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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (22900)	7/5/2006 1:53:31 PM
From: Jim S	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541755

HA! Let's make lawn mowers cost $2,000 and weigh 300 lbs! <GGG> I don't have a lawn either; I have a pasture. Takes 20 gallons of diesel to mow it!

To: Lane3 who wrote (22900)	7/5/2006 1:55:59 PM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541755

I wonder how much more CO2 is emitted by riding mowers, which are all the thing here -- we've all got 1/3 and 1/4 acre lots so I can't imagine any use for a riding mower except showing off. Some even have headlights! I keep doing more and more things to my yard to reduce the lawn -- trees and flower beds and more trees and paths and bushes and mulch. My goal is to someday be able to "cut" it with a weedwhacker -- electric, of course.

To: Lane3 who wrote (22900)	7/5/2006 3:40:58 PM
From: Dale Baker	Respond to of 541755

"Sacrosanct" - that is such a key word in this whole debate. Lawn mowers are sacrosanct; so are housing developments with no stores or schools in walking distance, and SUVs, and economic growth in the suburbs and peri-urban areas, and huge malls you have to drive to and so on. Contrast that with the sacrosanct claims that GW is worse than nuclear war and the complete destruction of huge cities, and a "tipping point" is only months away if not already passed. Lots of sacred cows all around. But the first list is what really counts when the voters walk in the booth. The rest is for the converted, from what I can see.

To: Lane3 who wrote (22900)	7/5/2006 4:21:15 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541755

Electric Lawn Mower on Medford Campus read newsletter article, fall 2004 The Air Resources Board of the California EPA reports that a single lawnmower emits the equivalent of 40 new automobiles run for a single hour (non-CO2 air -pollutants; CO2 emissions are small). In the spring of 2004, Tufts purchased an electric tractor mower called the "Electric Ox" made by the Electric Tractor Company. Using the Electric Ox instead of a traditional gasoline powered tractor produces less CO2 and at the same time reduces noise and local air pollution. Since the Electric Ox is powered by battery and has no tailpipe emissions, it is neither noisy nor smelly. These features not only benefit the operator of the mower, but anyone else on campus that happens to be nearby. According to the Electric Tractor Company, the Ox uses about 2.0 kWh per hour of mowing while a traditional tractor mower uses about 1 gallon of gasoline per hour of mowing. Mowing for an hour with the Ox releases about 3 lbs of CO2 into the atmosphere, whereas mowing with a traditional mower for an hour releases about 22 lbs of CO2 into the atmosphere. While these reductions are not significant in relation to Tufts totals, the co-benefits of this technology are highly visible. Other more nontraditional options do exist and are being used elsewhere. For example, the Rocky Mountain Institute currently has a contract for 500 goats to graze on the its Windstar Land Conservancy property. Is it possible that implementing such a program on a college campus could serve as a fascinating future interdisciplinary agenda? For further information on greener lawn care, visit the Clean Air Mowing Company website. tufts.edu