Blowers, edgers and lawn mowers can put out pollution. It seems like with their tiny engines, they must not have much filtering. Google quickly brings up a comparison that a single lawn mower today puts out as much pollution as 11 cars per same amount of time used. That's 11 hours of driving. When's the last time you drove 11 hours in an ICE? That's one large home lawn's worth of cutting, and you put out more pollution than your normal annual camping trip.
Yesterday, I was happy to get back from a 564 mile trip, consisting of 7 hours 40 minutes of driving. I did it in an EV. I was happy that almost all of that was solar power or other clean energy.
Then, while thinking of airing out my room at home by -- get this -- simply opening up the doors and windows, the lawn cutter started up. It is a gas powered model. Not only could I not open up my windows and doors, but the pollution caused by that beast put out more pollution than my entire trip had if I had used an ICE, and more than I saved by using an EV. Needless to say, I was dismayed in multiple ways. Besides talking with the lawn cutter and coming up with a plan to replace it with a battery operated lawn mower, I got to wondering how much impact it has overall.
I don't trust the EPA. I don't trust government. EPA is one of the worst abusers. But this is supposed to be their purpose for being. Obviously, as a big government (think Democrat, but the Republicans do it too) type of organization, it probably spends more time looking for reasons to still exist as an office rather than solving the actual problems. That explains that their very own document claims that "Gas Mowers represent 5% of U.S. Air Pollution" Cleaner Air: Mowing Emissions and Clean Air Alternatives. A Fact Sheet https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwidksDIk83SAhXlwlQKHTR4CFMQFggaMAA&url=https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/banks.pdf&usg=AFQjCNHO3a_Y9b3BWOfhd9buTYY9NB7Uag&sig2=2p0wkX-lT5M1qS41AFwsfQ&bvm=bv.149397726,d.cGw https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0ahUKEwidksDIk83SAhXlwlQKHTR4CFMQFggiMAE&url=https://www3.epa.gov/ttn/chief/conference/ei21/session10/banks_pres.pdf&usg=AFQjCNH_JHGwYo9dH6dCmhaRtohWDGmyzw&sig2=7QVClScO7m9WD7gdEUxOng&bvm=bv.149397726,d.cGw ... but let's not blame EPA; after all, states rights allows us to do some things, too.
So, I turn to California, only to find its totally corrupt CARB that put poison in gasoline for years (MTBE -- Why California mandated poison in your tank ), is the go-to organization for dealing with lawn mowers. They only have an incentive program. The prior incentive program for 2016 was, according to CARB, so successful that it was replaced with another incentive program; I'm quoting direction from their website Background Information Regarding the Lawn and Garden Equipment Replacement Project "For future years, CARB staff has shifted cordless zero-emission residential lawn mower replacement projects from AQIP to the Carl Moyer Program in part based on the success of the AQIP LGER Project. Because this equipment is now a Moyer-eligible category, no additional AQIP funding will be provided for cordless zero-emission residential lawn mowers.". I guess in government, it goes without saying that once something is actually successful, it ought to be eliminated, because all of a sudden, the purpose of the office disappears. So, I went to the new program, which had lots of disclaimers like "some districts don't rebate all things". Indeed, my district doesn't have a rebate for lawn mowers. But, let me ask, do we have to have rebates?
Why can't we just have California legislatures outlaw all new sales of gas powered garden equipment, in total? Affordable cordless and corded lawn mowers, edgers and blowers have just come to market in the last few years, so now is the time to get rid of what is, according to one CARB document, fast going to become a larger polluter in the State of California than automobiles. Before we go hog wild with banishment of new gas powered gardening equipment, I don't want to spread lies: if they aren't that polluting, fine, but let's still ask the question, why is it still legal to sell gas powered gardening equipment (lawn mowers, blowers and trimmers) in California? I think it's beyond time to just stop it already. Forget the incentives.
While looking for honest numbers, I found this non-government paper: How Much Pollution Do Gasoline-Powered Lawn Mowers Cause? In it, it says lawn mowers are now 18x more efficient than when the 300 mile stat was brought up. Here: "Claim No 4. One mower-hour = 350 miles in a car. Now mowers are back in the toilet. This page even cites a source, a book called Redesigning the American Lawn (Bormann et al, 1993). However, a parenthetical note says, “This information, though valid at the time of publication, is no longer accurate,” and that “based on current calculations,” one mower-hour produces “the amount of pollution emitted by a car driven for approximately 20 miles.”" So, a lie! They called the EPA, and EPA decided to not answer. But, they looked it up and found the new federal regulations for 2012 would make it better: "Things will improve when federal emissions standards for lawn mowers are tightened in 2012. Under the new standards, a push mower may produce as much HC+NOx as a car driven 160 miles".
So, we have to wait around for a non-existent EPA (that won't even approve Tesla 100D non-performance models for sales even though they are bought, shipped, and paid for Has anyone received a 100D? ) to maybe implement yet more crummy regulations, that as soon as they might work a little, get abandoned, because they have become "successful"? It's time to get rid of EPA and CARB anyway, but to my point: let's just legislatively outlaw all new gas powered gardening equipment sales in California and be done with it, and stop looking East.
Yesterday, I was happy to get back from a 564 mile trip, consisting of 7 hours 40 minutes of driving. I did it in an EV. I was happy that almost all of that was solar power or other clean energy.
Then, while thinking of airing out my room at home by -- get this -- simply opening up the doors and windows, the lawn cutter started up. It is a gas powered model. Not only could I not open up my windows and doors, but the pollution caused by that beast put out more pollution than my entire trip had if I had used an ICE, and more than I saved by using an EV. Needless to say, I was dismayed in multiple ways. Besides talking with the lawn cutter and coming up with a plan to replace it with a battery operated lawn mower, I got to wondering how much impact it has overall.
I don't trust the EPA. I don't trust government. EPA is one of the worst abusers. But this is supposed to be their purpose for being. Obviously, as a big government (think Democrat, but the Republicans do it too) type of organization, it probably spends more time looking for reasons to still exist as an office rather than solving the actual problems. That explains that their very own document claims that "Gas Mowers represent 5% of U.S. Air Pollution" Cleaner Air: Mowing Emissions and Clean Air Alternatives. A Fact Sheet https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwidksDIk83SAhXlwlQKHTR4CFMQFggaMAA&url=https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/banks.pdf&usg=AFQjCNHO3a_Y9b3BWOfhd9buTYY9NB7Uag&sig2=2p0wkX-lT5M1qS41AFwsfQ&bvm=bv.149397726,d.cGw https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0ahUKEwidksDIk83SAhXlwlQKHTR4CFMQFggiMAE&url=https://www3.epa.gov/ttn/chief/conference/ei21/session10/banks_pres.pdf&usg=AFQjCNH_JHGwYo9dH6dCmhaRtohWDGmyzw&sig2=7QVClScO7m9WD7gdEUxOng&bvm=bv.149397726,d.cGw ... but let's not blame EPA; after all, states rights allows us to do some things, too.
So, I turn to California, only to find its totally corrupt CARB that put poison in gasoline for years (MTBE -- Why California mandated poison in your tank ), is the go-to organization for dealing with lawn mowers. They only have an incentive program. The prior incentive program for 2016 was, according to CARB, so successful that it was replaced with another incentive program; I'm quoting direction from their website Background Information Regarding the Lawn and Garden Equipment Replacement Project "For future years, CARB staff has shifted cordless zero-emission residential lawn mower replacement projects from AQIP to the Carl Moyer Program in part based on the success of the AQIP LGER Project. Because this equipment is now a Moyer-eligible category, no additional AQIP funding will be provided for cordless zero-emission residential lawn mowers.". I guess in government, it goes without saying that once something is actually successful, it ought to be eliminated, because all of a sudden, the purpose of the office disappears. So, I went to the new program, which had lots of disclaimers like "some districts don't rebate all things". Indeed, my district doesn't have a rebate for lawn mowers. But, let me ask, do we have to have rebates?
Why can't we just have California legislatures outlaw all new sales of gas powered garden equipment, in total? Affordable cordless and corded lawn mowers, edgers and blowers have just come to market in the last few years, so now is the time to get rid of what is, according to one CARB document, fast going to become a larger polluter in the State of California than automobiles. Before we go hog wild with banishment of new gas powered gardening equipment, I don't want to spread lies: if they aren't that polluting, fine, but let's still ask the question, why is it still legal to sell gas powered gardening equipment (lawn mowers, blowers and trimmers) in California? I think it's beyond time to just stop it already. Forget the incentives.
While looking for honest numbers, I found this non-government paper: How Much Pollution Do Gasoline-Powered Lawn Mowers Cause? In it, it says lawn mowers are now 18x more efficient than when the 300 mile stat was brought up. Here: "Claim No 4. One mower-hour = 350 miles in a car. Now mowers are back in the toilet. This page even cites a source, a book called Redesigning the American Lawn (Bormann et al, 1993). However, a parenthetical note says, “This information, though valid at the time of publication, is no longer accurate,” and that “based on current calculations,” one mower-hour produces “the amount of pollution emitted by a car driven for approximately 20 miles.”" So, a lie! They called the EPA, and EPA decided to not answer. But, they looked it up and found the new federal regulations for 2012 would make it better: "Things will improve when federal emissions standards for lawn mowers are tightened in 2012. Under the new standards, a push mower may produce as much HC+NOx as a car driven 160 miles".
So, we have to wait around for a non-existent EPA (that won't even approve Tesla 100D non-performance models for sales even though they are bought, shipped, and paid for Has anyone received a 100D? ) to maybe implement yet more crummy regulations, that as soon as they might work a little, get abandoned, because they have become "successful"? It's time to get rid of EPA and CARB anyway, but to my point: let's just legislatively outlaw all new gas powered gardening equipment sales in California and be done with it, and stop looking East.
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