Leaf blowers: There are skin diseases I prefer

The blowers are back, and with them, my dangerous blood pressure. 

I counted about 15 laggard leaves on my neighbor's lawn. What else is there to do but open up a barrage of deafening two-stroke power against them? They must be punished, along with everyone else in earshot. Why stop with blowing them? Let's idle a 757 nearby. Maybe we could crank up heavy metal on repeat, trying to flush out the leaves like Manuel Noriega holed up in Panama. 

Perhaps I should sell this place to some unsuspecting Brooklynite and live somewhere quiet, like a sheet-metal shop, or dangling in a hammock above the entrance to the Holland Tunnel. 

Our mayor and council must find a solution for this open, suppurating sore on Maplewood's body politic. Until then, the screeds will continue.
 

Moammar said:

The blowers are back, and with them, my dangerous blood pressure. 

I counted about 15 laggard leaves on my neighbor's lawn. What else is there to do but open up a barrage of deafening two-stroke power against them? They must be punished, along with everyone else in earshot. Why stop with blowing them? Let's idle a 757 nearby. Maybe we could crank up heavy metal on repeat, trying to flush out the leaves like Manuel Noriega holed up in Panama. 

Perhaps I should sell this place to some unsuspecting Brooklynite and live somewhere quiet, like a sheet-metal shop, or dangling in a hammock above the entrance to the Holland Tunnel. 

Our mayor and council must find a solution for this open, suppurating sore on Maplewood's body politic. Until then, the screeds will continue.
 

 I appreciate your sense of humor. On a related note, I generally cannot believe how rude people are about permitting their contractors to work early in the morning (730! 800!) on weekends. Heck, I still like to sleep a little bit. 

I hear you, Moammar, and I hear the leaf blowers, too.  You are not alone.  Other people are trying to persuade our town elders in their great wisdom to institute a more thorough ban:

www.quietmaplewood.com

Moammar, I couldn't agree with you more!  Leaf blower noise is an ASSAULT.

Why should we be deprived of the use of our properties for hours and hours each week year after year?  Why should we just ACCEPT living in a blasting zone?

Come on people, stand up for your quality of life!  Let's BAN leaf blowers completely!

I would be happy to allow leaf  blowers if they were less noisy.  It would help a good bit if they were all electric, as at least there would no noise while idling.  

I guess you could consider yourself lucky that you get to live a lifestyle where your neighbors actually pay people to move leaves around.

Things could be lot worse.

Also, ear plugs.

Buy some.

Poverty has its bennies.  I live in one of the poorer parts of town. We have small yards and most of the neighbors bought a device from Home Depot. Its called a rake, ( I read about rakes in history magazines  but I don't know they still make them.) 

Anyways, there are two neighbors who use or hire a leaf blower. Beyond that, no sound but the scratching of a plastic rake against dirt.

Me? The leaves that fell on the ground, are still on the ground. And that's where they'll stay.

Totally with you Moammar! Keep 'em coming.

Been here 25 seasons, and the evolution of these crews of blowers has been crazy... in '95 only a handful of yards in my neighborhood had landscapers, but now it's pretty much everyone.  Make no mistake, these crews are not gardening... it's some kind of industrial cleansing... It's like an arms race -- who can have the most blasting power?!

In my opinion we need a new model of yard care in Maplewood for those who can't do it themselves.

What we have now is industrial scale leaf removal masquerading as yard care.  Giant machines.  Low-paid workers incurring hearing loss and lung damage, with no health care and no chance to develop actual gardening skills.  This business model is based on the quantity of yards "serviced," not quality (as in plant health).  It's industrial piecework with deskilled workers, and a race to the bottom based on price.  This business model will always favor the biggest, loudest machines because they are presumed to speed up work.  The model does not care about (has no way of valuing) noise and pollution costs to workers or communities.

What I think we need instead in Maplewood is artisanal yard care.  Many versions are possible, some of which are already out there.  What they share is 1) Care is based on what a particular yard actually needs; 2) Workers have actual gardening skills and the discretion to use them, and 3) Garden use human-scaled machines that are quiet and non-polluting (rakes, electric blowers, battery-powered mowers).

Does an artisanal model of yard care cost more?  Perhaps, but not necessarily.  This is because: 1) There is no need to amortize giant machines, and giant trucks to transport them, as well as the fuel they consume. 2) The destructive effects of industrial leaf removal can be avoided (topsoil erosion caused by blasting with high winds; lawn stress and compaction caused by mowing on a mindless schedule, when wet, etc.), and 3) Knowledgeable gardeners have many ways of saving homeowners lots of money.  Knowing how and when to prune shrubs and small trees extends their healthy lives.  Knowing how to promote healthy soils and grow plants with deep roots means big savings on the water bill.  Also, knowledgeable gardeners view leaves as resources (as mulch or compost) instead of as pollutants.  Yards can be raked in sections instead of doing the whole thing every week, or a mulching mower can be used.  Where desired, gardeners can even collect and compost leaves on site (eliminating the time pressure of meeting a leaf collection schedule); compost becomes free fertilizer.

Maplewood, the choice is ours.

drummerboy said:
Also, ear plugs.

Buy some.

 Kind of like telling a shooting victim to get body armor.  How about we just end the assault?

FilmCarp said:

I would be happy to allow leaf  blowers if they were less noisy.  It would help a good bit if they were all electric, as at least there would no noise while idling.  

 A silent leaf blower would still fill the air with particulate matter pollution which we are learning can be deadly even when there isn't a pandemic.

Klinker said:

drummerboy said:
Also, ear plugs.

Buy some.

 Kind of like telling a shooting victim to get body armor.  How about we just end the assault?

Er, no. Very bad analogy. A leaf blower is not akin to an AK-47.

drummerboy said:

Er, no. Very bad analogy. A leaf blower is not akin to an AK-47.

 A study by the EPA found that particulate pollution caused 200,000 death a year.  Its certainly hard to quantify how many of those deaths were contributed to by the vast amounts of particulates put into the air by leaf blowers but folks like you need to come to term with the fact that, in the aggregate, their actions are killing people.

Guns and leaf blowers are both good examples of lifestyle items that certain types and classes of people cannot imagine living without.  And yes, they both kill people.

Klinker said:

drummerboy said:

Er, no. Very bad analogy. A leaf blower is not akin to an AK-47.

 A study by the EPA found that particulate pollution caused 200,000 death a year.  Its certainly hard to quantify how many of those deaths were contributed to by the vast amounts of particulates put into the air by leaf blowers but folks like you need to come to term with the fact that, in the aggregate, their actions are killing people.

I imagine there are similar statistics for automobiles. I mean, how far do you want to go with this silly analogy?

Regardless, wear earplugs if the noise bothers you. Not a hard decision.

drummerboy said:

I imagine there are similar statistics for automobiles. I mean, how far do you want to go with this silly analogy?

Regardless, wear earplugs if the noise bothers you. Not a hard

So people have to suffer BOTH air AND noise pollution just because you are too lazy to rake your lawn???

It seems to me there is a much simpler solution to this problem and it just involves you getting off your butt a couple of times a year and doing a tiny little bit of work. 

I’ve seen how many hours you spend each day shooting your mouth off on MOL, I know you have the time. 

You are right about one thing, though.

It’s not a hard decision. 

I actually have sensory issues with sound (as well as other senses) from a brain injury.  It does grate at my nerves and really bothers my head.  I also have severe fatigue issues from the brain injury and a few other medical conditions...including epstein barr (mono) that has been active since 2001 and need to sleep in half the day, but sometimes get awoken by lawnn equipment...but i deal with it....but if it annoys you so bad it affects your blood pressure, you need serious stress management...

being annnoyed is understandable, having limits on noise is a good thing, but you can't let it affect your blood pressure.

Klinker said:

drummerboy said:

I imagine there are similar statistics for automobiles. I mean, how far do you want to go with this silly analogy?

Regardless, wear earplugs if the noise bothers you. Not a hard

So people have to suffer BOTH air AND noise pollution just because you are too lazy to rake your lawn???

It seems to me there is a much simpler solution to this problem and it just involves you getting off your butt a couple of times a year and doing a tiny little bit of work. 

I’ve seen how many hours you spend each day shooting your mouth off on MOL, I know you have the time. 

I live in an apartment.

But if I had unbearable amounts of noise outside of my window, I'd get some ear plugs. You, on the other hand, apparently would rather drown in their own bile.

drummerboy said:

I live in an apartment.

But if I had unbearable amounts of noise outside of my window, I'd get some ear plugs. You, on the other hand, apparently would rather drown in their own bile.

 Drowning them in their own bile sounds pretty severe.  I would settle for simply banning the cause of the pollution and returning to the tried and true technology that was used throughout the last 31  centuries of human existence.

Klinker said:

drummerboy said:

I live in an apartment.

But if I had unbearable amounts of noise outside of my window, I'd get some ear plugs. You, on the other hand, apparently would rather drown in their own bile.

 Drowning them in their own bile sounds pretty severe.  I would settle for simply banning the cause of the pollution and returning to the tried and true technology that was used throughout the last 31  centuries of human existence.

 Agreed.

But for now, wear earplugs.

drummerboy said:

 Agreed.

But for now, wear earplugs.

 Abject surrender. Ear plugs never!

Did the doughty colonials of 1776 say: "Oh! The redcoats' fearsome muskets are too loud! I must put these primitive boluses of wax, dung and straw in my earholes." Of course not. If they had, we'd all be dropping our aitches and eating bangers and mash to this day.

Did the '69 Mets confront crowd noise in Baltimore with ear plugs? Did David hurl an earplug at Goliath?

Instead, we should consider what anatomical voids a leaf blower might fill.

When the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor....

Sorry, drummerboy, it's not reasonable to expect your neighbors to have to wear ear protection in their own yards for hours week after week.  Leaf blowers deprive us of the use of our properties on a regular basis, for no good reason since there are alternatives, and YES WE MIND.

I put on ear protectors and go outside.  Then what?  I can't have a conversation with my husband or hear children call.

Should kids have to wear these to go outside?  They won't be able to interact. Keep them inside til yard crews go away?  That could take hours.

What if I invite a friend over for a socially distant chat and a blower crew shows up?  Should we just go inside -- oh wait, we can't.  Before I invite someone over, should I call around to all the blower crews and ask them not to come by at a certain time?  Why would they listen to me?

No, this practice is beyond rude; it's intolerable.  It's gone on far too long and it NEEDS TO STOP. 

jspjnc said:

Sorry, drummerboy, it's not reasonable to expect your neighbors to have to wear ear protection in their own yards for hours week after week.  Leaf blowers deprive us of the use of our properties on a regular basis, for no good reason since there are alternatives, and YES WE MIND.

I put on ear protectors and go outside.  Then what?  I can't have a conversation with my husband or hear children call.

Should kids have to wear these to go outside?  They won't be able to interact. Keep them inside til yard crews go away?  That could take hours.

What if I invite a friend over for a socially distant chat and a blower crew shows up?  Should we just go inside -- oh wait, we can't.  Before I invite someone over, should I call around to all the blower crews and ask them not to come by at a certain time?  Why would they listen to me?

No, this practice is beyond rude; it's intolerable.  It's gone on far too long and it NEEDS TO STOP. 

It's not a question of reasonable - it's a question of avoiding pain over a situation which, for the moment, anyway, is not going to change. Wearing earplugs, in fact, is an eminently reasonable solution, until you achieve your pie-in-the-sky dream of banning leaf blowers.

You are, in fact choosing to suffer.

Also, the descriptions of the situation are getting, shall we say, a bit over-dramatic?

Gardeners come to my apartment complex every week, and the annoyance from their noise making ranks at about 3, at worst, on a scale of 10, unless the guy happens to be right under my window, which usually lasts for all of a couple of minutes.

Snowflakes, all of ya.

ETA: I should add that I spent much of my youth working as a gardener with my dad, so my experience is not yours.

drummerboy said:

jspjnc said:

Sorry, drummerboy, it's not reasonable to expect your neighbors to have to wear ear protection in their own yards for hours week after week.  Leaf blowers deprive us of the use of our properties on a regular basis, for no good reason since there are alternatives, and YES WE MIND.

I put on ear protectors and go outside.  Then what?  I can't have a conversation with my husband or hear children call.

Should kids have to wear these to go outside?  They won't be able to interact. Keep them inside til yard crews go away?  That could take hours.

What if I invite a friend over for a socially distant chat and a blower crew shows up?  Should we just go inside -- oh wait, we can't.  Before I invite someone over, should I call around to all the blower crews and ask them not to come by at a certain time?  Why would they listen to me?

No, this practice is beyond rude; it's intolerable.  It's gone on far too long and it NEEDS TO STOP. 

It's not a question of reasonable - it's a question of avoiding pain over a situation which, for the moment, anyway, is not going to change. Wearing earplugs, in fact, is an eminently reasonable solution, until you achieve your pie-in-the-sky dream of banning leaf blowers.

You are, in fact choosing to suffer.

Also, the descriptions of the situation are getting, shall we say, a bit over-dramatic?

Gardeners come to my apartment complex every week, and the annoyance from their noise making ranks at about 3, at worst, on a scale of 10, unless the guy happens to be right under my window, which usually lasts for all of a couple of minutes.

Snowflakes, all of ya.

ETA: I should add that I spent much of my youth working as a gardener with my dad, so my experience is not yours.

Your inability to empathize in any way here is interesting. Reminds me of someone...

The fact that you experience the din once each week pales in comparison to the 6-day-per-week assault, yes, assault, that many of us experience. 

If only we could establish a schedule for each block or area of town to limit the noise to just a day or two per week, until we can achieve the ban.

If only...

drummerboy said:

Gardeners come to my apartment complex every week, and the annoyance from their noise making ranks at about 3, at worst, on a scale of 10...

ETA: I should add that I spent much of my youth working as a gardener with my dad, so my experience is not yours.

Resulting in hearing damage from leaf blowers, this is obviously.

Sundays said:

drummerboy said:

Gardeners come to my apartment complex every week, and the annoyance from their noise making ranks at about 3, at worst, on a scale of 10...

ETA: I should add that I spent much of my youth working as a gardener with my dad, so my experience is not yours.

 

Resulting in hearing damage from leaf blowers, this is obviously.

 My hearing is quite fine, tyvm.

drummerboy said:

 My hearing is quite fine, tyvm.

Then hear this: We are coming for the leaf blowers. Their time is done. 

Woe to all who stand in the way of this our holy mission. 

Cavil, carp, mock as you will. These are but airy words that will soon be drowned out by the sounds of Makitas and Husqvarnas being crushed, exploded and axed into flinders.