The gasoline-powered leaf blower exists in a category of environmental hell all its own, spewing pollutants — carbon monoxide, smog-forming nitrous oxides, carcinogenic hydrocarbons — into the atmosphere at a literally breathtaking rate. The two-stroke engine found in most consumer gas-powered leaf blowers is an outmoded technology. This month, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed a new law making his the first state with plans to ban gas-powered lawn equipment along with other machines, like generators and pressure washers, that use gasoline-powered engines. More than 100 cities across the country have already passed regulations to ban or restrict gas-powered leaf blowers.
By Margaret Renkl. New York Times. October 25, 2021.
