BoomerGirl Diary

According to a recent Swedish Environmental study, spending an hour mowing your lawn can spew the same amount of noxious fumes as a 100 mile car trip. Running a leaf blower for half an hour generates as much pollution as driving a car 110 miles. (Here’s a four-letter suggestion: R-a-k-e) And, all together gas powered lawn care equipment contributes 10-12% of the nation’s air pollution according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

I’ve never been a big fan of the lawn. My own front lawn, despite considerable care and cultivation, remained thirsty, rusty, weedy and quite unreasonable. That’s why, as I write these infinite pearls of wisdom, it’s being dug up and removed by “my people.” It’s a wrap, baby! In its place I’ll be planting native and drought tolerant plants.

It’s estimated that Americans use nearly 100 million outdoor power tools, ie: snow blowers, trimmers, leaf blowers, tillers, chain saws and other smaller, gas-guzzling, pollution-spewing backyard contraptions. While we homeowners are busy pushing power-gizmoes in an attempt to give our yards a neatly manicured yet totally natural appearance, we’re gifting our neighborhood with high doses of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, lead and other particulate matter. Blended together with a dry, sunny, summer day we’re baking a nice thick layer-cake of ground level ozone, which is a dangerous, not-so-tasty toxic gas. The ozone layer up in the sky (or what’s left of it) is protecting us from the sun’s rays but ground level ozone is too close for comfort and a serious health hazard, especially to young children and the elderly.

So what can we do to keep from developing chronic lung disease, asthma or respiratory infections? Get out the rake and swipe that antique push-mower from grandpa’s garage. Consider buying electric or battery powered yard appliances. Chris Sparks, CEO of California-based Ecohaul and a winner of the EPA’s 2007 Environmental Achievement Award, has some simple advice for home gardeners wanting a fresh start. “Homeowners can take old gas powered lawn mowers to many resource recovery centers across the U.S. For a small fee they’ll take your old lawn mower (with oil and fuel tank on empty) and recycle the parts.” Visit www.ecohaul.com for more information.

Or, hire eco-landscape professionals who come to your home or business with less-polluting lawn and garden tools. Clean Air Lawn Care just is an environmentally friendly alternative. Mill Nash, owner of the new Northern California franchise of this wonderfully green company shares, “Most people don’t know that there is a lawn care choice that not only does not pollute but also focuses on building a healthy soil without using the chemicals that kill-off the important biology in the dirt and produce runoff that poisons the eco-system.” That’s music to my compost-filled ears! Go on, Mr. Clean. “Northern California has long been a leader in environmental change, so I knew that this was an exciting opportunity to offer a solution to an often overlooked area. It’s an easy choice that anyone can make to reduce their own carbon footprint, help eliminate chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides in their community, and have a yard that is safe for both their children and their pets.”

Every aspect of Clean Air Lawn Care uses clean energy. The company uses only electric lawn equipment along with organic lawn treatments and nutritious compost tea. Electric mowers, edgers and blowers are utilized, as well as ride-on mowers fueled by biodiesel. The vehicles used to transport the electric-powered tools have solar panels mounted on them, which are used to charge the equipment during the day. Any emissions associated with powering their equipment or driving their trucks is offset with renewable energy credits. This reduces their mowing service’s net emissions to zero. Does it get any better than that? It does. Their electric lawn mowers cut noise emissions by 50-75%. The equipment is not only green but quiet and competitively priced.

Clean Air Lawn Care was started in 2006 by successful landscape professional/stockbroker Kelly Giard, in Fort Collins, Colorado and now has franchises nationally. Giard spent some time perfecting the equipment and now the entire business is carbon-neutral. He’s also formed a product development partnership with Black and Decker. So far the reaction across the U.S. has been very positive.

“People are thirsty for a green alternative, and our franchises are designed to give them a choice. Our core business is high-end residential. We can service most any property though. We service condo associations in Seattle, a low-income apartment complex in Portland, property managers in Austin, and a Colorado State University facility,” Giard points out.

And for you beer lovers looking for an excuse to buy another six-pack of “Fat Tire” at Trader Joe’s, you’ll be happy to know that the landscaped property at the New Belgium Brewing Company headquarters is kept green by Clean Air Lawn Care’s fleet of biodiesel and solar-powered lawn tools.

For more ecological enlightenment, go to www.cleanairlawncare.com and click on the bottom left where it reads “Clean Lawn Calculator.” Enter the square footage of your lawn and you’ll see the environmental impact of mowing, trimming and blowing your lawn every week.

Lastly my friends, a final dirt diva factoid to send you on your murky, combustible way: The Environmental Protection Agency claims that 17 million gallons of fuel, mostly gasoline, are spilled each year while refueling lawn equipment. That’s more than the oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez, in the Gulf of Alaska.

Are we drunk with shame or what? ...