Comments on: The Leaf Blower and the Land Rover http://www.czb.org/blog/2009/11/the-leaf-blower-and-the-land-rover/ neighborhoods community society equity Wed, 26 Oct 2011 11:59:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Elizabeth http://www.czb.org/blog/2009/11/the-leaf-blower-and-the-land-rover/comment-page-1/#comment-290 Elizabeth Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:02:14 +0000 http://www.czb.org/blog/?p=121#comment-290 Years ago, in the eco-topia of Portland, a burly neighbor walked by as I took off 100 square feet of turf with a spade and muscle power. "You're crazy!" he said, shaking his head. Perhaps in that blue collar neighborhood the residents were still close enough to daily manual labor to shun it as a leisure activity. Maybe he just liked power tools. In any case, the costs and benefits are all screwy. The cost of maintaining a perfectly manicured yard goes down to the point where everyone is expected to keep one, though the environmental costs are obscene. Years ago, in the eco-topia of Portland, a burly neighbor walked by as I took off 100 square feet of turf with a spade and muscle power. “You’re crazy!” he said, shaking his head.

Perhaps in that blue collar neighborhood the residents were still close enough to daily manual labor to shun it as a leisure activity. Maybe he just liked power tools. In any case, the costs and benefits are all screwy. The cost of maintaining a perfectly manicured yard goes down to the point where everyone is expected to keep one, though the environmental costs are obscene.

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