A Quiet Day in Del Rey

To kick off the new year, we went for a neighborhood walk today. It was beautiful outside. A few minutes into the walk, we noticed that it was also very quiet in the neighborhood. We wondered why. Was there less car traffic today? Not really.

Suddenly it dawned on my wife: "No one seems to be doing any yard work", she said. That was it! Being a holiday, the gardeners in the area had the day off and most people who do their own yard work seemed to have taken the day off as well. There was absolutely no noise pollution from leaf blowers and lawn mowers! It is amazing how peaceful the neighborhood becomes without all that noise.

It got me thinking again about how great it would be if more people would get rid of their lawns which would eliminate the need for all the gas-powered gardening equipment for the most part. All the noise from this equipment has become something we just take for granted.

It turns out that many people have noticed this leaf blower noise pollution that is present in many of our cities. Some have called for a ban on leaf blowing like Terra Nova Landscaping and ZAPLA.org, a group of concerned Los Angeles citizens. Some CA cities have even managed to get a leaf blower ban officially approved.

If you own property with a yard, please consider evolving your landscaping in a direction that reduces or completely eliminates the need for having lawn mowers and leaf blowers. Try replacing your lawn with a native plant garden. You and your neighbors will benefit from more peace and quiet.