On September 9th the Sonoma City Council will meet to consider its ban on leaf blowers. When a straw-vote was taken a while back there appeared to be three votes in favor of a ban, but if history teaches us anything about the leaf-blower issue, the three-vote majority might change. Former council member Ken Brown changed his “aye” vote at the last minute prior to the election last year, and some say it’s one of the reasons he was defeated in his reelection campaign.
If modern times teach us anything, it’s that outmoded technology can be replaced with something better, and occasionally a change in rules is what stimulates the creativity, which produces new solutions. Energy production is a good example; if regulations about greenhouse gasses did not exist the financial incentives related to alternative energy sources, like solar, would not exist either.
Greenhouse gas is a good comparison with leaf blowers in other ways, too. Just as the burning of fossil fuels produces general effects, which are harmful in particular ways to individuals, so leaf blowers do the same. Generating wind speeds two inches above ground level of 180 miles per hours, speed comparable to that produced by a Class 5 hurricane, leaf blowers send tiny particulates into the air which might otherwise remain firmly on the ground. Inhaled, some of these particulates are toxic and lodge deeply in lungs, where over time they can damage health. Those who say wind does the same ignore the fact that wind speed two inches from ground level rarely exceeds twenty miles per hour.
As to economics and efficiency, until a study is produced comparing rakes and brooms with leaf blowers we remain skeptical that cost or labor will be measurably affected. Having watched leaf blowers in action, everyone knows how diffuse and scatter-shot the leaf blower is; using a leaf blower to gather leaves is like herding cats. As to the economics, we doubt the effects will be anything more than slight.
Efficiency and cost are always used to justify the continuation of an activity, which causes general harm. The coal and nuclear power industries are still using this faulty logic, and a high price is paid in harm to public health. Though the leaf blower may seem minor in comparison, to those with respiratory problems, a growing number of who are children, it is anything but. Further, we doubt adding a bit of additional time for yard clean-up will create financial hardship for those who can afford to hire a gardening service.
Finally, having officially considered this matter, the city will go on record. Having had the opportunity to side with health, if it does not do so it may find itself the subject of lawsuits by attorneys eager to prove the city has enabled a health crisis in vulnerable individuals. This is no small matter, and we suspect such suits will become more common and costly.
We urge the City Council to put the leaf blower ban in place.
The SUN Editorial Board
On the matter of new technology, I am certain I have a patent pending alternative that bridges the power and effort gap between rakes & brooms and leaf blowers. I discovered a simple way to add the power of wind, similar to a hand fan, to a broom pole. Using a picket sign-like plastic corrugated shield attached to a pole, you can generate a powerful gust of wind that will blow leaves and light debris. As the shield passes the ground, it creates a vacuum that also sucks even more in its’ wake. The effect is a lovely, “quiet” and easy to use leaf blower, that also functions as a broom, a rake, and a dustpan to pick up the piles as you go. No gas, no electricity, no hassle, and happy neighbors. Peacebroom.com just launched it’s shopping cart last Friday, and will begin shipping in the next few weeks. What looks like an over-sized hand fan, in my belief, is the best, most powerful alternative that exists TODAY. No need to wait for solar or stealth technology to over-engineer something that should have been thought of 40-50 years ago. Imagine a broom or rake that adds wind power to every swing. Now, imagine all your neighbors using them. Live in bliss.