Amazon can't make the same profits off a rake (human powered of course) as opposed to a blower.

Somehow the electric counterparts look weak and less manly on the shelf at Canadian Tire/online at Amazon.

Now that's ironic, judging your manhood by the size of your powertool.

I'm hanging out time the kids are old enough to rake our half acre by themselves.

no, nothing says 'green' like a rake!

An electric leaf blower may not be the most green choice - compared with manual sweeping (god forbid!), but if you lived in LA as I do, then you would welcome this alternative. Every single day in this city thousands of "mow and blow" lawn service men descend upon the yards of every neighborhood (rich or not) making a horrific noise, blowing dust, dirt, and god knows what else into the air, and leaving behind a horrible gas smell that lingers for 20 minutes. I've even seen them blowing dirt "yards" just b/c that's what they're paid for. They blow and mow wether the yard needs it or not. I'm not sure which is more distressing, the mow and blow or the extreme lack of water conservation I see every day. The second most popular method for sweeping without using an actual broom is watering the sidewalk or driveway with a hose. brilliant!

They're not so bad if your energy source is renwable and clean. They're just not great. I personally use a rake, but there are times and places I wish I had an electric blower. I would consider one if it was made responsibly from the ground up. But the cheap disposable nature of the product choices I have keeps my rake securely employed. Heck I can even be lazy and leave it laying in the yard, and no one tries to take it. Same with my McClane reel push mower, which ain't cheap. No one seems to steal "manual" tools.