Resources and Links
MC Proposed Leafblower Phaseout Legislation
Amendments to MC Code Chapter 31B to "phase out the sale of handheld and backpack combustion engine-powered leaf blowers and vacuums beginning six months from enactment, and their use twelve months from enactment." (Click here to view or download)
Equipment, Rebates, Contractors
Local Government Action
Town of Somerset, MD
"Gas-Powered Leaf Blower Ban Now Begins on September 1, 2022," Somerset Town Journal Dec. 2021
"Ban Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers," Mother Earth Project
Media
Icahn School of Medicine: "Gas Leaf Blowers are Health Hazards," Dec. 5, 2022
Maryland Matters by MD Delegate Foley: "There's a More Environmentally Sound, Quieter Way to Clear Our Yards," Feb. 2022
James Fallows blog: "Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers Are Going Away. Really." Oct. 4, 2022
Bethesda Beat: "County Council introduces legislation banning gas-powered leaf blowers", June 30, 2022
NY Times: "Here’s a Better Way to Deal With Your Leaves. Your Neighbors, and the Planet, Will Thank You," April 15, 2022
Yahoo News: "Gas-powered leaf blowers face a moment of reckoning," Feb. 3, 2022
Guardian: "Tree-mendous news: noisy gas-powered leaf blowers banned in Washington DC," Jan. 5, 2022
Washington Post: "California set to become first state to ban gasoline-powered lawn equipment," October 12, 2021
Washington Post: "Lawn care is going electric. And the revolution is here to stay." June 30, 2021
"From conservative Alabama to crunchy California, electric lawn equipment is quietly sweeping the nation."
Washington Post Letter to the Editor: "A simple fix for Montgomery County’s climate promise," April 21, 2021
NYTimes: "The Robots Are Coming…to Mow Your Lawn," April 6, 2021
"Gas-power yard equipment spews noise and pollutants. Newer models, using batteries or electricity, are quieter and greener, and might even manage themselves."
WTOP radio: "Thousands in Montgomery Co. sign petition for ban on gas-powered leaf blowers,"February 3, 2021
WAMU Radio dcist: Following D.C.’s Lead, Montgomery County Residents Petition To Ban Gas Leaf Blowers, February 2, 2021
Atlantic Monthly: "Get Off My Lawn":
"How a small group of activists (our correspondent among them) got leaf blowers banned in the nation’s capital' by James Fallows, Atlantic Monthly, April 2019