New report finds gas-powered lawn mowers and leaf blowers pack a big pollution punch

After another Colorado summer with over 40 “Ozone Action Alert” days, CoPIRG Foundation released a new report on Thursday that shows that shifting away from dirty gas-powered lawn and garden equipment to readily-available electric and battery-powered ones could achieve nearly one-fifth of the reduction needed to address the Front Range region’s unhealthy ozone pollution.

The report, Small Machines, Big Pollution, details how much pollution gas-powered lawn and garden equipment produce.

For example, operating a commercial gas-powered lawn mower for one hour can result in as much ozone-forming emissions as driving a 2017 Toyota Camry from Trinidad, Colorado to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Even worse, operating a commercial gas-powered leaf blower for just one hour can result in a staggering amount of ozone-forming emissions – approximately the same as driving 1,100 miles from Denver to Calgary, Canada.

Read the report here.