Homes Switching to Electric Leaf Blowers Amid the Climate Crisis

As we head into the autumn season, we’ll be seeing a lot more leaf blowers around. Unfortunately, these gas-guzzling loud machines are not environmentally friendly in the slightest. Thankfully, leaf blowers are going electric, and they’re more affordable now than ever before.

Source: Kite Army/YouTube

Amid the looming climate crisis, people everywhere are making the switch to electric blowers and mowers to have a more eco-friendly garden. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an average commercial lawn mower runs 406 hours a year, or 17 straight days.

According to some estimates, the emissions from lawn machines are emitting gases even quicker than some US highways and interstates. In 2011, gas-powered lawn equipment made up 43 percent of the United State’s organic compound emissions, 12 percent of its carbon monoxide emissions, and other toxic pollutants like benzene, butadiene, acetaldehyde, and formaldehyde.

As lawmakers around the world are realizing the noise and emissions from leaf blowers, many are working to ban gas-powered equipment and move toward electric. The blowing part of the blower is a large fan, which is quite easy to run on a battery.

Source: WESH 2 News/YouTube

Last year, California voted to ban the sale of most small gas-powered tools by the end of this year. According to the California Air Resources Board, there are as many lawn tools as there are cars and trucks. Now, only about 6 percent of the tools that professionals use are electric.

Other cities around the United States have worked towards banning these polluting machines, including Washington, DC; Burlington, Vermont; Portland, Oregon and Palm Beach, Florida.

Air Pollution is an invisible killer and has been linked to so many diseases, including fatty liver disease, depression, and other mental health issues, and a study even found that nearly 6 million babies born prematurely in 2019 were likely linked to air pollution. Eating meat has been linked to a rise in air pollution, and factory farms are one of the biggest to blame for our dirty air. According to the WHO, an estimated 4.2 million people yearly are killed from outdoor air Pollution, and 99 percent of the global population breathes air that exceeds WHO guideline limits, with low and middle-income areas disproportionately affected. Check out these eco-artists that are using their art to call attention to the massive problem of air Pollution.

Learn How to Cut Your Air Pollution in Half and sign the petition to demand federal clean-up of disproportionately affected polluted areas in the United States. And if you are all for reducing Pollution, don’t forget to grab this solution not pollution t-shirt by zero-waste brand Tiny Rescue!

Related Content:

• How to Cut Your Air Pollution in Half
• How to Make a Quick Leaf Compost Out of All Those Autumn Leaves
• California Will Ban Sale of All New Gas-Powered Vehicles by 2035
• These Scotland Homes Will Be Powered by Green Hydrogen Gas
• Paris Moves to Ban All Gas-Powered Cars by 2030

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

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