Vote Thursday July 19

Blowing dust from yard to yard

Polls are open 2-8 PM. Click to find your polling location.

When industry doesn't know best

When Congress proposed to control acid rain 20 years ago, the reaction from industry was swift and sure.

• The Edison Electric Institute predicted it would cost power companies $4.5 billion annually to meet the proposed caps on sulfur dioxide, which combines with hydrogen and oxygen to form acid rain.
• Business Roundtable projected $104 billion per year.
• The American Electric Power Company warned of the "potential destruction of the Midwest economy."

Electric rates would skyrocket, they said. And, for nothing.

Dust blows two ways-both illegal

When collecting leaves, blowers typically direct all the leaves to a central location (eg, street or a tarp) where they are all collected and disposed of properly. That is not typically the case in the summer.

Businesses know best

Some, especially those in the landscaping business, repeat the meme that "businesses know best" how to run their own business. Citizens, goes the argument, should stop trying to say anything about how businesses run themselves.

July 19: Two votes in one

Hidden inside the town-wide leaf-blower vote on July 19 is a second vote.

What about lawn mowers, snow blowers or chain saws?

Or string trimmers or lawn aerators or any other motorized items one might use in their yard?

The answer: None of them send toxic pesticides and herbicides onto/into neighbor's property so effectively.

Putting it all together

The previous five posts (see below) laid out the basics about the health threat leaf blowers pose in a densely populated suburban setting like Arlington:

• Pour dangerous chemicals on yards, many of which already have lead contaminated soil,
• Direct hurricane force winds of 250 mph at the soil, raising contaminants into the air,
• Watch as the various health hazards form a dust cloud which spreads beyond your yard, goes through open windows, lands on children's toys, etc.