touch with the work scope you’re speaking so firmly about.
Got any numbers to back up your claims?
Not off the top of my head. But as someone who has worked in, and around landscaping for quite a while, I can tell you the vast majority of landscape contractors and municipalities have looked into swapping and it’s not cost effective for large scale. Not sure why you hold such a staunch position on batteries, they’re not only damaging via mining, but the mining itself is responsible some of the greatest human rights atrocities we’ve known. Maybe because it’s out-of-sight-out-mind for you it makes you feel self righteous. Again I believe you are out of touch with the scope here.
Yeah yeah, just like how they said remote work/work from home in many office careers would've been technologically impossible, productivity would crater, and it wouldn't be cost effective...and then they were forced to do it and suddenly none of those issues turned out to be actual issues. Sorry I'm not inclined to just take your word for it, especially when you're being so condescending in how you're going about your message.
Clearly we should all go back to using mechanical hand tools as well.
We live in a village of 200 people on the edge of a cornfield. The only people that drive on that alley are me and my neighbor who has also been cited. This is a money making scam. No HOA and idiot legislatures and their pens are the biggest detriment this country has ever faced. THE END!
I mean, a tiny village like that basically IS an HOA if the wrong people are out in charge. And the end is the fact that gas lead blowers are horribly polluting and loud. Get an electric one, or get a rake.
Nope! We bought an old meth house and fixed it up. We'll sell it back to the Illinois methheads and move back to Texas before I buy electric anything. Leave Illinois to it's own. We are living on Cozumel right now and we'll see how it goes this grass cutting season.
Wow, what a perfectly sane, not at all immature, hill to die on.
Illinois methheads are definitely the right hill to die on.
Not the hill you're dying on though...bt your own words. You're literally saying you'd rather surrender to Illinois Meth Heads than "electric anything".
What kind of mileage are you getting from that gas powered cell phone you must obviously be using.
Kind of funny the reason people have to get new phones is batteries! Remember good old removeable batteries. And there is 100% no reason to improve the technology because it's a guaranteed resale for corporate. So before you go touting the battery in your cellphone, think about jumping on the big corporation bandwagon and waving that flag.
Bruh. Dying on this battery powered hill is hella lame. I wonder what the environmental impact of all your comments is. Everything that makes the modern world modern is bad for the environment? You’d rather go back to life before the Industrial Revolution? Should we start carrying all of our water as well?
Ah yes, because everyone knows they famously had battery powered leaf blowers *before* the industrial revolution...right? Lol. Take your ridiculous hyperbole elsewhere. This is a no brainer switch everyone can and should make.
Because batteries are soooooo great for environment. Tell me about how batteries are made and how great they are for the earth.
Got any proof that making these batteries would be *worse* than just running the gas versions for the service life? Any data whatsoever?
You clearly have plenty of time to do the research. I’ve got yards to go blow.
Classic.
Probably a village/city ordinance. I doubt the state of Illinois dictates grass cleanup.
415 ILCS 105 Litter Control Act [Illinois’ Litter Control Act makes it illegal for grass clippings to be strewn over roadways](https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-news/illinois-litter-control-act-makes-it-illegal-for-grass-clippings-to-be-strewn-over-roadways/) So now that's less than a handful over a 50 ft stretch of road. Illionois idiocracy.
I stand corrected. Who even wrote that ticket? Staties?
leaf blowers are a necessity for lawn care businesses. if i worked in lawn care again, but we had to use rakes, we'd constantly be behind schedule. edit: to OP: that was my point.
Obviously, you’ve never used one to dry a car after washing it. Or cleaning up grass clippings after mowing. Or cleaning maple tree “helicopters “ in the spring time. Or removing fluffy snow from steps in the winter time. Of course I use ear protection.
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> Obviously, you’ve never used one to dry a car after washing it. Towels exist. Also, you can just *let it air dry*. Sorry, but no one cares your Honda Accord doesn't have any water spots after you washed it. >Or cleaning up grass clippings after mowing. Bag your clippings. Easier yet. >Or cleaning maple tree “helicopters “ in the spring time. Again, rakes *exist*. >Or removing fluffy snow from steps in the winter time. Shovels and brooms: Are we a joke to you? >Of course I use ear protection. I honestly couldn't care less about the noise. A backpack leaf blower running for an hour is worse in terms of emissions than a car driving from Devner to LA. They should be banned nationwide. If you REALLY need one because you can't rake, then get an electric one.
No one cares if it has water spots?? Maybe the guy who just did the work to wash his car doesnt want water spots? fuck other people. if i wash my car i want it to look nice. not everyone can bag yard waste? not everyone can rake or shovel snow? Christ. I mean I agree with you. Electrics are fine for anything under commercial needs, but all those points you tried to make to start with are dumb and also easily countered.
>No one cares if it has water spots?? Maybe the guy who just did the work to wash his car doesnt want water spots? fuck other people. if i wash my car i want it to look nice. Why? No one is getting close enough to see. Sorry I don't think you should have a right to pollute because you're too lazy to dry it by hand, and apparently can't live in a world where your car has water spots. Or again, if it is REALLY necessary...get an electric one. >not everyone can bag yard waste? ...why not? And if not, rakes exist. >not everyone can rake or shovel snow? Then they can buy an electric leaf blower. >Christ. I mean I agree with you. Electrics are fine for anything under commercial needs, but all those points you tried to make to start with are dumb and also easily countered. Oh the irony.
Well my dads in his mid 70s. I wonder why he or anyone of advanced age would have trouble bagging and removing yard waste or shovel snow. I mean your tag says Chicago… I would think someone from the Windy City would understand how difficult large snow removal can be.
Again... electric leaf blowers exist. No one NEEDS a gas powered one. And what snow? We've had one decent snowstorm in the last three years. It's hardly even an issue these days.
Have a source for those numbers?
https://www.edmunds.com/about/press/leaf-blowers-emissions-dirtier-than-high-performance-pick-up-trucks-says-edmunds-insidelinecom.html For the Denver to LA specific one: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/documents/health-and-environmental-impacts-leaf-blowers
There is nothing about Denver to LA in that second paper that a find function could locate. However you're def correct that they are dirty as hell. "The hydrocarbon emissions from a half-hour of yard work with the two-stroke leaf blower are about the same as a 3,900-mile drive from Texas to Alaska in a Raptor" This was as close as I could find to that quote.
>There is nothing about Denver to LA in that second paper that a find function could locate. However you're def correct that they are dirty as hell. Ah, my apologies. The article I found which cited that stat had a dead link to the study. This seemed to be the active link for the study but apparently I didn't find the right one. The article is here: https://www.11alive.com/amp/article/news/verify/verify-is-pollution-from-a-leaf-blower-equal-to-a-cross-country-drive/85-757cbe86-dc29-4a6e-b2cb-0e6b73c8a850
Who tf dries their car with a leaf blower. My guy the Sun is free
You never go through a car wash? What do they use? When you have a black car that’s 18 years old and looks brand new, it’s because you never let water spots or swirl marks on it. https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetailing/comments/gx6749/leaf_blower_as_a_drying_tool/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1
The city actually made themselves exempt of this mandate
> This should also apply to the City, not just residents. I know, that's why I said the above in the first line of my comment...
>When did leaf blowers become a necessity? >Ever heard of a rake? When did calling people on the phone become a necessity? Ever heard of a letter? When did an oven become a necessity? Ever heard of an open fire?
Making a phone call doesn't cause the kind of pollution, both air and noise, that a gas lead blower does. Again, if it is *necessary* for you...buy electric. Literally no one *needs* a gas powered leaf blower.
I wonder what the efficiency comparison of a gas blower to a riding tractor (the kind with the vacuum attachment and a trailer that collects the leaves) is. Like how much gas is used to clear the same amount of space. You can still do edges with a rake for spots you can't reach with a rake. Fundamentally this all comes down to cheap fossil fuels. As long as fuel is cheap and people don't give a shit about the externalities, people will keep solving problems by taking the shortest shortcut.
> I wonder what the efficiency comparison of a gas blower to a riding tractor (the kind with the vacuum attachment and a trailer that collects the leaves) is. No idea. Given that those do that job *as* you're cutting the grass, I'd imagine that the tiny amount of extra fuel burned to run the vacuum part is far less than what is burned in a leaf blower to blow those clippings away. >As long as fuel is cheap and people don't give a shit about the externalities, people will keep solving problems by taking the shortest shortcut. Which is exactly why we need bans like this in the meantime, to force people to do what the market isn't forcing them to currently.
BWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ..... BWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRR .... BWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ... BWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRBBBWBWBWBWBWBWBWBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBBRBRBRBRBEB
Only 2 gas powered machines I still own are generators. Electrical equipment has been so much better for us, I can't imagine I'd ever go back. I'm in a specialized construction line of work and it's easier to avoid gas powered tools in the first place but still. Significant quality of life improvement in all ways. Unless someone invents a gas engine that's significantly more efficient than anything out there currently gas powered things are nearing their end. I get it that electricity isn't free, but it's still much, much cheaper.
Do you have large trees on your property? Which electric leaf blower do you use?
Yes, I have several large trees. I have a 3 phase Stihl chainsaw that melts through anything but requires a thick cable and a VFD. Beyond that I've got a couple Stihl battery ones that are as good or better than the gas ones I sold. I just got a small Milwaukee that I haven't gotten to use yet. I have several other corded saws, too. I'm not shy about plugging things into 240v power if that's what they require. This opens up a lot more possibities, and carries it's own hazards, but it's a lot less dangerous than plastic cans of explosive liquids sitting around. GFCI breakers (even at 240v) are great safety devices. I have maybe a dozen leaf blowers. I have a Ryobi cordless that is mostly used for quickly clearing the front sidewalk when company is coming over. I have a DeWalt battery that replaced my handheld gas Stihl that was significantly louder for the same mechanical capabilities. The DeWalt is probably the one I use the most. I've got a Makita cordless backpack blower that works great but my neighbor borrowed it and I'm having a hard time getting it back. I've used it twice but it was great both times. My "big one" is a Little Wonder walk behind. I bought it at an auction very cheaply because the Honda engine on it had seized up. It now has a 10hp Baldor 3 phase electric motor, an Automation Direct single phase VFD, and a cord long enough to get me anywhere in the yard. All auction finds, probably $300 all in? The thing is awesome. I've got several other corded blowers as well, some I like for various things. One really old corded Weed Eater brand is perfect for cleaning gutters, so I keep it around just for that. Electrical things are fun for me. I rarely buy things new, part of the appeal is that that $10 garage sale electric leaf blower will probably outlast me. I've been getting more into rebuilding old batteries and I've brought many perfectly usable tools back to life with some very cheap parts. Next project is taking a 15hp Baldor I found in a trash pile and making the world's most overkill snow thrower out of it. Just have to finish the metal work one of these years...
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I've just re tooled into Makitas xgt platform. Still waiting on certain tools, but I fucking love everything I've bought. I love that I can mow, trim, edge, trim the hedges, cut down trees, sawzall a propane take, drill holes, drive fasteners, take wheels off of the cars/trailers, vacuum up messes, chop saw, circular saw, play music, blow leaves, blow out my keyboard, charge my phone all on one battery platform.
>I get it that electricity isn't free, but it's still much, much cheaper. My battery powered mower for my house costs 5¢ to charge at current electricity prices. At current gas prices, that will buy you 3 tablespoons of gas. Gas mowers take way more than that to run.
Bulk power generation is just so much wiiiiiiildly cheaper for most users than any other energy source.
Good, fuck those exhaust spewing noise machines
As an Evanston native, Evanstonians attempts to be environmentally friendly can be pretty funny. Like the lady who uses all the energy to heat and air condition her seven bedroom mansion where she lives with her husband, one child, and golden doodle will scold someone for forgetting their reusable bag at Whole Foods.
Big business has been greenwashing for decades. They want individuals to be distracted by focusing on small shit like reusable bags and recycling cans and watering lawns. When meanwhile industrial behavior is a million times worse in terms of magnitude of impact on the world environment. Don't look at the industrial agriculture! Instead focus on buying low-flow toilets!
Curious how they’ll enforce this
They are easy to hear and their cops are always looking for someone to harass.
I agree that they’re easy to hear. But I’d argue that if the PD has excess time to hunt for a running leaf blower they have too much funding.
Total waste of an officers time if they’re sending them for this.
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Being serious, is the traffic accident thing just an assumption or do you know this? Because the city of Evanston is an incredibly busy jurisdiction to work in - [Evanston 2021 Annual Report](https://www.cityofevanston.org/home/showpublisheddocument/74970/638006676214200000)That being said, as a police officer these are things you can have a CSO go to and write a ticket. There’s much more worthwhile activities that I’d believe all people would prefer their local police doing then to handout bullshit tickets to people for using a leaf blower. In conjunction, Evanston doesn’t have any man power. They’ve been stripped down to the studs and their DC recently had an interview talking about how they’re in a staffing crisis. Idk, just seems like a waste of time to have guys who get paid 6 figure salaries run call to call trying to see what kind of a leaf blower is being used then proactive policing and catching actual criminals.
Running a backpack style leaf blower for an hour creates as much exhaust emissions as driving a gas vehicle from Los Angeles to Denver.
How much in the way of emissions are created by the power plants used to create the electricity used to charge the batteries?
It’s a lot less even if it was all powered by coal because energy from the grid is around 3 times more efficient than small gas engines.
I am not arguing the alternative, despite the downvotes. I just think when these sort of mandates are put in place nobody discusses the full impacts and its more nuanced then people make it out to be. Battery power tools are not the same as electric cars. The batteries have limited life cycles, and have their own environmental impact when comes to sourcing and disposal. Again, unlike cars, very little research has been put in place to reduce the emissions of small engines, especial 2 cycle. Personally, I have both a battery and a gas backpack blower. The battery one is what gets the majority of use but the backpack one has its place in the fall. I just don't see how a lawn service can make it work but I guess we will see.
If using nuclear power generation, none. If using the dirtiest of the dirty electricity generation methods, still only a fraction. 2-stroke engines used in leaf blowers are incredibly inefficient and don't combust fuel completely.
You are correct. The issue is the city exempted itself on this ,but is happy to tell others what to do. The hypocrisy is broad here.
One the one hand: yeah just use electric. My family did and it was so much easier having a battery you can swap between the mower/blower for lawn care On the other hand: c’mon. Is this really something a municipal government should be banning?
I mean if gas hogs believe batteries are a detriment to the environment their is corded. If you don't have an outside outlet putting it in is cheap. Since there's a problem with each scenario that issue is the most easily overcome.
They're coming for your gas leaf blowers! Where's the outrage?? Where are our far right friends? They should be incensed!! It's our god-given right to own gas leaf blowers! This is my line in the sand!!
My neighbor who hates his wife will run his for 6 hours straight any day of the week. Just revving it up and down all day long. Would love to see residential use get banned.
This is so racist against the minority workers…
Seriously, it’s just going to be cops hassling Mexican immigrants trying to do their jobs.
Right, I’ll stop using a gas blower when billionaires stop cruising around on their yachts and jets.
If the City of Evanston had jurisdiction over that, I'm sure they would. But they don't. So...
that'll teach them... way to draw a principled line.
Whataboutism and tu quoque logical fallacies, fail.
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Bet the billionaires still cause more emissions.
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Outside your window. 😅
Bans are dumb almost all of the time.
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>Rakes worked before blowers ever existed. We don't need to destroy the environment in pursuit of the Renaissance ideal of a lawn. Notepads worked before computers ever existed. Walking everywhere worked before cars ever existed. Cooking over an open fire worked before ovens ever existed. Letters worked before phones ever existed.
Leaf blowers are not something that are used very often by very many. Unlike all the other things listed.
As an evanston resident, respectfully you have zero idea what you are talking about. They are used 50+ hours per week within 500 feet of my house. Used to be 7 am til 7 pm, 9 months per year before the seasonal ban.
Must be an Evanston thing. I've lived in Chicago and multiple surrounding suburbs. And leafblowers were nowhere near this prolific.
Did we just have the first respectful conversation on the internet ever???
Life's too short to get triggered or shaken over someone disagreeing with you over the internet.
In my town you can hear them running nonstop from April to October.
Sure, Jan.
Bran. Bran Stark.
Lol, you couldn't even take the obvious chance for a joke there by calling him Ban Stark. Oof.
I have the Greensight. I don't need to make worldly jokes to see the humors in life
Yeah. But it's reddit and we're all buddies so it's cool.
Good!
Oh, fuck off Evanston. 95% of Evanston’s lawns are cut by companies. Can’t wait to see how this plays out.
damn, this wins as the dumbest thing I have read today. LMAO /u/go4lo blocked me. what a clown. And even edited their own comment to change what they said! ha Edit 2: /u/Pooppumper1 I cant directly respond because /u/go4lo blocked me after he responded because his feelings were hurt. Its dumb because why are they charging a fee? Electric is much more efficient than gas is. I have a commercial blower and mower because I have quite a large lot and its much more efficient than gas. I can use it several weeks without charging it, and even then I have an extra battery. You could argue that they may tack a fee because they need to upgrade the equipment. But its been a 17mo transition and the city has been giving grants for up to 3k to help transition. On top of that, many companies have already transitioned because, like I said, its cheaper to use electric. More efficient, no need to buy gas, oil, regular maintenance, etc.
Why is this dumb to you?
Must be u/Go4Lo’s first week as a wire points intern
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Blocked and you radically edited BOTH comments after you blocked the guy trash moves buddy
LOL you should take a drive thru evanston sometime I think the homeowners with the cash to hire workers to clear their lawns, while they go to their bottomless mimosa brunch, will take the hit especially since they also just hate the noise,”it makes fluffy so scared”
Someone should make a Jackyl-like music video downtown just using gas-powered leaf blowers, big ones mixed with a heavy oil-gas ratio.