04 Jul 09 A Few Reasons Not To Use A Leaf Blower

With Fall coming up in a few months, and the hassle of raking the enormous amount of leaves that will be piling up becomes a task you’ll have to suffer through, you may consider buying a leaf blower to make your life a little bit easier. I would decide against that decision if I were you, and instead just invest in a good strong rake. Couple of reasons really:

One leaf blower emit’s the same amount of pollution as eighty cars over the course of a year.

Considering the state of the environment and all the talk of global warming we should all be reducing the amount of emissions that we kick up into the air. Just doesn’t seem worth doing the damage of eighty cars just so I don’t have to rake, but then maybe that’s just my own opinion.

They worsen conditions like Asthma

Because leaf blowers kick up everything that’s laying around your yard, what also gets thrown around the air more is harmful mold spores and other allergens that would otherwise be safely compressed into the ground by weather conditions. Raking does nothing to kick these back up into the air, but a leaf blower just blows them around until they land in your lungs, ready to do your body some damage.

They operate at a high decibel level that’s harmful to your hearing

Leaf blowers are loud. So loud in fact that if you do not wear protective gear on your ears while in use you can actually do permanent damage to your hearing. A very high price to pay so that you don’t have to rake isn’t it?

A leaf blower just isn’t as good for your body as old fashioned raking

Finally, a leaf blower just isn’t as good for you as a rake. Raking is good for your yard as it spreads around all sorts of bits and pieces of leaves, and grass that will decompose as food for your lawn, giving you a nicer greener look next season. Not to mention it’s much more beneficial for your body to get out there and be active by raking up leaves.

Tags: All Sorts, Allergens, Asthma, Bits And Pieces, Decibel Level, Ears, Emissions, Global Warming, Hassle, Leaf Blower, Leaf Blowers, Little Bit, Lungs, Mold Spores, Permanent Damage, Pollution, Protective Gear, Rake, Raking Up Leaves, Weather Conditions

Filed in Go Green with 0 Comments

20 May 09 Go Green With Your Lawn Care

With Spring in full gear, and Summer within sight now, yard work is the big thing back on every homeowners mind, as all that hardworking joy has finally begun. Given the status of the environment another factor that everyone should be considering, is how well you are either aiding or damaging the environment with the ways that you go about your yard work. And I’m mainly talking about the machines you use to aid you in your tasks. Such as the most common, lawnmowers.

Just your average gas push mower does more damage to the environment than you may think. On average gas mowers will use up 580 million gallons of non-renewable fossil fuels every year, which in turn pollutes the environment pretty savagely. According to a Swedish study, mowing for one hour with a gas powered lawnmower does the same amount of pollution damage as a car driving a distance of 100 miles. That’s pretty crazy when you think about it, and that’s an awful lot of pollutants to be kicking up into the air every time you mow your lawn.

The main problem is that your more ‘environmentally friendly’ options, such as electric mowers, aren’t necessarily that much better for the environment. While they don’t pollute the air as much, every time you mow, electric mowers still use up valuable irreplaceable fossil fuels, as well as electrical resources.

Really the best option you have for the environment is to take the toil of yard work onto your own back and buy a reel mower, which is powered entirely by your own strength and energy. Therefore you aren’t polluting the air, and are actually doing the best thing for the environment and yourself by getting exercise and completely eliminating your air emissions. While it can be a pain to have to do so much manually, you’ll cut down on air emissions, greatly reducing the amount of toxins heading into the ozone layer, as well as the toxins heading into your lungs and the lungs of every animal and other persons around you.

Tags: Air Emissions, Electric Mowers, Electrical Resources, Environment, Exercise, Fossil Fuels, Heading, Lawn Care, Lawnmower, Lungs, Options, Ozone Layer, Pollutants, Pollution Damage, Push Mower, Reel Mower, Swedish Study, Toil

Filed in Home & Family with 0 Comments

06 May 09 Do E-Cigarettes Help You Quit Smoking?

Quitting smoking is oftentimes described as one of the hardest things you would ever have to do, which is likely why most people put off quitting much longer than they should, further damaging their body beyond repair. Although not all would seem to be against you in your bid to stop smoking, as new technology is developed everyday to ease that pain and trouble of quitting. Take E-Cigarettes for example, they seem like a fantastic alternative for smokers to pollute their body and the environment around them less, while slowly quitting the habit altogether at the same time.

And just in case you don’t yet know about them, e-cigarettes are electronic devices usually designed to look like a cigarette. They replicate the feel of smoking through an LED light at the end of the cigarette, and odorless vapor that looks like smoke that is also released, creating the illusion of smoking. E-cigarettes also have a cartridge at the end where you would inhale that allows you to intake nicotine from the e-cigarette, but none of the other toxins normally found in cigarettes. Therefore being a ‘healthier’ alternative to regular smoking, as well as calming your nicotine cravings.

You are also afforded the ability to change how much nicotine is output by your e-cigarette by changing which type of cartridge you use. Using less nicotine you could effectively use an e-cigarette to lessen your nicotine dependency slowly, until your body was no longer addicted. The only problem is that there is no conclusive evidence that says e-cigarettes are all that helpful to those trying to quit smoking, in the long run.

The problem with e-cigarettes is that you’re still inhaling nicotine, which on it’s own is still awful for your lungs. Well, inhaling practically anything besides air is pretty much bad for your lungs. Sure you’re not getting all the cigarette toxins, but you’re still getting one of the most dangerous and addictive quantities in a purer form. Which is actually why e-cigarettes can lead to nicotine addiction or dependency in practically as many cases as cigarettes.

Which is why you’re likely better off choosing from some of the already FDA approved methods of quitting smoking. Such as nicotine gum, or patches. Although in the end it’s just you, and your willpower that can beat something like cigarette addiction. Which is why if you really want to quit, the first step is as simple as knowing that you really want to quit, and then being determined enough to do so.

Tags: Bid, Cigarette, Conclusive Evidence, Electronic Devices, Habit, Illusion, Led, Lungs, New Technology, Nicotine, Nicotine Cravings, Nicotine Dependency, Quantities, Quitting Smoking, Smokers, Smoking Cigarettes, Toxins, Trying To Quit Smoking

Filed in Fitness with 1 Comment

04 Jul 09 A Few Reasons Not To Use A Leaf Blower

20 May 09 Go Green With Your Lawn Care

06 May 09 Do E-Cigarettes Help You Quit Smoking?

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