July 3, 2015
Supervisor F. Petrone;
Huntington Town Board members;
100 Main Street
Huntington, NY 11743
Supervisor Petrone and Members of the Board,
The Sierra Club Long Island group, with more than 6,000 members in Nassau and Suffolk counties, is a division of the nation’s oldest grassroots nonprofit environmental organization whose motto is to “explore, enjoy and protect the planet”. We advocate for policies and laws that protect our land, water, and air. As such, we urge you, the Huntington Town Board members, to put restrictions on the use of Gas leaf blowers.
Gas leaf blowers are of concern because of their many negative impacts, including
· Noise pollution for animals and people
· Production of greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming
· Use of a fossil fuel, the recovery of which is damaging the environment everywhere it is
extracted and processed
· High levels of particulate matter in the air, which the blowers stir up, that irritate lung tissue
making breathing difficult for those with lung conditions such as asthma and increase lung
diseases
The first three of these impacts would be greatly reduced or eliminated by curtailing the use of gas leaf blowers while the last can only be eliminated by banning the use of all leaf blowers.
Yet we know leaf blowers are a valuable tool for property maintenance companies, and electric models are less convenient than gas models, but with the exception of spring and fall cleanups, the maintenance of most properties can be done as well or better with a rake and a broom. And, with the use of these latter devices, there is less chance of airborne particulates or debris winding up in roadways and on neighboring properties.
As part of our effort to make people aware of the damaging and unhealthy effects of gas leaf blowers, we ran an article by Bonnie Sager in our summer newsletter. We received more supportive calls as a result of that article than any other in the 9 years that I have been volunteering with the group, and two of the calls came from lawn maintenance companies (to our great surprise and delight!).
We ask that you, the members of the Huntington Town Board, pass legislation restricting the use of gas leaf blowers, especially between the spring and fall cleanup periods.
Respectfully,
Jane Fasullo
Chair, Sierra Club L.I. group
