![]() The ban also allows anyone who sees or hears a gas-powered leaf blower to file a complaint – they don't need a city inspector to witness it.ĭenver-area regulators are considering restrictions that primarily target large commercial and municipal users but provide exemptions for homeowners. ![]() 1, 2022, and levying $500 fines for violators, unless they're on federal property. Washington, D.C., has a much stricter ban, barring the use of gas-powered leaf blowers by anyone within the district as of Jan. ![]() People can keep using the ones they already own and can resell used ones. California's ban phases in next year and prohibits the sale of new small gas engines. READ MORE Latest climate change news from USA TODAY What states and cities have moved to ban gas lawn equipment?Ĭalifornia has already taken the biggest step in banning the engines, which are formally known as "small off road engines," or SOREs. How does climate change affect you? Subscribe to the weekly Climate Point newsletter And now you don't," said Susan Orlins, who helped pass the district's toughest-in-the-nation ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. The absence of noisy leaf blowers is already being felt in Washington. "You used to hear them all day, everywhere you went. While many critics first attacked the small engines for the noise they make, experts say these small, two-stroke engines release shockingly large amounts of pollution – two problems that modern and increasingly affordable electric-powered equipment solves. Vancouver, British Columbia, also has restrictions in place. Environmentalists say using a commercial gas leaf blower for an hour produces emissions equal to driving from Denver to Los Angeles.Īmong cities and states with bans or limits: California Burlington, Vermont and Washington, D.C. Regulators and clean-air advocates are increasingly eyeing the pollution emitted by small gasoline engines used to power lawn mowers and leaf blowers as they seek to blunt climate change. DENVER – Your lawn may be the next climate change battleground.
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