Hearing is be-leafing: Students invent quieter leaf blower

TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com to Technology@lemmy.world – 598 points –
Hearing is be-leafing: Students invent quieter leaf blower
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I forgot that this device is still being used lol. Masovian Voivodeship in Poland banned leaf blowers in 2021 as part of air quality regulation and... air actually got cleaner and no one complains about leaves on sidewalks

https://samorzad.infor.pl/sektor/zadania/srodowisko/6408199,zakaz-uzywania-dmuchawy-do-lisci.html

I don't mind the electric ones, but I had a neighbour that would fire up a two-stroke backpack monster at 6 AM any morning there was the barest skiff of snow. And he'd try for hours blowing heavier snow that he could have had shovelled in 15 minutes. He was generally just an asshole neighbour all around.

we had a thread a while ago, and some dude was in there insisting that blowers can be "used for snow" because apparently snow blowers don't fucking exist.

People are fucking weird dude.

I've used one for a very light coating or powdery snow, but more than a couple inches of that it's just easier and faster with a shovel

IMO if it's that little snow, i'm just fucking leaving it.

It's not gonna kill me, unless it's sitting on a solar array or something.

I live in a place where if someone slips on your sidewalk they can sue, so I'm a little more cautious about it.

Assuming we get snow ever again...

sue for what? Snow falling on the ground? There's no way that's getting through courts lmao.

For injuries related to slipping and falling. It's a real thing, and why a lot of places nearby don't even have sidewalks to avoid this liability

this is such a weird legal thing. Even if it's my sidewalk, you're still walking on it of your own accord, i'd get it if maybe like, i put ice all over it, or something. but otherwise that's not my problem.

People forget brooms exist. Just like using a shovel during the winter.

You didn’t just start using electric ones?

They probably weren't too concerned with the emissions from the leaf blowers themselves, but the dust and whatnot they whip up into the air.

Most gas-powered leaf blowers use two-cycle engines, which produce hundreds of times more hazardous pollutants and fine particulates than cars. Leaf blowers overtook automobiles as the number one source of air pollution in California during 2020.

I did want to kneecap the idiot that decided to use a leaf blower to blow the sand off the parking lot of the apartment I used to rent in. Was kind of tempted to send the manager a bill for a new clear coat on my car.