Current Events > California just banned gas powered lawnmowers, chainsaws, and generators.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Cuticrusader09 posted...

I mean you buy a lawnmower and it can last years if you take care of it.

This is an interesting point in itself.

Let's face it. These battery powered mowers don't last as long as traditional engines. My granddad kept a working craftsman mower that was 40 years old. The batteries suffer a decline after a few years and need replacing. And most of these imported electric mowers are almost disposable technology. Compare that to like a John Deer mower that can easily last you 20 years. Top Gear also did a piece awhile ago about the huge amount of pollution needed just to make an electric Prius. So there is some question here about how much more physical waste your creating by doing this.

It's also worth noting that Lowes currently only carries exactly one electric riding mower....

https://www.lowes.com/pd/EGO-Dual-Hydrostatic-42-in-Zero-Turn-Lawn-Mower-with-Mulching-Capability-CARB/5000200347

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LinkPizza posted...

California is a weird place. And would probably be the first state to be dystopian

Their literacy rate is the lowest in the country, and the IQ is one of the lowest. Which btw is hillarious because they always act like Alabama is full illiterate of hicks.

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If Cali's really serious about the climate they'll pay for everyone to own a goat to eat the grass.

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Just get a handcrank generator or a bicycle generator!

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BilalPowell posted...

If Cali's really serious about the climate they'll pay for everyone to own a goat to eat the grass.

Too much goat poop.

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Mistere Man posted...

Too much goat poop.

Free fertilizer

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BeyondWalls posted...

Cuticrusader09 posted...

I mean you buy a lawnmower and it can last years if you take care of it.

This is an interesting point in itself.

Let's face it. These battery powered mowers don't last as long as traditional engines. My granddad kept a working craftsman mower that was 40 years old. The batteries suffer a decline after a few years and need replacing. And most of these imported electric mowers are almost disposable technology. Compare that to like a John Deer mower that can easily last you 20 years. Top Gear also did a piece awhile ago about the huge amount of pollution needed just to make an electric Prius. So there is some question here about how much more physical waste your creating by doing this.

It's also worth noting that Lowes currently only carries exactly one electric riding mower....

https://www.lowes.com/pd/EGO-Dual-Hydrostatic-42-in-Zero-Turn-Lawn-Mower-with-Mulching-Capability-CARB/5000200347

The batteries are separate from the mower. You don't throw the mower out you just get a new battery.
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harley2280 posted...

The batteries are separate from the mower. You don't throw the mower out you just get a new battery.

Sounds bad for the environment throwing out batteries all the time

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harley2280 posted...

The batteries are separate from the mower. You don't throw the mower out you just get a new battery.

No shit.
I mean, come on, dude.

If I didn't spell it out clearly enough, the small Chinese electric lawn mowers are built cheap beyond the battery issues. And you understand why, right? They've got to use cheap, thin plastic parts to make these things as light as possible to get more battery life out of them. But those thin plastic pieces degrade and don't last.

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BilalPowell posted...

harley2280 posted...

The batteries are separate from the mower. You don't throw the mower out you just get a new battery.

Sounds bad for the environment throwing out batteries all the time

It's not all the time. I've had my electric for 5 years and haven't had to get a new battery yet.

You guys are literally fear mongering over lawn mowers. The only thing wrong with this bill is the generator part.
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best thing i ever did was switch from gas to electric string trimmer

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The California Electric Chainsaw Massacre

GEKGanon posted...

Oof... that's rough. A lot of electric-powered tools are crap. You ever tried using a battery-powered leaf blower? Don't even bother. I have one, and the batteries only last about 5 minutes each. The funny part is Craftsman makes an electric lawn mower that uses two of the same batteries, and it says "Up to 50 minutes!" and I'm just wondering what the fuck they are smoking where they think two little 20 watt batteries that die 5 minutes into powering a leafblower would power a lawnmower for 50 minutes...

Yeah... yeah.

I mean, if you've got an acre lawn and can mow your entire yard in half an hour, then ok, fine. You can probably get a small electric push mower and be happy. But what about everyone else? And what about lawn care guys? I mean, how many batteries are they going to have to carry?

I mean, the only electric riding mower Lowes currently sells states that the mower gets 2 acres per charge. I'm guessing that the average customer is 2+ acres. These riding mower batteries look to be about half or 3/4ths the size of a car battery. You're telling me a lawn car guy has to carry around 4 to 6 of these mega batteries PER JOB? How is that sustainable? Forget about the cost of all those extra batteries. How do you practically run a business like that? Do you drive back home after every job to continuously change batteries out of a charger? I don't see how the average small business guy wouldn't be limited to like 3 or 4 jobs per day. I'd love to know how California lawn care guys make it work. I assume somebody out there must be doing it. I'd love to know what their system is.

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Oh, TC runs a lawn care business and bases his worldview on that. Got it.

BeyondWalls posted...

You're telling me a lawn car guy has to carry around 4 to 6 of these mega batteries PER JOB? How is that sustainable?

The simple truth is that businesses based around lawncare probably aren't sustainable in a state where water shortages are going to make it increasingly hard to keep lawns green.

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ultimate reaver posted...

best thing i ever did was switch from gas to electric string trimmer

I use both. The electric string trimmer is definitely best around the house. It won't eat up the gutters or damage the porch if you graze them. My gas trimmer would beat the hell out of whatever you accidentally grazed. But if you live in the woods then the electric weed eater just ain't going to do it out there in the bush. Gas powered trimmers just use thicker string and will cut through those giant milk weeds and briars. My electric trimmer just can't handle that.

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Intro2Logic posted...

Oh, TC runs a lawn care business and bases his worldview on that. Got it.

Sorry, didn't realize you consider yourself so much better than lawn care people. Got it.

For the record, I do not do lawn care. But... I seriously did consider it as a weekend job to make extra cash when I was younger. It makes a nice second job if you're young and got energy to burn. I moved into this new house about three years ago. I moved across states and sold all my mowers because it was just too much energy to get them to the new house. So I spent the last two years paying a lawn care guy to do my yard. Nice guy, but his helper wrecked the truck and the service got flakey after that. So this past spring I went and bought a John Deer zero turn and started doing it myself again. /blogfaqs.

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BeyondWalls posted...

Yeah... yeah.

I mean, if you've got an acre lawn and can mow your entire yard in half an hour, then ok, fine. You can probably get a small electric push mower and be happy. But what about everyone else? And what about lawn care guys? I mean, how many batteries are they going to have to carry?

I mean, the only electric riding mower Lowes currently sells states that the mower gets 2 acres per charge. I'm guessing that the average customer is 2+ acres. These riding mower batteries look to be about half or 3/4ths the size of a car battery. You're telling me a lawn car guy has to carry around 4 to 6 of these mega batteries PER JOB? How is that sustainable? Forget about the cost of all those extra batteries. How do you practically run a business like that? Do you drive back home after every job to continuously change batteries out of a charger? I don't see how the average small business guy wouldn't be limited to like 3 or 4 jobs per day. I'd love to know how California lawn care guys make it work. I assume somebody out there must be doing it. I'd love to know what their system is.

Where the hell do you live that most folks have 2+ acre yards?

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uwnim posted...

Where the hell do you live that most folks have 2+ acre yards?

We've established this: Not California

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VipaGTS posted...

Good.

Not good. My job uses weed whackers, hedge trimmers, and chainsaws extensively. The electric shit does not work anywhere near as good and with less power. With less power, some jobs will now be impossible.

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pogo_rabid posted...

Ah yes, banning things that basically have zero impact on the big picture.

Eyeroll

The thing is, this can be said about any one thing. We have to start somewhere, or

Lorkhaj posted...

we're never going to do it.

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uwnim posted...

Where the hell do you live that most folks have 2+ acre yards?

If you're paying someone to do your yard then it stands to reason that you own more than an acre. Otherwise you'd just do it yourself.

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BeyondWalls posted...

If you're paying someone to do your yard then it stands to reason that you own more than an acre. Otherwise you'd just do it yourself.

Not necessarily. You could be old or lazy.

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BilalPowell posted...

Not necessarily. You could be old or lazy.

Yes, I'm just saying, for the most part. And let's not forget these guys are doing sports fields, parks, shopping malls, etc. So the "average" job is still going to probably be like 2 acres, even after figuring grandma in.

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Really that's a smart way to thwart Leatherface

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TheRadiant posted...

Really that's a smart way to thwart Leatherface

Electric chainsaws suck, but pretty sure they can still cut through about four humans on one charge.

Wait a minute, is this Dwight Schrute's plan to save us from Leatherface? I guess Dwight moved to California and got into politics. Sounds about right.




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It's a start

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honestly who the hell uses gas mowers still anyway
I never did because I didn't want to deal with the hassle of figuring out how/where to buy the gas (I guess just the gas station idk), just easier to plug a battery in.

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BeyondWalls posted...

If you're paying someone to do your yard then it stands to reason that you own more than an acre. Otherwise you'd just do it yourself.

Lol, I have 3/4 of an acre and its one of the biggest lots in my neighborhood. Id say half the people here have someone mow their lawn for them. And this is not a fancy neighborhood. Id say middle class.

We bought a rider and do our own.
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Hexenherz posted...

honestly who the hell uses gas mowers still anyway

Anyone doing a real amount of work?

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BeyondWalls posted...

Anyone doing a real amount of work?

god damn would you get over yourself bro. you aren't in Cali, relax. you can still do your super hardcore man work on your lawn. lol.

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Cuticrusader09 posted...

Lol, I have 3/4 of an acre and its one of the biggest lots in my neighborhood. Id say half the people here have someone mow their lawn for them. And this is not a fancy neighborhood. Id say middle class.

We bought a rider and do our own.

Fine, let's say the only electric riding mower Lowes sells gets 2 jobs done on four batteries instead of one. That's still a shit load of batteries.

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Hexenherz posted...

honestly who the hell uses gas mowers still anyway
I never did because I didn't want to deal with the hassle of figuring out how/where to buy the gas (I guess just the gas station idk), just easier to plug a battery in.

Seriously? You buy a plastic gas jug and you just remember to bring it with you when you fill up your tank at the gas station. Have you never seen people fill up those red containers? And they are always red. Different fuel has different color containers you are to use so you dont mix them up. (Kerosene is blue, diesel is yellow).
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Gladius_ posted...

This. The amount of carbon footprint the average citizen has on the environment is next to nothing compared to the carbon footprint caused by massive corporations. Even if every single citizen in the world was more conscious of the environment, the damage caused by corporations would still create an environmental disaster. The only ones affected by this are, as you mentioned, the little man while no progress will occur. This is a way to pacify environmentalists while the damage continues to be done.

Who are those corporations making their products for?

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BilalPowell posted...

Free fertilizer

True, but with the goal being eventual zero emissions goats fart, and poop may count as emissions.

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Gladius_ posted...

The people aren't to blame. Many people use various products because it's the cheapest and easiest means in order to conduct daily life to life challenges and the poorer the individual the less alternatives they have.

"including generators, lawn equipment, pressure washers, chainsaws, weed trimmers, and even golf carts."

Aren't remotely close to the biggest offenders. Not even by 5%. 71% of the damage comes from 100 companies and the companies responsible are completely 100% unharmed by the bill and are able to produce at maximum efficiency. It's a common tactic to attack consumers and point the blame at them when those consumers have very little power to seriously impact the environment in positive ways even if they tried.

We literally have no power to make the environment a better place. That's the truth and scariness of the matter. Not until the right companies are held responsible and take an active approach to fight global climate change. The odus isn't on you or me. It's on them.

Meanwhile, corporations say the onus is on you and me, they only make what we demand (and the second part is irrefutable). Round and round we go!

Saying you have no power to make any difference at all is just a way for you to comfort your conscience. You know damn well that isn't true, you just don't want to put forth any effort towards fixing your consumerist habits or make even the slightest sacrifice in creature comforts.

You control your actions, not the actions of Scrooge McDuck. I bet you don't even call your congressmen to bug them to legislate corporate emmissions, anyway.

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JACKBUTTMOMMY posted...

Also lmao as leaves killing your yard.

uwnim posted...

Weeds>frail grass,

TheGreatEscape posted...

if your yard can't handle leaves falling on it it's clearly not the kind of yard you should maintain in the area you're living in.

@uwnim @TheGreatEscape @JACKBUTTMOMMY

If you won't take my word for it, then take it from the legend himself...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EY_ZsXsAlQ

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eggcorn posted...

Why is it always the little guy paying the price

This so goddamn much.

Me needing to cut up a tree that falls in my yard after a storm isnt emitting anywhere near as much as all these giant factories or somebodies private jet.

Regular people get f***** while the elite continue to do whatever the f*** they want

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I don't think many of the critics ITT would actually be in favor of laws restricting the sale of gas powered cars, or limiting how many flights airlines can run, though.

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Trumble posted...

So uhhh... what exactly do people with generators as backup power do, then? The rest of that is manageable, but including generators seems like an absolutely ridiculous idea.

Especially for a state that has as many power outages as California seems to.

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theAteam posted...

Ive been using one of these for years (different brand tho)

Works great 99% of the time, i love it.

Only problem is if the grass gets too long, it really struggles
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SSJPurple posted...

This so goddamn much.

Me needing to cut up a tree that falls in my yard after a storm isnt emitting anywhere near as much as all these giant factories or somebodies private jet.

Regular people get f***** while the elite continue to do whatever the f*** they want

youre nailing it. And for those complaining about how its only in California uhhhh you do realize the trends usually START there, right ? Wake up.


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All states should ban grass lawns and palm trees altogether. Would oretty much cut the need for lawnmowers and chainsaws for most people.
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This will disproportionately affect the poor and disenfranchised and undocumented workers that cant afford new electric equipment. It will only get worse for them over time.

Yall'lk

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Smashingpmkns posted...

All states should ban grass lawns and palm trees altogether. Would oretty much cut the need for lawnmowers and chainsaws for most people.

But where will the children play?

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if they can ban those, why not guns or Trump

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cali stay losing

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Nukazie posted...

if they can ban those, why not guns or Trump

Lawn mowers aren't constitutionally protected.

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