Opinion: Leaf blowers are a menace to the environment, public health. Here's why.

Cape Cod Times 

Published May 28, 2022 

Regarding the piece on May 15, "Bad press on leaf blowers is undeserved," I would recommend the writers and others read an Oct. 25, 2021 essay in the New York Times, "The First Thing We Do, Let's Kill All the Leaf Blowers," that describes these machines as "… the most maddening of all the maddening, environment-destroying tools of the American lawn-care industry … spewing pollutants — carbon monoxide, smog-forming nitrous oxides, carcinogenic hydrocarbons — into the atmosphere at a literally breathtaking rate … the risks come not only from the noise and the chemical emissions that the two-stroke engines produce but also from the dust they stir up." 

According to Sara Peach of Yale Climate Connections, "That dust can contain pollen, mold, animal feces, heavy metals and chemicals from herbicides and pesticides."

With climate change increasingly threatening our planet, why do we continue to add to its destruction along with increasing our risks, according to Peach, "of lung cancer, asthma, cardiovascular disease, premature birth and other life-threatening conditions?"

Biodiversity, wild places, the nature that feeds our souls, are eroding. But, OK, at least we'll have gorgeous lawns for a while.

Nancy F. Goldstein, New Seabury

Landscapers should use expertise to help preserve the ecosystem

In the May 15 Cape Cod Times, a letter about leaf blower noise read: “As the president of the Cape Cod Landscape Association, I think we should consider facts.”

Yes, we need facts about leaf blower noise. We also need to acknowledge that facts are hard to find, interpret and verify. I claim no expertise in acoustics but in researching the issue, I found that noise ratings varied dramatically.

It’s important to know the make and model and compare three other factors: decibels (sound intensity), distance and sound qualities. As expected, the shorter the distance, the greater the volume; operators must wear ear protection to prevent permanent hearing loss. The quality of the blower’s high-pitched whine is especially irritating for many people.

Equally important — although less perceptible — than the effects of leaf blower noise are those of air pollution and damage to lawns and gardens. Exhaust from gas-powered leaf blowers surpasses automobiles on many levels. It contains major air pollutants: hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and particulate matter, which are dangerous for our health and contribute to global warming. 

While blasting leaves off driveways, lawns, and flower beds, blowers also churn up clouds of dust containing pollen, mold, heavy metals and good topsoil. When I hear the blower crew come into my cul-de-sac, I race around to close the windows. Otherwise, I’ll have to use another loud machine, the vacuum cleaner.

Landscape preferences vary: some people see fallen leaves as eyesores, others as valued parts of the ecosystem. Professional landscapers can play an important role by using their expertise for the long-term benefit of the whole community: people, animals, insects, plants, soil, water and air.

Consider, for example, the gift of a natural winter blanket of disintegrating leaves that improves soil fertility, water retention and survival of insects that will feed next spring’s birds and pollinate vegetation.

Terry Gips, Mashpee

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