| Greenin' the suburbs |
| Written by Dave Burdick | ||
| Tuesday, 02 May 2006 | ||
|
Q: What happens when hippies grow up, become successful and move to the burbs? A: Gas-powered leaf-blower bans.  I want this place to look like that Scissorhands movie. Yep. Gas-powered leaf-blowers are bad for the environment and bad for the peaceful volume level required by subdivisions, etc., etc. A few forward-thinking and suburb-thinking cities have considered gas-powered leaf-blower bans. Palo Alto, Calif., known for Stanford University among other things, enacted such a ban on June 13, 2005. Here's a sometimes snarkily-written FAQ on that city's ban . And here's a site called Zero Air Pollution, Los Angeles. Guess what they want. Here's my favorite quote: "There is no containing fugitive dust and Particulate Matter, once it is disbursed through the air in such a violent manner by any of the blowers." They're so down with ending leaf-blowing that they get into stuff termed "fugitive dust," which sounds like what you'd call Harrison Ford's dandruff, but it might actually be even more dangerous than that. Here's one expert's description: "Fugitive dust is a relatively new term for an old problem. Simply put, fugitive dust is a type of nonpoint source air pollution - small airborne particles that do not originate from a specific point such as a gravel quarry or grain mill. Fugitive dust originates in small quantities over large areas. Significant sources include unpaved roads, agricultural cropland and construction sites. Most rural Missouri citizens, particularly those living near unpaved roads, are familiar with the nuisance of fugitive dust (Figure 1). Recent research indicates that there are significant health considerations involved as well." And here's the whole document, for more than you ever wanted to learn about fugitive dust .
Comments
(2)
not just dust, microorganisms too
written by Guest , May 03, 2006
One of the biggest prolems with these blowers is, that they practically sterilize the environment and blow away all the microrganisms that make dirt alive and fertile.
see? there you go.
written by Guest , May 03, 2006
blowing microorgranisms around, too. how would YOU like it?
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