Short-term GLB exposure is directly linked to asthma, cancer, and mortality. GLBs are bad for your neighbors and can seriously harm our landscapers, who inhale the most pollutants. (US EPA 2015 and EPA/Quiet Communities 2015). For more on how landscape workers face disproportionate risks from COVID-19 due to GLBs, see this Quiet Communities report (2020).

GLBs are an eco-disaster contributing to mass insect die-off and declining numbers of birds because they blast insects, soil biodiversity, and habitats at speeds of up to 200 mph.

GLBs have two-stroke engines that are a major emitter of carbon dioxide (the primary human-contributed greenhouse gas) and account for 90% of fine particulate matter from lawn equipment. Your car has a catalytic converter to reduce toxic gases, but GLBs don't have that. Instead, their engine mixes oil with fuel, about a third of which is forced out of the exhaust instead of being burned. One hour of a gas leaf blower can emit the same amount of smog as a car driving 1,100 miles at 55 mph.

Leaf blower noise is deafening -- literally. It can reach 115 decibels and permanent hearing loss can occur at 85 dB. Many of us work from home and have children who are trying to learn at home. GLB noise raises our stress levels, increases blood pressure, causes headaches, and makes it more difficult to focus. The noise can scare breeding birds out of their nests and studies show that loud noises can make caterpillar's hearts beat faster. To measure how loud GLBs are from your home, download a sound measurement app, such as this one. (Dangerous Decibels 2020, CDC 2019, Scientific American 2018)