Have you had enough of being driven back inside your house on a summer day due to gas-powered leaf blowers, only to find that the noise penetrates through the walls and windows of your house? Hundreds of towns and cities across North America have banned the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. We believe that Oakville should ban their use and live up to its moniker: “Liveable Oakville.”
Why Ban Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers?
- Contamination from running a gas-powered leaf blower for just one hour matches emissions from driving a car for almost 1,800 kilometers.
- Gas-powered lawn equipment produces more ozone pollution in California than the state’s 14.4 million cars.
- Gas-powered leaf blowers have outdated two-stroke engines. Inefficient combustion in these engines results in up to one-third of the fuel being spewed out as a toxic aerosol that includes carcinogenic hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and smog-forming nitrous oxides.
- Exposure to loud noise from gas-powered leaf blowers—often in excess of 90 decibels—can cause hearing damage after two hours. The noise from gas-powered leaf blowers disturbs the peace and disrupts outdoor activities in our neighbourhoods. The sound also penetrates the walls of our homes, creating stress, disturbing sleep, and interfering with communication and work concentration.
The alternative is electric or battery-operated leaf blowers which are lighter, greener, cheaper, and produce no fossil fuel emissions. The city of Oakville declared a Climate Emergency in 2019. The Town Council needs to stand behind this declaration and take action to ban gas-powered leaf blowers.
Sign the petition now www.bit.ly/ban-oakville-leaf-blowers
For more information ban.oakville.leaf.blowers@gmail.com
Shared by Future Energy Oakville on behalf of GASP(Grand(m)others Act To Save The Planet