Neighbor News
Leaf-Blowers Degrade our Sense of Community and Environment
Why would elected officials reject a resolution to better a situation, that got out of control, when better technology is available?
The Good is the Bad we don’t do.. The Rake needed no improvements, How has a leaf-blower improved our lives? A6238 S4273 Conversion from Gas to Battery. Arguments against such improvements have been disproved.
Open Letter to Parsippany Councilman Justin Musella.
As of the last few months an attempt to bring the annoyance, pollution and degradation of quality of life and sense of community by leaf-blowers to the Council has been ignored. Councilman Musella, stated to me "privately" he could never support such a Resolution, to phase out leaf-blowers for better alternatives available. The better being battery powered rather than 2-cycle black-carbon polluting and noise making in excessive of 90-100 decibels.
At the last Council meeting Musella had to have his own words put back in his mouth; "He could never support such a resolution, because it was government interfering with business". Apparently it is ok for business to interfere with our health, wellbeing, privacy and sense of community. He says he is for community, what he really means in his rhetoric is he cares and supports business over community, no matter the impacts or outcome.
Sensible Human-beings are not perfectionist, but Meliorist. They believe in trying or making things better. In putting things right; and improving them when they do not work well enough.
There are however things that have to be they very best then can; Medical procedures, airline journeys, maintaining security of bank accounts; because of what is at stake.
Here with lawn industry the stakes are Human Health and Wellbeing, a sense of community violated, disturbing the peace, invasion of privacy through noise and air pollution; continuing anti-ecological industry that does more harm than good in a quality of life and ecological sense. Why would a person or a Council be against such a Resolution in support of such proposed State Legislation as A6238 or S4273?
New Jersey Assembly Bill A6238 would establish a rebate program for purchase of electric or battery powered blowers by residents and businesses. A cleaner environment is a benefit for communities and for workers. Better health benefits everyone.
S4272 Prohibits sale and use of gas-powered leaf blowers in NJ. ( it should say 2-cycle black carbon and excessive noise leaf-blowers) of course the Assembly Bill is better.
Local Ordinance Montclair's Introduction 217
217-6 Internal combustion leafblowers. [As amended in February 2021.]
A. Purpose and intent. The Township of Montclair hereby finds that unlimited use of leafblowers powered by internal combustion engines impairs the economic and social welfare, health, peace and quality of life of persons residing in Montclair. The purpose of this section is to minimize the adverse impact of such equipment by restricting its use within the Township.
In close quarter neighborhoods like Lake Hiawatha, and many suburban such places, these blowers are especially offensive, other factors like acoustic properties of home locations. The randomness of one blower being used, (after enduring mower noise) , and then another, from another property, at another time span, leaves peace and quite near impossible for long; arbitrary on any given day. (During the recent past summer drought when grass shuts-down it;s growth landscapers were cutting the lawns as usual, despite the lack of ecological sense or need, for there fees). (landscapers have raised their fees do to gas-price rises)
Even in areas like Parks and Natural Areas; Pyramid Mountain, Wildcat Ridge, and others, the setting is disturbed by these noise creators and air pollution devises.
Many Towns and places have finally come to the limits of toleration in realizing the obvious negative impacts of this unhealthy intrusive industry. The Green here is the money not any sense or science of ecology. To reject a resolution to merely improve an industry through available new and better tools, is a slap in the face of community and environmental health in favor of business or a common good.
"I am pro-free market which has for the better part of human history always improved the lives of all people."
Competition makes us better. Justin Musella.
Find out what's happening in Parsippanyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Nothing can be further from the truth. Competition wastes energy and resources, and has not been the catalysis for human better cooperation has, or we would never have gotten this far. Progress is another word for pollution, and has improved the lives of some not most. At present our economy exists outside the laws of nature, it is unsustainable and promotes endless growth an impossibility. Competition also leads to monopoly as one puts the other out of business. Free Market is also an illusion and a deception.
Never in the history of democratic societies has the populace been more removed from the decision-making process than it is today. Our Collective Global future is being made behind closed doors by trade representatives-appointed officials with the blessing of amorphous, transnational corporations. Our Constitution has been hijacked, and keeps proving it's a flawed document; "we the people matter little" as does science or ecological sustainability. Corporations rights and their profits above all, are responsible for the present demise of the Republic itself, and any hope of democracy, or equitable justice.
Lawn culture is a self-centered anti-community annoyance we are made to suffer, as it encourages life in a vacuum, as if no one else exists at the time, and that the impacts of air-pollution noise pollution, and injury to mother earth are sanctioned somehow by private property and individual rights, which clearly puts private property opposed to community and environment itself!
No economic interest should ever be placed above the reverence for life; but that is what we have in a free market. The recent train wreck resulted in free market deregulation, as it cargo of Vinyl chloride being used to make even more plastics not less has spread harm and sickness; as we see the plastics about us everywhere, that citizens is the free market, making our lives better? Not only is vinyl chloride used in plastic production, it requires mercury to make it. Cancer one would suppose is spread by free market products made with vinyl chloride and mercury.
The opposite side of progress is pollution, pollution from man-made chemicals that don't exist in nature, the pollution outcome of progress has long ago brought unsustainable scales of waste, which costs and effects us, not the corporate efficient cause that produce it, they simply pass off the negative to others, this to is another free-market downside. Plastics are the most obvious example of free market delusions of outcome.
Free Markets are the opposite of free people; and the sanction of corporations are people, or better and above people. Free Market is the economy not serving people, but people the economy, a return to planation model of master-slave paradigm.
It appears our present town council is a Chamber of Commerce on steroids. If your not in business or a Fortune 500 you don't count. The council has no checks or balances against this. Not to support this resolution concerning progress in better lawn equipment; specifically leaf-blowers is shameful.
