On July 6th, QC NOVA member Jim Klein wrote to the Arlington County Board:
Today (7/6/23) I was walking over to Target on S. Joyce Street and noticed an employee of that shopping complex using a gas powered leaf blower to rid the driveway there of a few tiny blades of grass and leaf matter, that I’m absolutely shore no one cares about or notices. This poor employee was just doing her job. It is currently 93 degrees outside. In the past two months, we have had 17 days of moderate to high danger levels of bad air, some due to the continuing wildfires in Canada, others simply due to car pollution in general. All of it is a result of ‘global warming.’ We know gas powered leaf blowers create much worse pollution than even automobile traffic. We know, for a fact, that no one cares, in the middle of a hot summer day, if there are a few blades of grass on a driveway. We know for a fact that this nice woman is exposing herself to harmful noise and gas emissions from the leaf blower. We know that the reason she is out there leaf blowing, is because the shopping center/apartment complex is a large publicly owned company, and that in that company, there is an employee whose job it is to contract out lawn and grounds maintenance. We know there are myriad lawn care companies desperate for business, and who have to offer the full suite of maintenance services, lawn cutting and leaf blowing included. The problem is, no one in this chain of command, no one in this vast web of red tape and bureaucracy cares about this leaf blower.
My question to you all is this: How serious are you about global warming and doing something to curb it? My impression is that we, as a world population, are in a heap of trouble, and it may already be too late to act. But my goodness, don’t we want to TRY to do something? The District of Columbia had taken a stand, and simply banned all use of gas powered leaf blowers. It is the right thing to do. No lawn care company can afford to take a stand against leaf blowers. In their world, they have to offer the suite of lawn care service or else they change to lose a contract.
So it is up to you, Arlington County, to take a stand, and to say, ‘Yes, we care about global warming, and yes, we are willing to do something about it, even though in the short run, it may be unpopular with the general public.’ Once they are banned, the lawn companies will still survive, still make profit, and still employ good people. Our lawns will still be cared for. We might see some grass clippings here and there, and maybe leaf collection will be hampered a little, but who cares? Don’t you care more about the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the type of world we are passing down to our children and grandchildren?
Won’t you please take a stand now, and ban all gas powered leaf blowers, so that we can say we did all we could to protect our children and grandchildren from the dangers of global warming.
Thank You for Your Time. Thank You For Listening.
Sincerely,
James Klein
Arlington, VA
- James Klein wrote to the Arlington County Council about the noise and pollution from gas leaf blowers. Here is the response:
Hello AC Board,
Would you please publish this article in your next newsletter? It outlines both the dangers to the health of lawn care workers, and the dangers to our hearing and air quality.
Here is the link: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/news/phasing-out-gas-powered-leaf-blowers
Thank You,
James Klein
Arlington, VA
Dear James,
Thanks for sharing the article about the negative effects of gas-powered leaf blowers. I am writing to you in my capacity as Arlington County Board Member and as Chair of the Climate, Energy & Environment Policy Committee (CEEPC) of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.??
Needless to say, I care deeply about using every opportunity to reduce green-house-gas emissions, improving air quality and mitigate excessive noise, especially our entire region has committed to very aggressive?emission-reduction goals?in response to the most recent IPCC reports.
Phasing out fossil-fueled, legacy-motorized equipment the soonest is a priority for myself, my colleagues, and our entire government.
Unfortunately, this is also where our initiatives collide with Virginia’s Dillon Rule. Imposing a regulatory ban (on sales, operation, etc.) continues to be subject to State jurisdiction; Arlington has supported and continues to support legislative initiatives that would empower local jurisdictions to regulate fossil-fueled landscape equipment. To date, as you probably know, such legislative efforts have been unsuccessful. I speak for all my colleagues when I commit to continue advocating for legislation that will enable Arlington to regulate fossil-fuel-powered legacy equipment. My office is in contact with the County Attorney and our Government Affairs and Legislative Liaison in order to receive updated advice given the public interest and broader constituent advocacy (e.g., from ?Quiet-Clean-NoVA); please rest assured that we will not drop this item from our legislative agenda for the 2024 session.
That said, Arlington County Government is transitioning our operations (in public parks and, in general, on County property) to electric-powered equipment by allocating dedicated funds -over $200,000 so far. Park and Recreation’s inventory of landscape equipment is now 64% electric, and we are on track to meet the 2025 complete replacement goal.
Thank you again for writing to us on this important issue. We invite you to remain engaged!
With warm regards,
Takis Karantonis?
Member, Arlington County Board