The outside air temperature had already reached 70 degrees at 10 o’clock in the morning. I had to check the calendar twice to convince myself it really was November 1st. This time of year, I was supposed to be putting on long pants and a windbreaker for a morning bike ride, not shorts and a T-shirt. So, I dug out my summer biking clothes and began leisurely dressing, thinking about the warm, sunny bike ride I was about to embark on.
My pleasant daydream was shattered by a sudden burst of noise. A truckload of subrban lawn warriors had pulled up to the house next door. Despite the summer feel, it was autumn and there were leaves to attack, blow, and eliminate. With heavy leaf blowers strapped to their backs, a couple of warriors climbed a tall ladder to the roof and began blasting the leaves. Down below, an army of men, being showered in fluttering red, orange, and gold foliage, assaulted the land-based leaves with their fume-spewing leaf blowers. One of the troops rode a gas-propelled giant fan – a riding leaf blower – blasting huge mounds of leaves at once. The noise was deafening.
Hurrying outside, I hopped on my bike and pedaled away, hoping to outrun the brain-rattling cacophony of two-stroke engines. Leaf blowers often exceed 100 decibels, similar to a commercial jet taking off, but not quite as loud as the blast of a rocket lift off. The noise diminished as I rode down the street, but when I rounded the corner, I was confronted by another large group of men armed with loud lawn weapons. Accelerating, I left them in my wake, only to be faced with army after leaf blowing army; there was no escaping the noise and choking fumes. I rode for an hour, at times passing land forces so loud that my teeth rattled inside my head. Well, isn’t it worth it – the hours of brain-shaking noise and noxious fumes – to have those manicured, bright green, chemically treated, leafless lawns?
Leaves are essential for a healthy environment. They provide a habitat for ladybugs, fireflies, and other creatures, perpetuate pollination, and provide nutrients for the soil. Instead, suburban homeowners somehow think it’s better to strip the earth of nature’s nutritious, insulating leaf blanket and then add poisonous lawn chemicals to maintain that bright green spring look to their grass …. in November! Little flags are then planted along the property’s perimeter, warning people to keep their children and pets off the chemically laden lawn. Perhaps they should consider Astroturf! Read more