Let's Ban Not Just Leaf Blowers, But Lawn Fertilizers Too

Some towns in my county are actually promoting non-phosphorus fertilizers to homeowners, landscapers and garden centers, in an effort in an effort to keep the nutrient out of New York City’s reservoirs. Some landscapers are washing their hands of responsibility:

"Everyone around here wants their lawns as green as possible as fast as possible," said Matthew Troy of Troy's Garden Nurseries in Bedford.

But that’s the kind of self-justifying fallacy that landscapers and lawn crews have always used as they to sell homeowners on unnecessary maintenance – weekly mowing and leaf blowing, from April through November – and unnecessary fertilization. It’s the “give the people what they want” philosophy. The truth is, the landscapers and lawn crews are actively selling and promoting things that are bad for the environment. “we recommend the use of fossil fuels to blow leaves off your lawn in the middle of summer, even though the planet is getting hotter and hotter because of the use of fossil fuels. We can be there every Friday morning.”

Leaf blowers and lawn fertilizers are frivolous and harmful. We should just ban them.