The leafblowers of springtime: Maplewood's vernal shame
I worked from home full time from 1998 to 2014. Trying to hold a meaningful phone conversation with customers & colleagues in Europe, Latin America, Asia & Australia was hopeless once the noise makers started.
My own contribution? I have an electric lawn mower and several rakes. Doing your own yard is at least as good as visit to the gym.
tomcat said:
Doing your own yard is at least as good as visit to the gym.
True indeed and yet I've seen people cruise a parking lot looking for a spot as close as possible to the gym entrance. Go figure.
I hate leaf blowers. They're definitely out in force -- 2-3 times this week already I've had to cross to the other side of the street to avoid getting fully enveloped in a noxious cloud of dirt, debris and fossil fuel emissions. By crossing to the other side of the street I just got partial enjoyment of the loveliness.
I don't really get the concept of leaf blowers either, as in addition to the obscene noise and air pollution, it doesn't even get rid of the detritus, it just moves it. I don't give a flying F if it's out on the street or on public property or the next person's property, just get it off my property. And the noise and the emissions cloud? Deal with it -- sucks being you. Not very neighborly.
And finally, leaf blowers are hardly consistent with Maplewood's sustainability initiatives. “We in Maplewood can be proud of our leadership in New Jersey on environmental sustainability." https://www.twp.maplewood.nj.us/home/news/maplewood-township-achieves-prestigious-sustainable-jersey-silver-level-certification
Smedley said:
I don't really get the concept of leaf blowers either, as in addition to the obscene noise and air pollution, it doesn't even get rid of the detritus, it just moves it. I don't give a flying F if it's out on the street or on public property or the next person's property, just get it off my property. And the noise and the emissions cloud? Deal with it -- sucks being you. Not very neighborly.
You don't get the concept? Do you get the concept of a rake?
Now it's just getting silly.
Generally one uses a rake to gather leaves in one place for bagging and disposal. As opposed to a leaf blower which just disperses leaves and debris onto the street or wherever and makes it someone else's problem.
Do you get the difference?
But rather than cherry-picking one thing I said just to start an argument, how about weighing in on my broader point. Do you believe leaf blowers are consistent with environmental sustainability?
A rake gathers leaves clippings and debris into piles. From what I’ve seen, blowers do this only in the fall. Other times, they simply scatter said leaves, clippings and debris, to what end I have not bothered to discern. That may have been what Smedley meant.
ETA: Smedley slipped in while I was deep in composition.
Smedley said:
Generally one uses a rake to gather leaves in one place for bagging and disposal. As opposed to a leaf blower which just disperses leaves and debris onto the street or wherever and makes it someone else's problem.
Do you get the difference?
But rather than cherry-picking one thing I said just to start an argument, how about weighing in on my broader point. Do you believe leaf blowers are consistent with environmental sustainability?
Where the leaves end up is not a function of the tool, but a function of the person operating the tool. Obviously. I can attest to the fact that you can readily build a pile of leaves with a leaf blower, for bagging and disposal.
I've done it probably thousands of times.
Have you ever used a leaf blower?
As for environmental sustainability, the town would get a much bigger bang for their buck by banning cars. Anyway, in the cause of environmental sustainability, Maplewood banning blowers would not make even a tiny dent. Sustainability needs to be handled systemically, not by people or towns making individual decisions. All that does is assuage some guilty consciences and falsely makes them feel like they're doing something useful. See recycling.
DaveSchmidt said:
A rake gathers leaves clippings and debris into piles. From what I’ve seen, blowers do this only in the fall. Other times, they simply scatter said leaves, clippings and debris, to what end I have not bothered to discern. That may have been what Smedley meant.
ETA: Smedley slipped in while I was deep in composition.
Yes of course. it's the blower, and not the user of the blower that does this.
OK.
drummerboy said:
Yes of course. it's the blower, and not the user of the blower that does this.
OK.
A rake encourages tidy accumulation. A blower encourages disorder. Just ask Earl Williams: Production for use.
drummerboy said:
Smedley said:
Generally one uses a rake to gather leaves in one place for bagging and disposal. As opposed to a leaf blower which just disperses leaves and debris onto the street or wherever and makes it someone else's problem.
Do you get the difference?
But rather than cherry-picking one thing I said just to start an argument, how about weighing in on my broader point. Do you believe leaf blowers are consistent with environmental sustainability?
Where the leaves end up is not a function of the tool, but a function of the person operating the tool. Obviously. I can attest to the fact that you can readily build a pile of leaves with a leaf blower, for bagging and disposal.
I've done it probably thousands of times.
Have you ever used a leaf blower?
As for environmental sustainability, the town would get a much bigger bang for their buck by banning cars. Anyway, in the cause of environmental sustainability, Maplewood banning blowers would not make even a tiny dent. Sustainability needs to be handled systemically, not by people or towns making individual decisions. All that does is assuage some guilty consciences and falsely makes them feel like they're doing something useful. See recycling.
I can attest to the fact that pretty much all of the leaf blowing I see around SoMa just scatters stuff, I see no subsequent bagging and disposal. Leaf blowing seems like the last step, once that's done they put the blowers in the truck and drive off.
And your "banning cars" bit is ridiculous. If environmental sustainability is going to be all-or-nothing as you seem to support, nothing will ever happen. I don't think stores not having plastic bags has resulted in a massively cleaner SoMa environment, but it was a sensible step to get rid of something that was harmful to the environment, and that people could pretty easily live without. Just like banning leaf blowers would be.
drummerboy said:
All that does is assuage some guilty consciences and falsely makes them feel like they're doing something useful.
Well, that and eliminate a major source of noise pollution, greatly reduce the ambient particulate pollution and generally improve the local quality of life.
Klinker said:
drummerboy said:
All that does is assuage some guilty consciences and falsely makes them feel like they're doing something useful.
Well, that and eliminate a major source of noise pollution, greatly reduce the ambient particulate pollution and generally improve the local quality of life.
None of those things have to do with sustainability.
DaveSchmidt said:
drummerboy said:
Yes of course. it's the blower, and not the user of the blower that does this.
OK.
A rake encourages tidy accumulation. A blower encourages disorder. Just ask Earl Williams: Production for use.
Have you ever used a leaf blower?
I get why the landscaping companies lobby for the continued use of blowers but...... DAMN!!! That drummer boy sure does love his leaf blower!
drummerboy said:
Have you ever used a leaf blower?
Sixty years in the landscaping business, Dad has never used them, as far as I know, so neither did I when working for him. Is there something about them that isn’t apparent when watching others use them?
drummerboy said:
Klinker said:
drummerboy said:
All that does is assuage some guilty consciences and falsely makes them feel like they're doing something useful.
Well, that and eliminate a major source of noise pollution, greatly reduce the ambient particulate pollution and generally improve the local quality of life.
None of those things have to do with sustainability.
Air pollution has nothing to do with sustainability?
Odd to me that you're like this liberal progressive dude, but on the leaf blower issue you're like Scott Pruitt.
DaveSchmidt said:
Sixty years in the landscaping business, Dad has never used them, as far as I know, so neither did I when working for him.
Correction: Dad says he uses a blower to blow grass clippings off sidewalks. (Back in the day, I used the push mower to do that.) Leaves are mulched.
Smedley said:
drummerboy said:
Klinker said:
drummerboy said:
All that does is assuage some guilty consciences and falsely makes them feel like they're doing something useful.
Well, that and eliminate a major source of noise pollution, greatly reduce the ambient particulate pollution and generally improve the local quality of life.
None of those things have to do with sustainability.
Air pollution has nothing to do with sustainability?
Odd to me that you're like this liberal progressive dude, but on the leaf blower issue you're like Scott Pruitt.
You completely misunderstand me. I'm sympathetic to the problems caused by leaf blowers.
I'm not sympathetic, however, to silly arguments.
By the way, your original post above didn't mention air pollution (other than particulates, I guess.)
Anyway, the real solution hear is to mandate cleaner and more quiet engines, not to cripple landscapers on a town by town basis.
Also, you probably need to look up the definition of environmental sustainability.
DaveSchmidt said:
DaveSchmidt said:
Sixty years in the landscaping business, Dad has never used them, as far as I know, so neither did I when working for him.
Correction: Dad says he uses a blower to blow grass clippings off sidewalks. (Back in the day, I used the push mower to do that.) Leaves are mulched.
If true, your Dad is one in a million.
drummerboy said:
If true, your Dad is one in a million.
I wasn’t lying. You aren’t, either.
"hear" vs here, -a highly appropriate misspelling under the circumstances.
Anyway, the real solution hear is to mandate cleaner and more quiet engines,
drummerboy said:
Smedley said:
drummerboy said:
Klinker said:
drummerboy said:
All that does is assuage some guilty consciences and falsely makes them feel like they're doing something useful.
Well, that and eliminate a major source of noise pollution, greatly reduce the ambient particulate pollution and generally improve the local quality of life.
None of those things have to do with sustainability.
Air pollution has nothing to do with sustainability?
Odd to me that you're like this liberal progressive dude, but on the leaf blower issue you're like Scott Pruitt.
You completely misunderstand me. I'm sympathetic to the problems caused by leaf blowers.
I'm not sympathetic, however, to silly arguments.
By the way, your original post above didn't mention air pollution (other than particulates, I guess.)
Anyway, the real solution hear is to mandate cleaner and more quiet engines, not to cripple landscapers on a town by town basis.
Also, you probably need to look up the definition of environmental sustainability.
Actually I reference air pollution four times in my original (10:17a) post, but you're out to win an argument, so why let facts get in the way.
And thanks for the tip, I'll add looking up the definition of environmental sustainability to my to-do list, along with what is the concept of a rake. Oh the things you learn on dbol dot com, er I mean mol dot com.
Let us not distract from the question of which characteristics of a leaf blower are revealed by actually using one, as opposed to merely observing.
drummerboy said:
You completely misunderstand me. I'm sympathetic to the problems caused by leaf blowers.
I'm not sympathetic, however, to silly arguments.
So, your passionate critique of the growing anti blower consensus, across multiple threads, is more of an intellectual exercise?
It sounds to me like you have more than enough time to rake your lawn.
Klinker said:
drummerboy said:
You completely misunderstand me. I'm sympathetic to the problems caused by leaf blowers.
I'm not sympathetic, however, to silly arguments.
So, your passionate critique of the growing anti blower consensus, across multiple threads, is more of an intellectual exercise?
It sounds to me like you have more than enough time to rake your lawn.
Like I said, I'm just finding a lot of the anti-blower arguments kind of goofy. (this latest tangent, where blowers were incapable of building piles, was especially funny)
And someone still needs to explain what leaf blowers have to do with environmental sustainability.
Plus, I live in an apartment complex, so no raking, or blowing, for me.
The short and long of it is that they are RIDICULOUSLY noisy especially since two or three are used at the same time and often moving from one adjacent property to another to another.
The fact that they are used in a business is the business owner's problem. Neither the public nor the local government is obliged to indulge all that which makes any business owner's process faster or easier when the downside of such a practice is egregious to those that haven't hired them.
Well, the business owner's problem becomes their clients' problem (increased cost). The clients are your neighbors. Argue with them. That's where the buck actually stops.
By any measure of reasonableness it should not be the onus of any homeowner to start ill feelings with their neighbors on this matter. The potential for arguments and tensions should not be there in the first place via making a disruptive aggravation non existent via protective ordinances.
If anyone has the means to pay for leaf blower services then they can well pay more to accomplish the task by other means if it is so important to them and that's what it takes. So be it. Otherwise they should cope in the way it is suggested that others cope with the noise which seems to be a shrug of the shoulders.
Frankly and fortunately for me I live in a neighborhood where this problem rarely exists but like all Maplewood citizens, have been subjected to it elsewhere throughout town where I can understand other's righteous ire if I had to live with it regularly.
drummerboy said:
Klinker said:
drummerboy said:
You completely misunderstand me. I'm sympathetic to the problems caused by leaf blowers.
I'm not sympathetic, however, to silly arguments.
So, your passionate critique of the growing anti blower consensus, across multiple threads, is more of an intellectual exercise?
It sounds to me like you have more than enough time to rake your lawn.
Like I said, I'm just finding a lot of the anti-blower arguments kind of goofy. (this latest tangent, where blowers were incapable of building piles, was especially funny)
And someone still needs to explain what leaf blowers have to do with environmental sustainability.
Plus, I live in an apartment complex, so no raking, or blowing, for me.
Nobody said blowers are incapable of building piles. But hey if you can make up stuff in your own mind and find it funny, more power to you.
WRT leaf blowers and environmental sustainability, to me the connection is so obvious that I halfway think you’re putting me on by insisting there’s no connection. But I’ll play along.
From the U.S. Department of Energy https://www.energy.gov/management/spd/earth-day-every-day-sustainable-practices-work-and-home:
“Environmental sustainability practices incorporate wise resource use as a core principle of daily activities to reduce emissions, prevent pollution and waste, and reduce energy use.”
Now let’s see...leaf blowers (1) create emissions, (2) create pollution, and (3) use energy. (All for the non-vital reason of making lawns look pretty.)
Seems like a pretty direct connection!
Still funny and goofy to you?
For Sale
Garage Sales
-
HUGE Rummage sale to benefit the Bloomfield High School Robotics Team Sale Date: Apr 27, 2024
More info
Rentals
Advertisement
There is absolutely no reason why a machine that blows leaves around should be louder than my car. If you packed all the leaves on your lawn in fall into an SUV you could move them to California with less pollution than a gas-powered leaf blower emits moving them out to your curb.