Ban Leaf Blowers

I was trying to listen to some good music this afternoon, and keep cool at the same time with the windows open, when my ears were assaulted by the roar of a small, unmuffled gasoline engine. I went to the window to find a hale and strapping 17-year-old gardner blowing leaves, clippings and grass cuttings down the driveway with one of those portable gasoline-powered blowers.

It seems to me that we need to start somewhere in disciplining ourselves about the use of fossil fuels. That need is accented by the Mid-East goings-on. We must become more energy-conscious.

Banning said blowers would save fuel, decrease air pollution and also decrease noise pollution, thus making summer Saturdays, as well as other days, more pleasant. It would give the chance for a little more exercise to the gardner. It would do little harm to the task of gardening.

I am normally an adaptive kind of guy. When the neighbor’s dog yaps all night, I transcend it. When someone cuts me off while I’m driving, I smile. But this is too much. It is such a useless machine; a perfect example of a labor-saving device run amok. Let’s ban them.

C. DAVID HOLLENBECK

San Diego