tesla33 wrote:First, even with a coal-fired power plant, electric units produce much less pollution, because of economies of scale and industrial emissions requirements. Folks like you just can't seem to grasp that having an individual gasoline engine that both wastes most of its fuel as heat and burns its own lubricating oil continuously as well, is much worse than a centralized power plant burning anything at all.
Second, if you have six neighbors within earshot, you can bet that you will be hearing these things at least four different days a week. Or, at best, with a lot of luck, four times a day twice a week.
Well "folks like me" understand economies of scale quite well thank you very much, but the emissions of a leaf blower aren't exactly something to get all worked up over in the scope of things. When you consider the amount of usage over a year versus one trip in an SUV to go on a vacation it is a non-issue.
Now if you are the type who rides a bike to work then yes this could be a horrible piece of lawn equipment, but honestly in the scope of thing the whole environment argument is really a minor point.
As far as how often you will hear them... you honestly think four of your six neighbors use these on a weekly basis? If that is true you must live in some leaf blower vortex, because I have at least eight homes within earshot and I have never seen a single one of my neighbors using a leaf blower.
I have an electric one which I have used two or three times in the past year. I'll probably be using it a few times over the next few weeks as I vacuum up leaves from my bushes (it converts to a lawn vac), but on average I don't use it more than three or four times a year, and when I do it is probably for 10 minutes or less AND it is much more quiet than my lawnmower so I doubt my neighbors even notice.
I used to live next to a guy who had a gas engine blower and he would use it on a weekly basis, but the online time I could ever hear it was when I was outside or in my garage... and again it wasn't any louder than his lawnmower.
I guess I don't think these things are nearly as bad as some. Lawnmowers put out just as much pollution because they are used more often for longer periods of time, and everyone uses them. In the scope of things, something like a lawn trimmer or leaf blower just isn't that big of a deal.
