How Bad For The Environment Are Gas-powered Leaf Blowers?

A 2011 test by the car experts at Edmunds showed that “a consumer­grade leaf blower emits more pollutants than a 6,200­ pound 2011 Ford F­150 SVT Raptor.” The company subjected a truck, a sedan, a four­stroke and a two­stroke leaf blower to automotive emissions tests and found that under normal usage conditions — alternating the blower between high power and idle, for example — the two­stroke engine emitted nearly 299 times the hydrocarbons of the pickup truck and 93 times the hydrocarbons of the sedan. The blower emitted many times as much carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides as well. The four­stroke engine performed significantly better than the two­stroke in most of the categories, but still far worse than the car engines. READ MORE HERE >