Although the blower's squall rages and enrages year-round, pushing snow, grass, and dirt alike, autumn gives it special purpose. The very first commercial blower, from the 1970s, was touted on these grounds: "In fall, it rounds up a yardful of leaves in no time." That makes now a perfect time for me to say what nobody else would dare to: The leaf blower-that is, the machine itself, as it's used for blowing leaves-is a force for good.
In many ways, leaf blowers are truly terrible. They are loud, which is irritating to those far away and can damage the hearing of anyone nearby. And they're inhospitable: Blowers hurtle dirt and debris, along with other particles, through public space; they create a gale unnecessary for sidewalks.
In the 1980s, some homeowners' associations and municipalities started trying to curb the things. Cities moved to ban them entirely. In 1997, Los Angeles passed an ordinance to limit their use within the city. The entire state of California now prohibits the sale of new gas-powered blowers.
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