dcdude

I try not to get too political or stick my neck out, but I feel compelled to speak up on this one. Over in the Big Blue drying towel thread, many of us are touting the benefits of drying with a 2-stroke leaf blower. I don't doubt the effectiveness of this technique. What concerns me is the environmental impact.

As you might expect, the emissions equipment on our 4-stroke gas-powered lawn and garden equipment isn't nearly as sophisticated as what we have on our cars. As a result, we spew out 93(!) times more pollution than our cars every time we use one: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/24/us/24lawn.html

2-stroke stuff like leaf blowers and line trimmers is even worse: http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/offroad/sm_en_fs.pdf

I was able to trade in my lawn mower and get a $400 electric Neutron for $100 as part of a program sponsored by my local air quality control district. This year's event was a huge sell-out: http://www.aqmd.gov/tao/lawnmower2009.html Maybe something similar is offered in your area?

Here's more info on the Neutron. They also have a leaf blower!
http://www.neutonpower.com/

I see a lot of professional gardeners still using the 2-stroke line trimmers. I hold the people that hire them responsible. If you employ a gardener, you could still shift to electric gear and ask them to use it at your house, at least. Not trying to start a fight here, just asking that we all take a moment to pause and consider.

Rinty

I agree, 2 strokes are environmentally nasty.

However, my 2 stroke weed whacker/trimmer runs on a fuel mixture of 100/1 Opti oil, and I uses about 2 litres of fuel a season.

My 2 stroke snow blower goes through about 4 litres per winter.

Rick

Great topic...and something we should think through & take action as appropriate...but on a 993 forum?

nile13

Chuck, please take the following not as a personal attack, but as a cause to pause for a thought. Below is my _opinion_.

Consider this. I paid for your electric mower. Yep, where do you think this "air quality control district" got the money if not directly from my taxes (yours too)?

It's June 12s and it's 63F in Boston at high Noon. It was 55F yesterday. Where is Gore and his global warming (I ask politely over the Internet that Gore invented)? When will all teh talk swing to global cooling, like it did in the 60s (by the same people, mind you)?

Where is scientific proof that your electric mower is better for anything (and please don't vaguely say "environment" - do you know how the electricity for it was produced, what it's efficiency is when talking electricity production and transportation into consideration, and how much environmental damage this thing really causes vs. a gas powered mower?)?

Do you ever use a grille? Do you know the amounts of emissions from that thing? Does your gardner drive in the latest ELEV non-diesel truck that doesn't spew cancerogens from its tail pipe (these are real, not some ephemeral "environment pollutants").

All in all, I find it at the very least odd that we, as people driving 10+ year old 16mpg cars would be discussing this here. Very odd.

I'll get off my soap box now before I say how I really feel about this.

jason952

the REAL inconvenient truth relates to the hard left and BO using the leverage provided by environmental radicals to simply grow the gov't and raises taxes. It's foolish to believe the real power brokers on the left actually care about the environment.

If anyone would like to give me their 993 for a cash-4-clunkers, I will gladly give you a receipt and maybe that can be deducted from your taxes...maybe.

Deadeye

I'll give up my two stroke leaf blower when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

Texas993

I use an electric blower to dry my car....

wellcraft290

I use electric leaf blower to dry the car don't want the gas residue. And how do you think electric is made? Lots of power stations still use coal to make it. Just like these electric cars. How do the batteries come to exist? I guess they dig up teh iron with battery operated dump trucks and diggers?

ironimages

+1

goofballdeluxe

When you see the brown soup called air that Chuck and I hafta breathe every day here in Los Angeles, it sure makes you wanna take any steps at all that might mitigate it. This crappy air didn't exist 100 years ago.

At the end of the day, we are stewards of this planet. One need only to look around or read the paper to see that we've done a **** poor job taking care of it. I'm sure there are many arguments for and against all these topics, i.e. global warming, but no question we're down a path that will ensure that our kids and grandkids inherit a place that not as good as the one we were left.

Geoffrey

I simply burn fossil fuel for fun!!! I'm so tired of all of the environmental noise and love my 2 stroke leaf blower, weed wacker, lawn mower, and dirt bike.

Rinty

I read that the air quality in the basin had improved, during the last few decades?

goofballdeluxe

Yes, it went from choking to merely stifling!

Actually it has gotten better. Anyone wanna guess why? Because of changes, like the ones Chuck speaks of in his original post.

dcdude

Yes, there is still coal generation, but SoCal Edison is generating 16% of our power (soon to be 20%) from renewables:
http://www.sce.com/PowerandEnvironme...wableresources

I agree, it's odd that we're discussing this here, but I see 1,500 miles a year on my 993 as a non-negotiable, so I'm eager to offset where I can. But like I said, we were discussing this in the context of drying a 993 after washing. I guess I should have added "OT" at the beginning of the subject.

Rinty

I drive mine mostly on the highway, where it gets about 25 m.p.g.(U.S.), which is pretty decent mileage. And if I didn't have it, I'd be flying another Mooney, at 8 gallons (U.S.) per hour.

The report I read said that the improvements were the result mainly of reduced motor vehicle emissions.