Letter: Small choices add up to big differences

February 8, 2022

Warming weather = garden chores. Sharpening tools is a project, as is researching/shopping for replacement tools (hedge trimmers, weed whackers, chippers, mowers, blowers). 

Quiz time! The six most prolific air pollutants are: Nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter (these travel deep into your lungs). In the ’70s strategies to clean up Valley air focused on cars and trucks, thanks to federal emission standards.  We still have problems with air pollution due to how we transport ourselves, produce and consume food and care for our properties, plus wildfire smoke. Air pollution symptoms include watery eyes, breathing, coughing, respiratory and cardiac illnesses. 

What does this have to do with garden tools? Let’s say you decided to purchase a new lawn mower.  Are you going two- or four-stroke gas powered? Or electric? Which type contributes less to climate change, to illnesses, to smog? Gas powered garden/repair tools are not regulated for fine particulate matter and smog forming chemicals.  One hour with a gas leaf blower is equivalent to driving a 2017 Camry for 1,100 miles.  Electric tools mean lower maintenance and easier storage. Hire someone to do yard work? What type of tools do they use? Happy shopping!

Louise D Shawkat

Ashland

Picture of Bert Etling

Bert Etling

Bert Etling is the executive editor of Ashland.news. Email him at [email protected].

Related Posts...

Letter: Support the Providence Health strikers

John Marciano and Leslie Dwyer: While hedge funds and rich corporate interests are buying up hospitals across the country and cutting services and staff to increase their profits, the well-being of hospital staff and patients is undermined.

Read More »

Our Sponsors

Klamath Bird Observatory Experience the wonders of Souteast Brazil Ashland Oregon
Conscious Design Build Ashland Oregon
Pronto Printing Ashland Medford Southern Oregon

Latest posts

Obituary: Sandra Risser

Obituary: Sandra Risser, who began life in quiet eastern Nebraska before building a family and a professional career in Washington, D.C., and the San Francisco Bay Area, died Jan. 4 in Ashland. She was 87.

Read More >

Sen. Golden proposes changing state wildfire map to curb anger and rumors

Nearly four years ago, in the aftermath of the state’s most destructive wildfires in history, the Oregon Legislature passed a bipartisan package of wildfire prevention initiatives, including one that required state experts to create a map showing high wildfire risk areas statewide. Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, who supported creating the map, said it’s become counterproductive in its current form. 

Read More >

City Corner: A look at City Hall accomplishments in 2024

City Corner: The 2024 city of Ashland list of accomplishments highlights numerous advancements and initiatives across various departments. Following is a summary of the key achievements, including completion of the wastewater treatment plant outfall relocation and UV system upgrades.

Read More >

No power for days: A doomsday prepper’s dry run along Anderson Creek

Some rural Talent residents say the recent Southern Oregon snowstorm gave them more practice than they’d have liked to test out their assortment of doomsday supplies and survival skills — a more than three-and-a-half-day-long exercise in relying on the array of off-the-grid infrastructure put in place over the past decade. 

Read More >

Our Sponsors

Ashland Parks and Recreation Ashland Oregon
City of Ashland Public Notice Ashland Oregon
Ashland.news House Ad

Explore More...

City Corner: The 2024 city of Ashland list of accomplishments highlights numerous advancements and initiatives across various departments. Following is a summary of the key achievements, including completion of the wastewater treatment plant outfall relocation and UV system upgrades.
Curtain Call: After university studies in Indiana and Colorado, and pursuing his career playing with several orchestras, Jerry Su returned to Southern Oregon in 2022 to audition for the second E-flat clarinet position with the Rogue Valley Symphony — and got the job.
Some rural Talent residents say the recent Southern Oregon snowstorm gave them more practice than they’d have liked to test out their assortment of doomsday supplies and survival skills — a more than three-and-a-half-day-long exercise in relying on the array of off-the-grid infrastructure put in place over the past decade. 
The new Talent Travel Center has begun round-the-clock operations that aim to attract locals, travelers and truckers. Located off Interstate 5 at Exit 21 on West Valley View Road, the business replaces the old Talent Truck Stop, offering some big rig fueling services beginning in 2018.
The story, ‘The Lion in Winter” speaks of a reunited fiery and ferocious husband and wife (king and queen) caught up in a family crisis with potentially dire consequences, has captured critics attention and resonated with audiences alike.
ashland.news logo

Subscribe to the newsletter and get local news sent directly to your inbox.

(It’s free)

Don't Miss Our Top Stories

Get our newsletter delivered to your inbox three times a week.
It’s FREE and you can cancel anytime.