The world is racing to go electric, and leaf blowers are falling behind.
You probably haven’t heard about the effect gas-powered leaf blowers have on the environment. You probably haven’t thought about it either. But electric leaf blowers are one of the most advantageous tools for combating climate change. They are also one of the least discussed.
Increased recognition of car pollution prompted Congress to pass the Clean Air Act in 1970, allowing the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate pollution from vehicles. The Clean Air Act has reduced tailpipe pollution by 98-99% since 1960 — but it overlooks leaf blowers. Although Los Angeles outlawed gas-powered leaf blowers in 1998, this law generally goes unenforced. Such lack of enforcement has allowed leaf blowers to remain disastrously unchecked.
We are all aware of the detrimental effects automobiles have on the environment. Surprisingly, gas-powered leaf blowers pose an even greater threat: along with other lawn equipment, they produce more pollution than cars.
Edmunds, an automotive information service, found that gas-powered leaf blowers produce more air pollutants than a 6,200-pound Ford F-150 SVT Raptor pickup truck and generate 300 times the amount of non-methane hydrocarbons. The study compared hydrocarbon emissions caused by gas-powered leaf blowers in half an hour to that of driving from Texas to Alaska in the pickup truck.
Many gas-powered leaf blowers contain a two-stroke engine, requiring fuel to be mixed with oil. This process produces numerous toxic pollutants such as carbon monoxide, which is a toxic gas; nitrous oxides, which contribute to smog and acid rain and hydrocarbons, which produce smog.
The emissions produced by these leaf blowers threaten public health, creating risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, asthma and hearing loss. Predictably, the dangers are exacerbated for the operators of the machines, who are subjected to the dangerous fumes, particulates and high noise levels.
In response to these concerns, California passed Assembly Bill 1346 in 2021. Starting in 2024, the law requires newly manufactured leaf blowers and other small off-road engines to be zero emissions. However, the law fails to prevent people from continuing to use gas-powered leaf blowers manufactured before 2024. Therefore, California citizens must make the ethical decision themselves and trade in their gas-powered leaf blowers for their environmentally friendly counterparts: electric leaf blowers.
When we think of preventing and ameliorating climate change, we often picture systemic reform and proposed legislation in Congress — in short, change at a considerably larger scale than ourselves. However, sometimes the smallest collective shifts have the greatest potential to make a difference.
Teenagers are passionate about fighting climate change. Electric leaf blowers provide an opportunity to actually make a tangible difference. Have a conversation with your family about bringing electric leaf blowers to your backyard. Mother Earth will thank you for it.
