RE: https://mstdn.social/@rysiek/116686479053689966
A leaf blower. That something is a leaf blower. See also it's digital equivalent, "generative AI."
(Neither I, nor Cate Blanchett, will be taking any questions at this time. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/cate-blanchett-vs-leaf-blowers-unpacking-the-oscar-winners-years-long-crusade-against-the-lawn-care-device)
I know some folks who'd want the guy jailed anyway
https://www.boston.com/news/off-beat/2026/06/02/bazooka-leaf-blower-mixup-bridgewater/
Was about to sit outside for 20 minutes to enjoy a coffee and some quiet… when three goons showed up with leaf blowers on my neighbours property. Not only is it insanely loud, but they are making airborn any remaining chemicals and spores and ruining the homes of all sorts of critters. Town won’t do fuck all to curb this lawn culture. I can feel my blood pressure rise.
Adding: not to mention all the shit those things pump out in their exhaust!
#PlasticPatrol: the #CitizenScientists tackling #litter in #Australian #waterways
#Plastics make up the majority of litter across the country. In the absence of regulation, the public are taking matters into their own hands
by James Norman, Fri 30 Jan 2026
"Neil Blake weighs a paper bag of fake grass fragments he has collected from a stormwater gutter near #DarebinCreek in #Melbourne’s north.
"Over the past three years Blake has conducted 56 collections of synthetic turf in the waterway alongside the KP Hardiman Reserve hockey pitch.
" 'I noticed that a local hockey pitch was being replaced and the plastic surface was running off into the local environment,' he says. Strong northerly winds and #LeafBlowers had helped shed the turf fragments into the local #environment.
"In addition to impacts on #AquaticEcosystems, scientific analysis suggests #PlasticPollution is exacerbating #ClimateChange, #biodiversity loss and #OceanAcidification.
"Australians produce more than 3m tonnes of plastic waste each year, and according to Clean Up’s annual survey of parks, beaches, creeks and other public spaces, plastics make up more than 80% of litter across the country. A review by the New South Wales chief scientist found that one #SyntheticTurf field could transport between 10kg and 100kg of plastic fragments into the #stormwater system or local waterways.
"Blake has taken advantage of the electronic scales provided by the newly opened community science laboratory in the Port Phillip #EcoCentre in #StKilda, to quantify his samples to present to the local council and the Environment Protection Authority. The lab hosts facilities including microscopes, measuring equipment, safety gear and access to advice from trained scientists.
"It’s one example of citizen scientists tackling the growing problem of plastics in #waterways, including #beaches, #rivers and dive sites around the country."
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/okVtk
#SolarPunkSunday #LitterCleanup #NewSouthWales #Australia #PlasticTurf #PlasticPollution #CitizenScience #WaterIsLife #Astroturf #PlasticPollution #Microplastics
In Australia the holiday season is the season to use petrol gardening equipment all day, every day. Pythons, lizards, frogs and insects are simply shredded and mulched alive.
Robotic lawn mowers and fossil fuel gardening tools are shredding wildlife
"Scientists analyzed 370 documented cases of hedgehogs being injured (cut) by electric gardening tools in Germany. Almost half of the hedgehogs found ... did not survive the injuries. The data reveal a serious animal welfare and conservation issue for these specially protected animals, as most hedgehogs were only found hours or even days after the accidents." >>
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/01/240123122229.htm
#biodiversity #wildlife #conservation #lawns #gardens #GardeningTools #robots #LawnMowing #machines #harm #gardening #WhipperSnipper #LeafBlowers #mowers #FossilFuel #RoboticMowers #GardeningEquipment #PlasticNetting
Image: Bracca matutinata (Southern Bracca), Bellingen, NSW
Walnut Creek has banned gas-powered leaf blowers.
Noise is the obvious pollutant that many focus on, but emissions from 2-stroke engines are startlingly toxic, including a mix of:
- Carcinogens (benzene, PAHs)
- Lung irritants (PM2.5, NOx)
- Toxic gases (CO)
- Smog-forming chemicals (VOCs, hydrocarbons)
Best is not to use leaf blowers at all (they lift topsoil into the air), but battery is orders of magnitude less harmful.
I was talking to my supervisor about the quietness of the snow day -- blissfully without #Snowblowers! I commented on how the same people were the ones with #Lawnmowers and #Leafblowers. My supervisor replied, "But everyone has those. At least where I live."
I replied, "We don't! We have a snow pusher and a couple of shovels, we leave the leaves alone, and when we do mow, it's either using a grass whip or a push-mower. No noise, lots of exercise!"
And yes, I hope to get our yard to the point where the grass whip is all we might need occasionally. I want to redo most of our *lawn* with native grasses and wildflowers.
#SolarPunkSunday #PushMowers #NoisePollution #LeaveTheLeaves
Joanie with the Good Hair 😷
Steam Powered Frisbee 🥏
Tab Combs
Out of Control 
🇨🇦
DoomsdaysCW
BellingenNSW
mmalc
Daryl Elliott
Heliograph
