{"id":2192,"date":"2023-10-30T11:20:57","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T15:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/articles\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\/"},"modified":"2023-10-30T11:20:57","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T15:20:57","slug":"leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/articles\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaf blowers aren\u2019t just noisy \u2014 they\u2019re also huge climate polluters"},"featured_media":49929,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":false,"_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":""},"campaign_tax":[134],"display_option":[],"issue_tax":[],"person_tax":[],"region_tax":[],"state":[2],"topic_tax":[109],"class_list":["post-2192","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"details":{"helper_taxonomies":{"topics":[109],"collection":false,"press_type":false,"person_type":false,"resource_type":false,"event_type":false,"campaigns":134,"department":false,"level":false,"states":[2],"act_option":false,"display_option":false,"primary":{"topic":109}},"featured_image":49929,"caption_override":"","excerpt":"Gas-powered lawn equipment like leaf blowers and lawn mowers pollute a lot more than you might think. They pump out millions of tons of carbon dioxide each year, the primary driver of climate change.","updated_on":null,"sidebar_action":[],"hide_hero_image":false,"sidebar_action_query_string":""},"helper_people_group":{"title":"Authors","entities":[{"type":"dynamic","dynamic_person":{"site":15,"people":"4366"},"information":{"name":"","image":null,"role":"","biography":"","contact":{"twitter":"","facebook":"","email":"","phone":""}}},{"type":"dynamic","dynamic_person":{"site":4,"people":"10727"},"information":{"name":"","image":null,"role":"","biography":"","contact":{"twitter":"","facebook":"","email":"","phone":""}}}]},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You know that annoying sound all too well \u2014 the ear-piercing whine of your neighbor\u2019s leaf blower.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But as it turns out, gas-powered leaf blowers and other lawn equipment are more than just a noisy neighborhood nuisance. They\u2019re also contributing to climate change \u2014 and they emit far more climate-warming pollution than you might expect.<\/span>\r\n<h3><b>The facts on gas-powered lawn equipment<\/b><\/h3>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gas-powered leaf blowers, snow blowers, lawnmowers, weed trimmers and chainsaws are some of the dirtiest tools in the shed. And with millions of them owned and operated across the country, their climate-warming pollution really adds up.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2020, fossil fuel-powered lawn equipment emitted more than <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/environmentamerica.org\/center\/resources\/lawn-care-goes-electric\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">30 million tons<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of carbon dioxide, the leading driver of climate change.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To put that in context, that\u2019s as much carbon pollution as comes out of the tailpipes of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/environmentamerica.org\/center\/resources\/lawn-care-goes-electric\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6.6 million cars<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over the course of a year. And that\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> carbon pollution emitted by gas-powered lawn equipment in one year than was emitted by the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/environmentamerica.org\/center\/resources\/lawn-care-goes-electric\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">entire city of Los Angeles<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in 2021.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The latest reports from the United Nations\u2019 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2022\/04\/1115452?_gl=1*1j128ci*_ga*MTAzOTM4NTcwLjE2OTc2NTI4MzA.*_ga_TK9BQL5X7Z*MTY5NzY1MjgyOS4xLjAuMTY5NzY1MjgyOS4wLjAuMA..\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">warn us<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that urgent action is needed to avoid climate catastrophe. This past summer, we all felt it: the superpowered storms, floods, fires, heatwaves and more. And we know what\u2019s causing it: our reliance on fossil fuels.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So why are we risking the worst just for a tidier lawn?<\/span>\r\n<h3><b>It\u2019s time to switch to cleaner, quieter, electric lawn equipment<\/b><\/h3>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fortunately, there\u2019s a better way to clean up the yard without all that gas. Rakes have been around for ages, of course. But assuming the job requires something more, we have the technology to swap out our old, dirty, gas-powered lawn equipment for clean, electric versions.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Electric leaf blowers, mowers and more are getting easier and easier to find at major hardware stores. Dozens of options for electric mowers, trimmers and other types of equipment are currently on the market, and more are coming along all the time. And they\u2019re the better choice for a number of reasons:<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Electric lawn equipment emits zero planet-warming emissions.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although electric lawn equipment can cost more upfront, they\u2019re cheaper to own and operate than gas-powered equipment. They can save you money over time due to lower fuel and maintenance costs \u2014 usually paying back the initial investment in just a few years.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And, as an added bonus, electric lawn equipment is far quieter than gas-powered versions \u2014 a welcome relief to your hearing and your neighbors.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A greener, healthier world requires each of us to do all we can to eliminate the pollution and practices that are warming the planet and changing our climate. So what are we waiting for?\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When every tool in the shed is electric, we can enjoy cleaner air, quieter neighborhoods, and the knowledge that we\u2019re doing our part to leave a healthier planet to future generations.<\/span>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_large_image","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_large_image":{"width":"wide","image":"","caption_override":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"","":null}}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.8 (Yoast SEO v28.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Leaf blowers aren\u2019t just noisy \u2014 they\u2019re also huge climate polluters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gas-powered lawn equipment like leaf blowers and lawn mowers pollute a lot more than you might think. They pump out millions of tons of carbon dioxide each year, the primary driver of climate change.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/articles\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leaf blowers aren\u2019t just noisy \u2014 they\u2019re also huge climate polluters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gas-powered lawn equipment like leaf blowers and lawn mowers pollute a lot more than you might think. They pump out millions of tons of carbon dioxide each year, the primary driver of climate change.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/articles\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NCPIRG Education Fund\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Leaf-blower-1600x900-credit-Pete-via-Flickr-cc-by-2.0.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"NewsArticle\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/articles\\\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/articles\\\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Leaf blowers aren\u2019t just noisy \u2014 they\u2019re also huge climate polluters\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/articles\\\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/publicinterestnetwork.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/Leaf-blower-1600x900-credit-Pete-via-Flickr-cc-by-2.0.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-10-30T15:20:57+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Gas-powered lawn equipment like leaf blowers and lawn mowers pollute a lot more than you might think. They pump out millions of tons of carbon dioxide each year, the primary driver of climate change.\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/articles\\\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"headline\": \"Leaf blowers aren\u2019t just noisy \u2014 they\u2019re also huge climate polluters\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": null,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t                \"name\": \"NCPIRG Education Fund\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Luke Metzger\",\n\t                    \"jobTitle\": \"Executive Director, Environment Texas\",\n\t                    \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/environmentamerica.org\\\/center\\\/people\\\/luke-metzger\\\/\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Kirsten Schatz\",\n\t                    \"jobTitle\": \"Clean Air Advocate, CoPIRG\",\n\t                    \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/people\\\/kirsten-schatz\\\/\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/articles\\\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/publicinterestnetwork.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/Leaf-blower-1600x900-credit-Pete-via-Flickr-cc-by-2.0.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/publicinterestnetwork.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/Leaf-blower-1600x900-credit-Pete-via-Flickr-cc-by-2.0.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/articles\\\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Leaf blowers aren\u2019t just noisy \u2014 they\u2019re also huge climate polluters\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"NCPIRG Education Fund\",\n\t            \"description\": \"\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pirg.org\\\/northcarolina\\\/edfund\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Leaf blowers aren\u2019t just noisy \u2014 they\u2019re also huge climate polluters","description":"Gas-powered lawn equipment like leaf blowers and lawn mowers pollute a lot more than you might think. They pump out millions of tons of carbon dioxide each year, the primary driver of climate change.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/articles\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Leaf blowers aren\u2019t just noisy \u2014 they\u2019re also huge climate polluters","og_description":"Gas-powered lawn equipment like leaf blowers and lawn mowers pollute a lot more than you might think. They pump out millions of tons of carbon dioxide each year, the primary driver of climate change.","og_url":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/articles\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\/","og_site_name":"NCPIRG Education Fund","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Leaf-blower-1600x900-credit-Pete-via-Flickr-cc-by-2.0.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/articles\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\/","url":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/articles\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\/","name":"Leaf blowers aren\u2019t just noisy \u2014 they\u2019re also huge climate polluters","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/#website"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/articles\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/publicinterestnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Leaf-blower-1600x900-credit-Pete-via-Flickr-cc-by-2.0.jpg","datePublished":"2023-10-30T15:20:57+00:00","description":"Gas-powered lawn equipment like leaf blowers and lawn mowers pollute a lot more than you might think. They pump out millions of tons of carbon dioxide each year, the primary driver of climate change.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/articles\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\/"]}],"headline":"Leaf blowers aren\u2019t just noisy \u2014 they\u2019re also huge climate polluters","dateModified":null,"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NCPIRG Education Fund","url":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund"},"author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Luke Metzger","jobTitle":"Executive Director, Environment Texas","url":"https:\/\/environmentamerica.org\/center\/people\/luke-metzger\/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Kirsten Schatz","jobTitle":"Clean Air Advocate, CoPIRG","url":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/people\/kirsten-schatz\/"}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/articles\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/publicinterestnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Leaf-blower-1600x900-credit-Pete-via-Flickr-cc-by-2.0.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/publicinterestnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Leaf-blower-1600x900-credit-Pete-via-Flickr-cc-by-2.0.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/articles\/leaf-blowers-arent-just-noisy-theyre-also-huge-climate-polluters\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Leaf blowers aren\u2019t just noisy \u2014 they\u2019re also huge climate polluters"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/","name":"NCPIRG Education Fund","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"NCPIRG Education Fund","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/2192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/2192\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"campaign_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campaign_tax?post=2192"},{"taxonomy":"display_option","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display_option?post=2192"},{"taxonomy":"issue_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_tax?post=2192"},{"taxonomy":"person_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/person_tax?post=2192"},{"taxonomy":"region_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region_tax?post=2192"},{"taxonomy":"state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/state?post=2192"},{"taxonomy":"topic_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/northcarolina\/edfund\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic_tax?post=2192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}