They're loud, they pollute, and they serve little practical purpose.
We are speaking of gas-powered leaf blowers and the mystery of why we allow them to exist.
But if you are among the legions who despise these contraptions, take heart. More and more cities – at least 100 of them, according to the
Audubon Society – have banned them or are restricting their use, and now the biggest state in the union has decided to ban them outright.
In October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed
a law making the Golden State the first to ban gas-powered leaf blowers (as well as gas-powered lawnmowers and other landscaping machines), starting in 2024.
Add Air Pollution to the Noise
People have hated leaf blowers' noise since they first appeared for general use in the 1970s, but the impetus behind California's action stems from more recent awareness that they are horrible polluters. California has launched a broad campaign to cut down on air pollution – a 2035 goal has been set for a phase-out of gas-powered vehicles – so perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that heavily polluting leaf blowers have become a regulatory target.
The law will ban the sale of all “small, off-road engines" (SOREs), which “are used primarily in lawn and garden equipment." But the chief offender in that category appears to be those engines that are used by leaf blowers. According to the
California Air Resources Board, the air pollution caused by operating “the best-selling commercial lawnmower" is comparable to that produced by driving a 2017 Toyota Camry 300 miles, but the air pollution from “the best-selling commercial leaf blower" is equal to that from driving the Camry 1,100 miles.
California is the only state that has the authority to regulate air quality in this way, due to an exemption that was carved out of the federal
Clean Air Act. While other states can't enact their own regulations, they can choose to follow California's lead – and
more than a dozen have already done so with tailpipe emissions. But when it comes to SOREs they can't do so immediately – California must yet apply to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to “enforce its own standards for new nonroad engines and vehicles," and only after EPA gives approval can other states follow.