An Old Broom Sweeps Clean
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 05.15.06
The other day, on my morning perambulations, I happened upon a man in our neighbourhood park. He was wearing safety boots, shin guards, ear plugs, ear muffs, gloves, safety glasses and a hi-viz vest. He was most properly attired in the correct Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE, as it is known in OH&S (Occupational Health and Safety) circles . His task for the morning was cleaning leaves and lawn clippings off the walkway. Nearing almost the end of the path, he was heard to swear loudly. Seems he’d just run out of oomph. You see, he was using a powered leaf blower. And it had died on him. Now, with the job nine tenths finished, he had to walk way across the park to get his very rowdy machine re-energised. Not for the first time – being an ardent despiser of leaf blowers – I wondered just what had the classic broom done to bring such neglect upon itself. If this guy had had a broom he’d have been done by now, instead of traipsing all over the park to get his ‘powered broom’ revved once more. I shook my head and walked on, in the new bliss of what passes for silence in the inner city. And was reminded of the quote ascribed to Albert Einstein: "It is appallingly obvious that our technology exceeds our humanity." And that of our common sense too, it would appear.
I caused a furor by telling the guys in the conference room that it is just as easy to mow my lawn with my reel mower than with a gas mower. I lent it to my octegenarian neighbor who had been pulling on the starter of his mower for an hour. He got his lawn done in 10 minutes. It's much easier than getting the gas, filling the mower(and spilling it on the lawn) and pushing this smelly, noisy thing around. Who needs it?
Absolutely right, Iver. I love my reel mower.
Yes indeed, the simple sweeping brush. Why oh why do leaf blowers exist? I too have observed their ridiculous waste of energy and have thought the very same things. Brush hard and exercise yourself as you do it. Human-powered floor sweepers are a good alternative to indoor electric vacuum cleaners too - I use the vacuum once a week and the sweeper the rest of the time. It's quicker and easier and you can ignore the adverts for Dyson's with magnified views of the bugs in your carpet - unless you have specific alergies they're actually good for you.
I hate leaf blowers and idiots who buy them. They are nothing but glorified hair dryers that operate at 120 decibels.
Several years ago, I was driving in my neighborhood just after a rain storm and there was some old fart in his yard with a gas powered blower trying to push 3 or 4 leaves along. It was the most ridiculous and pathetic thing I've ever seen.
I only use human power lawn tools. To trim my law, I get on my knees and use a pair of clippers. I have a reel lawnmower and a rake. For my small yard it takes about 30 minutes to rake, mow, and trim. For my garden, I bought a twist-style cultivator that also digs very nice holes for 4x4 posts. All of these tools are less expensive than their gas or electric powered counterparts, and much easier and safer to handle.
Leaf blowers are loud, smelly, and annoying. I have to listen to them several times a day in my neighborhood, especially since I live across the street from a shopping center. In the morning neighbors are using them, especially when they hire gardeners. Also, the shopping center across the street has someone with a leaf blower in the morning, afternoon, and anytime from midnight till 4am. Then they have a truck that acts as a vacuum trying to suck up what the leaf blower has gathered, which doesn't do a good job. How I wish they'd just use brooms instead. Can I sleep very well? No, I can't. Thanks Baldwin Park! I remember a couple months ago, Los Angeles county was offering a trade in for a quieter leaf blower. I don't remember if it was electric.
To top that, the shopping center also uses a high pressure water blaster.
I can't wait till I get the chance to move.
Oh, how I loathe Thursday mornings where I live. The community I live in hires out the landscape management and the company they use abuses every loud machine they can. Riding lawnmowers (for an area where most of the lawn is only about 2 feet wide), weed whackers, and of course leaf blowers. The leaf blowers do nothing but blow the grass and other debris up into the driveways, garages, and under the doors on occasion. It'd be less expensive and much quieter if they just used brooms.
I've never heard of using a broom for leaves, I though that was what rakes were for. Power tools are starting to bug me. Just about all weekend that's what you hear where I live. Sunday night I was trying to take a nap on the couch and some guy down the street was using a weed whacker. Who does that?
Is there anything here about the cost to homowners associations when the rake takes over for the polluting machine? I would love to have that as I attempt to change minds here. Thanks.