The City of Kingston showed leadership by being the first community in Ontario to declare a climate emergency.

To meet the city’s goals of net-zero by 2040, residents need to contribute too.

The city can show leadership and enable residents to lower their emissions by:

Banning the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in the city of Kingston by 2024.

Why do this?

Gas-powered leaf blowers contribute to climate change.

Using a gas-powered leaf blower for 2 hours releases about 25 lbs of CO2 into the atmosphere. [1]

Gas-powered leaf blowers pollute the air.

They produce carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides and carcinogenic hydrocarbons that we then breathe in. Climate change is going to make respiratory illnesses worse in Ontario - we need to do everything we can to clear the air.

A study from 2011 found that a two stroke gas-powered leaf blower spews out more pollution than a 6200 lbs Ford F-150 pick up truck [2]

They are extremely noisy.

Gas-powered leaf blowers produce about 100 decibels of noise, which is equivalent to a plane taking off. They reduce the quality of life in every neighbourhood. They also cause hearing loss.

They harm biodiversity.

Leaf blowers kill insect life, which makes our soil poorer quality and erodes the food chain.

The National Capital Commission in Ottawa, Victoria, California, Washington, DC, and many other jurisdictions are phasing out or banning leaf blowers. Here in Kingston, the city has stopped using them for almost all outdoor uses. There are quieter, cleaner alternatives available. [3]

We have the power to make this change. It will not only support our climate goals, it will make our air cleaner and streets more peaceful. It’s time for leaf blowers to blow away.

[1] Margaret Renkl, New York Times, Oct.21st, 2021 (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/25/opinion/leaf-blowers-california-emissions.html?referringSource=articleShare


[2]William Gough, Vidya Anderson, Kris Herod, Ontario Health and Climate Change, Long Term Modelling Study, 2016, https://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/common/ministry/publications/reports/climate_change_toolkit/climate_change_health_modelling_study.pdf https://www.edmunds.com/about/press/leaf-blowers-emissions-dirtier-than-high-performance-pick-up-trucks-says-edmunds-insidelinecom.html

[3] "The 6 Best Leaf Blowers of 2021" New York Times, Nov. 3rd, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-leafblowers/