Reasons For Phasing Out Two-Stroke Gas Engines
Washington DC, the State of California and 168 other municipalities have banned gas leaf blowers … is Philly next?
"Gas-powered leaf blowers are extremely noisy and very polluting, while battery-powered ones are quiet and don’t pollute. They increase my asthma. Please ban them!"
Philadelphia resident, John G.
Noise and emissions harm neighbors, especially children, seniors and people living with chronic illness.
Outdated technology inefficiently burns a slosh of oil and gasoline and pumps out much of the unburned fuel as toxic aerosols.
Gas leaf blowers contribute to asthma, COPD, heart attacks, cardiovascular disease and early death.
Gas blowers’ low-frequency noise penetrates through solid walls and farther than other machine-generated sound waves.
Landscape workers suffer severe carcinogenic, respiratory and hearing harms.
This is a racial, immigration and environmental justice issue.
Gas leaf blowers expose laborers to unusually high levels of carcinogens, including benzene, butadiene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, particulates, and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons.
Ongoing use creates significant risk of irreversible hearing loss.
I moved to Philly from Maplewood, NJ 3 years ago. By now, Maplewood has had a total ban on gas powered leaf blowers for 8 years for both landscapers and personal use. Only electric tools are allowed. The residents love the noise reduction and lack of air quality pollution…Other towns in NJ have begun to adopt the same ordinances against use of gas-powered landscape tools.
Chestnut Hill resident, Elaine R.
Free market will not solve this problem without government.
Many traditional landscaping businesses purchase the cheapest available equipment while laborers, neighbors and the planet bear the costs.
Appealing to individuals is unlikely to compete with inertia, cheapness and widespread availability of gas blowers.
Philadelphia has been slow to adopt electric lawn equipment compared to 170 municipalities that have banned gas blowers.
Electric leaf blowing equipment is ready for prime time
It’s reliable, with lower costs over several years. Ask your friends in Washington DC, California and Princeton.
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