Should We Do Something About Leaf Blowers? Surely leaf blowers seem innocent enough, right? Other than the noisiness of those things, I can't really complain. I'm all about getting things done quickly and efficiently. These garden power tools can blow at up to 200 miles per hour. With speed like that, they have to work better than a rake or a broom.

At first I thought the yard workers in our neighborhood were using the leaf blowers to blow leaves and trash into a pile to make them easier to pick up. When I actually sat down to watch them one day, the workers were just blowing the trash from the yard they were working on into another.

I did some research on exactly what was being blown through the air by the leaf blowers. Some call this potent mixture "fugitive dust," and it includes everything from carbon monoxide, mold, and pesticides to bird and animal droppings. Mmm! Doesn't that sound like the most appetizing thing to have on your picnic table? Let's not even think about how that mixture will impact the elderly, children, and people with breathing problems.

Are leaf blowers even all they are cracked up to be? A study conducted in California had a 50-year-old grandmother to compete against gas and battery-operated blowers. Using a rake and broom, she was able to beat the battery-powered leaf blower. She was almost as fast as the gas-powered machines. And, in fact, she did a better job than either of them because she was able to get the small nuts and twigs they couldn't.

You may be surprised to learn that some cities, like Los Angeles, have made it illegal to use leaf blowers near homes. It turns out that using a leaf blower for one hour produces the same amount of pollution as driving a car 50 miles.

As homeowners, should we take the steps to have regulations against leaf blowers in our neighborhoods, too? Should the city ban the use of leaf blowers? Should we be willing to pay a little extra for our yard crews to remove leaves and debris from our yards manually instead of using the blowers? Or, could we just ask the workers to use lower power levels when using them? Until we come to a consensus, it's safe to say whoever removes leaves from their yard last has the cleanest yard.

Which of the following reasons does the author use to emphasize why using a leaf blower is harmful?

A.

Leaf blowers send harmful pollutants into the air.

B.

Some cities have tight restrictions on the use of blowers.

C.

Garden workers are unwilling to give up power tools.

D.

Lawn care reduces the amount of available fresh air.