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More cities consider bans on gas-powered leaf blowers

CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — Cities across the nation are looking to ban the use of gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers in order to reduce carbon emissions, noise and air pollution.

The push comes after California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill in October that will end the sale of gas-powered landscaping equipment in the state.


The bill directs state regulators to stop selling gas-powered equipment with small off-road engines by Jan. 1, 2024, or once the California Air Resources Board says such a law is “feasible,” whichever date comes later.

Now other cities, including Boston and New York City, are considering action on the issue.

Democratic California Assemblymember Marc Berman, who authored the legislation, said this is a modest way to limit the massive amounts of pollution that such equipment emits.

“As they (people) learn about the smog emissions and the climate change, creating pollutants that a lot of this equipment creates, they realize that this is really some pretty low-hanging fruit for us to be able to address the impacts of climate change in California and across the country,” Berman said Tuesday on NewsNation’s “The Donlon Report.”

But former Texas state Rep. Rick Green, who also appeared on “The Donlon Report” said it should be up to the individual to decide, not the state government.

“The problem here is just government getting out of its lane,” Green said. “Let the market decide this. Let local entities decide this if they want.”

But California is not banning the use of gas-powered equipment in 2024. They are only banning the sale of them, Berman explained.

“If you’ve got your gas guzzler, you can keep on using it until it breaks down. But we want to send that signal to the market that, ‘Hey, you’re going to have a market of 40 million people here in California that are going to be excited to buy this zero-emission equipment that works just as good as your gas-powered equipment. It’s cheaper in the long run and it breaks down less.’ So you know, I think it’s a win-win.”

Berman said many electric lawnmowers rival the power of gas lawnmowers. He said they also are much quieter when it comes to operation, along with the lack of toxic fumes.

“So this is something that helps the environment, it helps the workers and it makes our communities a heck of a lot less quieter, which we … all appreciate.”

Green said this ban would hurt the landscape industry by forcing business owners to upgrade the equipment they are allowed to use.

“What they’re doing is just making it harder for the hard-working people out there that make your yard look good,” Green said.

Some cities such as Montclair, New Jersey, and Burlington, Vermont, have implemented seasonal bans on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. Last year, lawmakers in Illinois introduced a bill that would ban the use or sale of gas-powered leaf blowers. New York also has introduced a similar bill.

The Hill contributed to this report.