We rake. There are few things in life more annoying than the sound of a noisy, high-pitched leaf blower running on a beautiful fall day. I wonder if the noise they make is a violation of city noise pollution ordinances?
See also: City of St. Louis Ordinance 64566. See Section 4.9.
Going the route of government control is probably not the best way to reduce noise pollution from leaf blowers. Maybe promoting a healthy lifestyle through exercise would win more leaf raking converts?
One interesting thing about leaf blowers is the psychology involved. We rake once a week. By the time we're done raking, there are usually more leaves on the ground. That's okay, we'll rake 'em up next time. Not so for the leaf blowers...
The antiseptic efficiency of leaf blowing machinery has raised the level of what qualifies as "clean". So the leaf blowers will blow and blow and blow until the last leaf is blown out into the street. Then the leaf blower sees another leaf lying in the middle of the lawn. Back at it until that leaf is cleared. And another. And another.
It's a question. Do leaf blowing machines increase the level of OCD diagnoses during the fall season?
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2 comments:
I used to hate the sound of leaf blowers, until I got one. I was shopping for a shop vac, and my Dad talked me into one with a detachable blower. I never planned to use it, but it was there if I wanted it.
Then I started sweeping up the driveway. I have a large driveway with 2 really old trees on either side, a willow and a maple. After about 5 minutes of barely sweeping the leaves from the driveway I got out the blower. I've never looked back. Despite the noise, it cuts my work down from an estimated 4 hours to about 30 minutes.
Hmmm, I wonder how much carbon di- and monoxide are being pumped into the atmosphere by all of those hundreds of thousands of two-stroke blowers across the country. By the way, blowing those leaves into the street ultimately leads many of those leaves to the sewers, where they sometimes clog the drainage pipes, which can cause back-ups into basements. As well, when the sewers get clogged, the additional man-hours required(MSD?) to clean up the mess increase our costs as rate and taxpayers. These blockages are also caused by trash finding its' way into the sewers. I'll take my rake and my City yard-waste dumpster. I'd better hurry, I think they stop emptying them at the end of November.
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