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.

Congress persisted, and the costs of meeting the new requirement have been modest, less even than the EPA had projected. Electric rates fell slightly in most states. (Thanks to the Environmental Defense Fund, on whose historical account this summary is largely based. There's also more here.)

This story has been repeated countless times. It used to be unthinkable to take the lead out of house paint or gasoline. Our cars would not last and our homes would rot.

Rules related to vinyl chloride would “cause severe economic dislocation" and shut down the auto industry, according to manufacturers. 10 months after the rules were adopted anyway, BF Goodrich announced a new manufacturing process that met the requirements and saved money.

Industry's fight to reverse Arlington's leaf-blower restrictions is the same story writ small.

Businesses claim special expertise about their operations, and for good reason.

Who is best qualified to know the effects on operations, costs, and prices than the businesses who provide the goods and services, and make payroll, every day? Certainly not some do-gooders from the government.

However, industry also has a special blind spot. It is making money off of the status quo, and resists change.

As Upton Sinclair once said, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it."

The landscapers who are fighting seasonal restrictions on leaf blowers are following this pattern. They resist change to their business model, though the restrictions are modest.

They predict economic disaster and describe the restrictions as if they were human-rights violations.

These hard-working local businesses deserve our respect and attention, but they are not entitled to make these decisions for Arlington based on their own jumped-up fears.

The Clean Air Act has had tangible health and economic benefits far in excess of costs.

The right decision on leaf blowers must weigh not only the costs to industry but also the benefits to others.

Just to review:

• The bylaw passed at Town Meeting prohibits gas-powered leaf blowers from May 15 to October 15, when leaves are scarce and windows are open.
• Other lawn equipments, including electric leaf blowers, can operate all the time. ALL leaf blowers can operate MOST of the time, including ALL of leaf season.
• This proposal was a compromise seeking to balance everyone's rights.
• The restrictions apply equally to everyone in the lawn-care industry, so no one is singled out or put at special disadvantage. It's still a level playing field. It's fair.
  

Let's give it a try for a few years.