4 ms·

Reductio ad absurdum Blowing leaves is perhaps not the way to manage the organic matter that needs to be embedded in that soil the temporary owner is trying to

Reductio ad absurdum Blowing leaves is perhaps not the way to manage the organic matter that needs to be embedded in that soil the temporary owner is trying to destroy by monocropping homogeneous “grass”, I’ll hope that generally makes collecting organic matter to waste wrapped in individual virgin plastic bags obsolete itself. Groundskeeping could do with a 21st century ecological update… we even had the native plants movement in the 80s I dunno, what about mulching it in sítio? Leaf blowers are also futile in wind.

smallerfish 5y ago
> Blowing leaves is perhaps not the way to manage the organic matter that needs to be embedded in that soil You're doing your own reductionism. Not all leaf blowing is to collect leaves for disposal in plastic bags (and I'm 100% for using leaves as mulch where they fall on beds, and also with not having lawns). Leaves need to be blown out of gutters, drains, and ditches - otherwise the road will start being eroded. Leaves need to be removed from paths and patios, otherwise they will stain the concrete, let moss grow, and make the surface slippery. You try doing that by hand on 8-10 properties in a day, on minimum wage, without health insurance (the situation of most landscape maintenance workers in the US) - and then tell me that banning leaf blowers is a good idea. Leaves on the lawn can easily be mulched in place and used to build up organic matter, as you point out - but that too requires a gasoline engine powered machine. The call should be for banning lawns, if that's the concern - not banning leaf blowers. (I should also mention that if you don't live somewhere with a real winter or dry season that causes heavy leaf fall, your situation isn't representative.)
- nradov 5y ago
  How did landscape maintenance workers perform that task before leaf blowers?
  - smallerfish 5y ago
    How did people cope before cellphones existed? It's the same as my original point - it's a nonsense question. If you want to create additional work for people by doing it in a less technological manner, focus on the served in the society rather than underserved, who are trying to get a leg up in the economy.
  - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
    They didn't. The standards to which we maintained things were far, far lower in the past because doing so was much more laborious and therefore expensive.
    - nradov 5y ago
      It works seem that those lower standards have no significant adverse effect. They only impact trivial stuff like aesthetics.
      - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
        You couldn't slip on wet leaves and expect to sue the property owner back then.
  - bombcar 5y ago
    You didn't have trees in lawns, basically. Look at the pictures of old English manors - there would be hedges next to grass lawns but the trees were few and far between in the lawns. The areas of the garden with trees would be a different thing.
    - nradov 5y ago
      I don't know about England, but trees were common in American lawns since long before leaf blowers existed.

smallerfish 5y ago

> Blowing leaves is perhaps not the way to manage the organic matter that needs to be embedded in that soil You're doing your own reductionism. Not all leaf blowing is to collect leaves for disposal in plastic bags (and I'm 100% for using leaves as mulch where they fall on beds, and also with not having lawns). Leaves need to be blown out of gutters, drains, and ditches - otherwise the road will start being eroded. Leaves need to be removed from paths and patios, otherwise they will stain the concrete, let moss grow, and make the surface slippery. You try doing that by hand on 8-10 properties in a day, on minimum wage, without health insurance (the situation of most landscape maintenance workers in the US) - and then tell me that banning leaf blowers is a good idea. Leaves on the lawn can easily be mulched in place and used to build up organic matter, as you point out - but that too requires a gasoline engine powered machine. The call should be for banning lawns, if that's the concern - not banning leaf blowers. (I should also mention that if you don't live somewhere with a real winter or dry season that causes heavy leaf fall, your situation isn't representative.)

nradov 5y ago
How did landscape maintenance workers perform that task before leaf blowers?
- smallerfish 5y ago
  How did people cope before cellphones existed? It's the same as my original point - it's a nonsense question. If you want to create additional work for people by doing it in a less technological manner, focus on the served in the society rather than underserved, who are trying to get a leg up in the economy.
- throwaway0a5e 5y ago
  They didn't. The standards to which we maintained things were far, far lower in the past because doing so was much more laborious and therefore expensive.
  - nradov 5y ago
    It works seem that those lower standards have no significant adverse effect. They only impact trivial stuff like aesthetics.
    - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
      You couldn't slip on wet leaves and expect to sue the property owner back then.
- bombcar 5y ago
  You didn't have trees in lawns, basically. Look at the pictures of old English manors - there would be hedges next to grass lawns but the trees were few and far between in the lawns. The areas of the garden with trees would be a different thing.
  - nradov 5y ago
    I don't know about England, but trees were common in American lawns since long before leaf blowers existed.