Mull usage times for workers’ leaf blowers
I appreciate residents’ objections to the loud din all day long generated by gas-powered leaf blowers during gardening months [“Rules mulled for gas leaf blowers,” Our Towns, Jan. 9]. I also agree that the proposed ban in Greenport does not go far enough. Enforcement of time-of-day usage may be a good concession.
I am a residential owner and use an electric rechargeable leaf blower. I have to wear noise-muting headphones whenever I use it to prevent damage to my hearing. It can be heard inside houses that immediately surround mine.
A gas blower ban addresses air and noise pollution, but the decibel levels of rechargeable blowers are deleterious to hearing as well. Blowers are an important part of professional landscapers’ jobs. We must find a way to protect these hardworking landscapers’ ability to do their job to support themselves and their families without a total ban.
— Stan Feinberg, Wantagh
A friend helped get a ban on gas leaf blowers in a nearby state. His assessment is that the landscapers, despite a lot of pre-ban complaining, quickly converted to electric blowers. They are cost-competitive and eliminate the expense and hassle of gas and oil. Some landscapers there buy extra battery packs and recharge multiple batteries overnight or even outfit their field vehicles with chargers.
— Mark Langholz, Brightwaters
Start resolutions anytime, but slowly
Still pondering New Year’s resolutions? The easiest way to keep New Year’s resolutions is not to make any [“How to keep resolutions,” News, Jan. 1].
Losing weight, stopping smoking and exercising more might require a huge lifestyle change. Such changes can start any month of the year and not necessarily on one appointed day. The experts are correct when they recommend starting slowly and taking small steps.
Inevitably, we regress. But that should not discourage us from attempting the challenge. If we go backward, it’s just a step. It’s much easier to…
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