Although we don’t realize it, outdoor power tools like lawnmowers, gas-powered leaf blowers, and chainsaws emit a ton of emissions from the gasoline burned in them. According to the California Air Resources Board: “Currently, a new gas-powered mower running for 1 hour produces similar emissions to the average car driving for 100 miles.” That’s a lot of emissions for cutting the lawn. Granted, we don’t cut the lawn twice a day like we use our cars for a commute, but nonetheless, the emissions are real.
These considerations were on my mind when my local electric cooperative recently transformed my front yard by removing trees to protect the power line. At first, I was abhorred by the idea, but then he showed me where the power lines were burning the trees and told me that if I leaned on the trees when the wind was blowing, there was a good chance I would get shocked. Not that I had much choice, but it did make me realize this was probably necessary.