Protect Durham, Oregon’s residents and lawn crews from the harmful health effects of gas-powered leaf blowers.
Gas-powered leaf blowers regularly pollute Durham, Oregon’s air with dangerous levels of toxins and noise, increasing health risks and decreasing living values.
Our goal is to get Durham to join the 100+ cities that have banned the use of the gas-powered blower in favor of cleaner, quieter and more efficient tools. Join your neighbors and tell our city council you deserve a clean and safe home.
Gas-powered leaf blowers are bad for Durham, Oregon’s kids’ health. Like really bad.
If you’re the parent or grandparent of kids who spend time in Durham, Oregon, your loved ones are regularly being exposed to toxins that are known to travel deep into the lungs causing health problems including asthma. With a multitude of cleaner and quieter alternatives available, there’s no reason to subject the most vulnerable amongst us to increased health risks.
When it comes to pollution, the 2-stroke leaf blower is the absolute worst.
How bad can that little blower be? Turns out, really bad. The 2-stroke blowers heard roaring throughout Durham, Oregon every day are terribly inefficient, burning only about 60 percent of their fuel while spewing the rest into the neighborhood. According to study by Edmunds and the California EPA the hydrocarbon emissions from less than ONE hour of yard work with a two-stroke leaf blower are the same as an 1,100+ mile drive in an automobile.
“Children are highly susceptible to these hazards [gas-powered leaf blowers] because they breathe more air per pound of body weight per day than adults and thus inhale more of any pollutants that are thrown into the air by this equipment. Children’s vulnerability is further magnified by the fact that their lungs, ears, eyes, and other organ systems are still developing, making them inherently more sensitive to environmental hazards than the organs of adults.”
Keeping your home clean is your right. So is breathing clean air. Thankfully, we can do both.
Living under a canopy of trees is beautiful. It also makes for a lot of work. As any Durham, Oregon resident can attest, trees drop things. Constantly. But the act of cleaning up after them doesn’t have to be so incredibly dirty. Today, there are a multitude of clean tools and environmentally friendly services that can keep our community beautiful and healthy.
Kingsgate Neighborhood Covenant - July 18th, 1977
“No noxious or offensive activity shall be carried on upon any lot, nor shall anything be done or placed upon any lot which interferes with or jeoparidizes the enjoyment of other lots or Open Space within KINGSGATE.”
Tell Durham, Oregon’s city council you deserve clean air.
Let your city council know you’re tired of the incessant roar of gas-powered leaf blowers, and don’t want your kids breathing in all those toxins. Tell them it’s time to enforce limitations that protects its residents.
“Electric blowers don’t have enough power.” FALSE.
For years, an argument could be made that electric blowers weren’t up for the job. But those arguments–and puny blowers–are relics of the past. Today’s electric blowers beat gas in every way. They’re more powerful, they don’t pollute, and even when revving their engines they’re multitudes quieter. And yes, they’re affordable and don’t require refilling with expensive gas. Picking one up for yourself, or to lend to your lawn care crew has never been easier.
Value your lawn care crew? Then value their health.
Protecting lawn care crews’ jobs is paramount. The people who grind tireless through rain, shine, freezing cold and blistering heat, deserve better than to double their risk of cancer. Often immigrants, or non-native english speakers, they are rarely covered by the same generous corporate medical plans of the people who contract them. With so many cleaner and quieter tools available, there’s no excuse to jeopardize their long-term health. We must do better.
“A typical leaf blower reportedly burns just 60 percent of its fuel—the rest is spewed into the atmosphere. The two-stroke gas engines that power most leaf blowers use is an antiquated technology that has been phased out in nearly all areas—except yard work.”
The sound of gas blowers may not bother you. But it may be killing you.
According to a new study, pulsating sounds from jet engines and leaf blowers, which both can clock over 90 decibels, are not just annoying—they contribute to a largely unrecognized health threat that is increasing the risk of hypertension, stroke and heart attacks worldwide. Even those who claim to be unbothered are affected.
Short-term solutions until the permanent ban:
Use cleaner, quieter alternatives.
Electric blowers have surpassed gas in power, are multitudes quieter, and don’t release fumes. Win-win-win.
Lend your clean and quieter electric blower to your neighbors and yard crews.
If you live near kids, keep in mind little ones’ lungs are still developing and they’re the most susceptible to pollutants.
Consider the elderly, pregnant and newborns in your neighborhoods. Quiet options are a godsend for the mom trying to put her baby down for a nap.
Be courteous about time.
If you use a lawn care crew, schedule them for a weekday and not on weekends when most people are home.
Avoid gas-blowing after 3 PM when the kids are home from school, and families are eating dinner.
If weekends are your only chance to do yard work, consider the person on the other side of the fence and opt for a quieter tool.
Don’t blow on public holidays when everyone is home.
Talk to your neighbors about coordinating blowing times to get it all done at once.
Just leave the leaves be!
If you’re like most Durham residents, you retreat indoors during the fall and winter months.
While staying warm inside you can rest assured your leaves aren’t hurting anyone outside. In fact, they are helping replenish the natural ecosystem that makes Durham so beautiful.
Rather than trying to catch every leaf as it falls, leaving them until fall ends helps protect the environment and helps saves you time, effort and money.
