Help wildlife and ban leaf blowers

Leaf blowers. What’s to like about them? They are bad for residents, bad for tourists, and bad for the lungs of those who use them.  And new research has found that they have a devastating effect on insect life. 

This, in turn, affects pollination of plants and trees.  And less insects also means less food for small mammals like hedgehogs.

The forceful impact of leaf blowers also disturbs wildlife – it’s not uncommon to find a young bird lost in a carpark or verge after a leaf blowing session.

The unbearable noise levels of these machines, like the constant revving of a motorbike, has been shown to heighten stress and impair concentration.

People come to the Algarve for peace and calm, yet so many resorts are disturbed every morning by the horrible sound of leaf blowers and hedge trimmers.  Peace and relaxation should be the Algarve's big selling point, especially these days.

The dust blown up by these machines can aggravate asthma. The dust that’s inhaled can contain mould, pollen, pesticides and airborne particles of animal feces.

The irony is that many of us who pay for leaf blowers here either directly (gardeners) or indirectly (through condo fees) would probably be against them.  But the resort and condo managers who employ the gardeners on our behalf don’t seem to get the problem.  Is it a macho thing? Or are they worried that the garden rakes and brushes we used to use look poor and old fashioned, and it's cleverer to be seen using noisy machines...?

Many American states, where they were first seen, have been banning them for some time now.  What about campaigning to our local Camaras to ban them here?  They could get 'green kudos’ as the first Camaras here to ban them! That could be a great marketing point for future eco tourism.

This blog article has been provided by a collaborating author, published for our readers enjoyment. The views and opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the Algarvedailynews.com team, and the facts should always be verified by the reader!

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