Your Lawn Mower Will Kill You

Do you have a lawn? Do you use a lawn mower, a leaf blower, a chainsaw? What powers it? Is it gasoline?

Over five million gas-powered lawn mowers are sold in the United States every year with the designs largely unregulated. The emissions standards which small displacement engines are required to meet are inconsequential compared to those of larger automobile engines, and as a result small displacement engines, mowers, etc. produce MORE pollution than automobiles.

How much more?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says a traditional gas powered lawn mower in a year's use produces as much air pollution as 43 new cars each being driven 12,000 miles. Another source says that one mower running for an hour emits the same amount of pollutants as eight new cars driving 55 mph for the same amount of time. This means that if the exhaust from your mower was used in your car engine, it would actually exit the tailpipe cleaner than when it came in.

In all the EPA concludes that lawn mowers produce 5% of the nations total annual pollution.

Further, some chemicals found in lawn mower emissions are classified as probable carcinogens by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Emissions which are unfiltered from lack of regulation.

Electric mowers are available, but are usually more expensive than their gas-driven counterparts, while a "human powered" hand reel mower can be had for around 70-80 dollars online, with free shipping.