Episode 59

[FOCUS] Leaf Blowers

Episode Summary: This episode is an excerpt from a previous episode about How leaf blowers are a problem for the environment.

Having contributed to many areas of the Carbon Almanac, Jenn and Imma came together to discuss a number of different environmental issues.

In this episode, the problem with one piece of garden machinery is discussed; the leaf blower. The pollution from gasoline and noise, as well as the alternatives are covered. How communities can help each other provide different solutions to clearing up, or even making use of, the leaves which fall from our trees.

To listen to the full episode of this conversation, go here 

For more information on the project, and to pre-order your copy of the Carbon Almanac, visit thecarbonalmanac.org

Want to join in the conversation?

Visit thecarbonalmanac.org/podcasts and send us a voice message on this episode or any other climate-related ideas and perspectives.

Don’t Take Our Word For It, Look It Up!

You can find out more on page 90 of the Carbon Almanac and on the website you can tap the footnotes link and type in 034

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Featuring Carbon Almanac Contributors Jenn Swanson and Imma Lopez.

From Langley in British Columbia, Canada, Jenn is a Minister, Coach, Writer and Community Connector, helping people help themselves.  

Imma is from Cádiz in the South of Spain, living in Aberdeen, Scotland. Imma is a sommelier, a poet, a podcaster, a mother, a slow food advocate, and an animist activist.

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The CarbonSessions Podcast is produced and edited by Leekei Tang, Steve Heatherington and Rob Slater.


Transcript
JENN:

do you know what a leaf blower is?

INMA:

No, actually when I saw it on the list, I said, And we so blower, it

INMA:

was the first thing that came to mind.

JENN:

That would be much quieter, I think.

INMA:

Wow.

INMA:

Okay.

INMA:

So no, I have no idea.

INMA:

I have to confess.

JENN:

So, uh, maybe, maybe you haven't seen leaf blowers before, but in north

JENN:

America they're everywhere and they are great big machines that people,

JENN:

uh, were a part of it on their backs.

JENN:

And then it has a big, um, like a spout.

JENN:

Like a hose kind of thing.

JENN:

And most of them are powered by gas.

JENN:

And what they're for is to blow the leaves off your lawn or your sidewalk

JENN:

or, um, or the needles of trees.

JENN:

I know you can't see her, but she's laughing.

INMA:

So, so, uh, it's kind of a convenient tool.

JENN:

Yes.

JENN:

Yes.

JENN:

And, and, uh, a two-stroke gasoline power leafblower, which is extremely

JENN:

noisy and loud, spews out more pollution than a 6,200 pound Ford.

JENN:

F-150 pickup.

INMA:

Wow.

JENN:

Yes, that's what I read recently.

JENN:

The emissions, um, the carbon emissions from half-hour of leaf

JENN:

blowing are about the same as driving 3,900 miles in a pickup truck.

JENN:

So these are terrible, terrible for them.

INMA:

We don't have it here, but I think it's because we have wind very, very

INMA:

strong wind in the cost of his colon.

INMA:

So that's why I say I haven't seen them yet.

JENN:

They're really loud.

JENN:

Um, and apparently the, the decibel level is actually dangerous.

JENN:

So when you see people operating them, they have headphones on,

JENN:

they, they produce a whole lot of greenhouse gas and I don't have one.

JENN:

And if I did get one, I would get an electric one because you can get

JENN:

electric ones and they're quieter and they're a lot less polluted.

JENN:

But you can also use a rake or through yeah.

INMA:

That sounds like, yeah.

LYNN:

You've been listening to Karbon sessions, a podcast with carbon

LYNN:

conversations for every day, with everyone from everywhere in the world.

LYNN:

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LYNN:

perspectives from wherever you are.

LYNN:

This is a great way for our community to learn from your ideas and

LYNN:

experiences, connect and take action.

LYNN:

If you want to add your voice to the conversation, go to the carbon.

LYNN:

Dot org slash podcast and sign up to be part of a future episode.

LYNN:

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LYNN:

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LYNN:

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LYNN:

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When it comes to the climate, we don’t need more marketing or anxiety. We need established facts and a plan for collective action.

The climate is the fundamental issue of our time, and now we face a critical decision. Whether to be optimistic or fatalistic, whether to profess skepticism or to take action. Yet it seems we can barely agree on what is really going on, let alone what needs to be done. We urgently need facts, not opinions. Insights, not statistics. And a shift from thinking about climate change as a “me” problem to a “we” problem.

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This isn’t what the oil companies, marketers, activists, or politicians want you to believe. This is what’s really happening, right now. Our planet is in trouble, and no one concerned group, corporation, country, or hemisphere can address this on its own. Self-interest only increases the problem. We are in this together. And it’s not too late to for concerted, collective action for change.