January 24, 2023

Dear Members of Telluride Town Council,

We respectfully ask the Telluride Town Council to pass a local ordinance that would phase out the use of noisy, polluting combustion leaf blowers, weed whackers and lawn mowers in Telluride by 2026 for the following reasons:

• Combustion lawncare equipment can now be capably and economically replaced with clean and comparatively quiet electric equipment.[i]  
• The small, inefficient engines used in combustion lawncare equipment pollute heavily, often worse than large trucks or heavy equipment.[ii]   
• In addition to reducing local pollution, electric lawncare alternatives are comparatively quiet, especially important for Telluride as a small, rural town. As well, blaring, noxious lawn equipment is woefully out of step with the Telluride’s commitment to lowering the emissions that contribute to climate change.
• A wide variety of communities and municipalities are embracing electrification of lawn care equipment.[iii] 
• The San Miguel Power Association (SMPA) now offers generous incentives to consumers and contractors so as to smooth the transition from legacy combustion equipment to electric alternatives.[iv]   

PLEASE SIGN SPECIFYING WHERE YOU LIVE --  e.g. Telluride, Lawson, Mt Village, Ski Ranches, Ophir, Down Valley, elsewhere

NOTE: THIS CAMPAIGN REQUIRES NO FUNDING. PLEASE IGNORE THE CHANGE.ORG REQUEST TO "CHIP IN." 

[i] See: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2021/06/30/electric-lawn-care/​

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-21/lawn-mowers-are-the-next-electric-frontier

 
[ii] See: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-09/documents/banks.pdf   ; “Gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment (GLGE) ranging from string trimmers to stump grinders and tractors is a source of high levels of localized emissions that includes hazardous air pollutants, criteria pollutants, and carbon dioxide (CO2).1-4 Workers using commercial equipment are exposed when they are close to the emitting sources several hours each day, several days a week in seasons of use. Other members of the public, including children, may also be exposed to high levels of emissions from commercial landscape maintenance equipment (GLME) such as leaf blowers, trimmers, and mowers, used routinely around residential neighborhoods, schools, parks, and other public spaces.”

 
[iii] The latest major metro area to pass a lawncare bane is Seattle: https://www.seattlemet.com/news-and-city-life/2022/09/seattle-leaf-blower-ban-city-council ; a list of other cities can be found here: https://backyardgadget.com/leaf-blower-noise-restrictions-in-the-usa/#Colorado; Washington D.C. was one of the first major metro areas to enact a ban on gasoline-power leaf blowers, and the ban went in to effect starting in 2022. A copy of that legislation can be found here: https://trackbill.com/bill/district-of-columbia-bill-234-leaf-blower-regulation-amendment-act-of-2017/1445642/ ; In 2021, California became the first state to enact a state-wide ban on gasoline powered lawncare equipment; the ban will go into effect in 2024; the announcement of the legislation can be found here: https://a24.asmdc.org/press-releases/20211011-california-becomes-first-state-nation-phase-out-gas-powered-leaf-blowers ; Colorado towns banning gasoline powered lawncare equipment include Carbondale and Aspen.

 
[iv] The SMPA’s current incentives for electrifying outdoor power tools can be found here (https://smpa.com/energy and these incentives are slated to increase meaningfully this fall.

Other Resources:

Clean Quiet Seattle: https://quietcleanseattle.org/index.html

Clean Quiet Washington D.C.: https://www.quietcleandc.com/

The American Green Zone Alliance: https://agza.net/