One of the biggest complaints around here (So.Calif coastal) is gardeners using those loud gas-powered mowers & blowers which are also described as polluting. (One gardener I had used an electric one.)
Just passing on this article from LA Times about allegedly quieter equipt.
==========================================
April 17, 2008
THAT luscious green lawn may not be the greenest choice in dry Southern California, but water consumption and pesticides are only part of the problem: There are also those deafening gas-powered mowers and blowers whose emissions account for as much as 5% of our reactive organic gases and carbon monoxide, according to the California Air Resources Board. That's where Whisper Landscape Maintenance comes in. The newly launched gardening service uses only zero-emission, solar-powered garden equipment. Whisper founder Michael Gould, left, says that his company's modified mowers are no louder than vacuum cleaners* and that leaf blowers have a decibel level similar to hair dryers. A crew of Whisper gardeners -- arriving in Priuses, of course
-- uses organic fertilizers and routinely mulch with grass clippings** instead of throwing them away. Gould says prices are competitive with traditional gardeners. For service areas and other details: (818)
933-1377,=========================================
- I dunno...that's pretty loud!
** maybe that's OK for lawns, but to create compost, need time.
Persephone