|
|
You’re receiving this message because your submission to the Providence Noise Project’s Community Noise Survey indicated that leafblowers are a prevalent source of noise near your home, or you added your name to our leafblower pledge page. If you prefer not to receive leafblower-related mailings, let us know and you won’t receive any more of them.
|
You may have already received several e-mails from the Noise Project in recent weeks, and we apologize for the e-mail blizzard. It’s mostly because the Rhode Island General Assembly is currently in session, and several new noise-related bills that concern our supporters are being introduced and / or scheduling hearings to discuss the issues they address.
|
The most recent is RI House of Representatives Bill 7495, the Battery-Powered Leafblower Pilot Rebate and Education Program, is scheduled for a hearing in the House Committee on Finance this Thursday, May 2, and we urge Noise Project supporters to testify in support of the bill either in person (preferable) or in writing (e-mail).
|
The hearing will be held at around 4:30 p.m. in Room 35 at the RI State House, 82 Smith Street in Providence. If you can testify in person, your remarks should be no more more than about two minutes in length. Those who want to testify must sign-up at the hearing room. (See the General Assembly's guide to testifying.) Leave time to pass through building security and walk to the hearing room.
|
Written testimony must be submitted by 4:00 p.m. on May 2 to committee clerk Christopher O’Brien at HouseFinance@rilegislature.gov. Be sure to “CC” (courtesy copy) your own RI representative. The subject line of your e-mail should include the bill number (H-7495), and whether you're for against the bill, and the body of your testimony should include your full name, not just your e-mail address.
|
H-7495 seeks $350,000 to fund rebate and education programs, and would provide money to professional landscapers for the purchase of an electric leafblower if they exchange a gas-fueled leafblower for recycling. This is intended to help partially defray the initial cost of electric leafblowers, which landscapers claim is a major reason they don’t use them. Electric leafblowers are significantly quieter than gas ones and don’t pollute.
|
H-7495 also calls on the RI Department of Environmental Management and Office of Energy Resources to create education and training for professional landscapers to successfully transition over to battery-powered technology, including mowers, trimmers, hedgers, and blowers. Many landscapers around New England and the U.S. already use battery-powered equipment, and there’s no reason those in RI cannot adopt this more sustainable technology.
|
The bill was introduced by Rep. Jennifer Boylan (D-Barrington), a pro-environment member of the General Assembly, and does include any restrictions on gas leafblowers, but it will help promote the transition from gas-powered equipment electric models.
|
Some potential talking points to include in your testimony:
|
- The engines used in gas-fueled leafblowers and other landscaping equipment lack the type of emission controls of passenger vehicles* and thus are extremely loud (80–100 decibels) and polluting, subjecting those in their vicinity to disproportionately high emissions linked to cancer, respiratory illnesses, and cardiovascular disease.
- We cannot address Rhode Island's high rates of asthma and ozone pollution, or curtail our use of fossil fuels as required under RI’s 2022 Act on Climate law, without encouraging landscapers to begin the inevitable transition to electric lawncare tools.
- It is an issue of both employee health and safety and environmental justice in the lawncare industry, where outdoor workers — disproportionately low-skilled immigrant and minority laborers — are exposed to dangerous amounts of noise and air pollution.
- Quieter and healthier alternatives are available: Lawncare equipment manufacturers already offer electric-powered products for both residential and commercial uses, and more and more lawncare companies are offering sustainable landscaping services.
- Fully electric landscaping businesses are thriving in neighboring states, but RI homeowners who want an alternative to gas-powered leafblowers face a dearth of choices of landscapers willing to offer sustainable electric options. We need to fix that.
- Other states are already ahead of Rhode Island in the transition to sustainable lawncare: Washington (DC) passed a three-year phase-out of gas-fueled leafblowers in 2022, and California required zero-emissions lawncare devices by 2024. Just as California’s vehicle-emissions mandates have accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, H-7495 will help to expand the growing market for healthier lawncare tools.
- Transitioning to cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable equipment will actually save businesses money over the long term in terms of fuel costs, less maintenance, and greater longevity due to less wear-and-tear — much like moving from the 19th century technology of incandescent lightbulbs to far more efficient and long-lasting LED bulbs. These kinds of technological transitions often require initial government support, but end up saving residents, businesses, and the government itself money in the long run.
|
|
|
|
|
We appreciate your support for new leafblower initiative in Rhode Island, and for the Noise Project's other efforts to make our community a quieter and healthier place to live and work.
|
|
“Noise is the new smoking”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
