A new machine is invading the countryside. No, this is not one of those tractors bulldozer U.S. 5 meters high, filled with chips and sensors and electronic till evaluate everything you need to know about the demands of land water and fertilizer, through the satellite please. It is also not the miracle machine that will allow farmers to stop throwing their manure on the banks of rivers, just off the road as it is still around, just to show they are what they want and you and you do not emmerdent interest to tell them anything. This machine is much more humble and she is already in point: the vacuum / leaf blowers. And it makes a racket not possible this mess.
Prior to campaign, the leaves were not a problem. People do not bother too much with it because there are trees everywhere and the wind totally mocks the perimeter of your garden (if you have an area for that matter). Either you leave the leaves on the ground and they protect what they cover during freezing weather (and provide shelter for billions of little creatures like ladybugs not need to buy these shelters ridiculous that we try to nice to peddle, I do not mind but 15 euros for ladybugs when you have woodpiles outside is unreal). Either you take your courage in both hands and you Buy one of these magical Fiskars rakes that have revolutionized the chore of dead leaves broader, lighter, faster. But
urban patterns are so powerful that they invade villages and countryside. All hardware stores sell these machines that suck and blow leaves in record time, some even turn them into instant mulch. With all the insects that are passed to the grinder, you can not stop progress. The problem is that everyone gets started, believing that accompany progress, and in some places, on Saturday, is a concert of mowers and blowers.
I can not complain about that, in the countryside, it's still a minority. After all, it is in the country and everyone is more or less what he wants. But I begin to hear the noise. And the sound that accompanied this beautiful time of year, the sound of rake on gravel, go silent - return of the wheelbarrow to the compost to dump the leaves, all that is now on the verge of extinction. As autumn lasts longer and the leaves of the trees continue to fall at different times (the oaks being the last to lose their leaves), they are weeks and weeks of blower that are needed for the garden can not stand the slightest dead leaf. An ecological catastrophe, yet caused by trade.
An article of great New Yorker 25 October exposes the proportions absolutely stupid that takes this phenomenon in the U.S. (and probably in England too). Gardening is a wonderful occupation that allows us to think we hear. It is there in the silence of nature, listening to the sounds of the small garden and the murmur of agriculture in the distance. But not anymore. Every weekend now is a symphony of leaf blowers and lawn mowers that meet gardens into gardens. This noise is the latest plaything of the symbolic power of manly gardener. Plus it makes noise and it is more macho. Men have their toys and it makes even more noise than others. It is a bazooka in leaves. Gardening is not the time of silence is one of the game is the barbecue area for playing the dinette of the rich. A terrace to the bobo which enlarges his house. There is the rich pool play at all.
The problem is that this toy has rules and men cheat gambling Normally, leaf collector, you can get them quickly to the recycling center or your own compost (that better). But if you're lazy, you're having fun above all to push the leaves of your garden from the neighbor, which returns you to your new leaf with his and it all ends up in conflict between neighbors. Ah, men.
Tad Friend's article I was particularly fond of three things. First, I began to wonder if I became stupid to think that this tool was created by the devil. I see that I am not alone, thank god. Then I asked myself the question: OK, it's not environmentally friendly (it runs on petrol stuff), but it would be dangerous, too? Bingo. In fact, with the leaves, these devices stir trillions Particle everything from rotting, germs, microbes, endotoxins, organic compounds and dog poop - or worse. It is open Little Britain " Dust, anyone, dust? . In the U.S., they have solved the problem by employing Latinos to do the job, as it is they who swallow any crap, and sometimes we do not even give their mask, ear muffs and goggles. It's cheap pay more.
But! All that dust does not fall only on Latinos: it goes everywhere. She enters the house, she settles on the garden, in short, to pollute the garden from its natural elements, which is a shame. It stirs the dust and the risk is spread not only in his garden but also that of others, great! You have asthma, I'll help you! You see me saying to my neighbor over the fence: "Uh, you know you're sending me poo particles on your cat that I spend much because it's not because I 'm seropositivity with an undetectable viral load and immune system really top that I do not want me nab toxoplasmosis or worse. " The face he would.
United States, there are already vile that prohibit the use of blowers / vacuums. 24 in the state of California. But here, there, the condition of the lawn is a sign of strong social, it's something that has to be spotless to belong to the community fabric. A poorly maintained lawn in front of the house and the whole neighborhood that beckons you to the supermarket as if you had taken hostage a mother with two swords! It reminds me of an article I read and cut (right now I find it too bad and I do not see it on Google) on U.S. municipalities that strictly prohibit garden owners to leave without a little maintenance. Even if the owners want to make their garden greener, allow some weeds to house some wildlife is prohibited. In the case of blowers / vacuums, it will be difficult to establish culpability on the noise. The reference machine, the StihlBR-500, which does not make much noise, costs $ 469. But the machine next to it, with no noise reduction is twice as loud and it costs almost the same (just $ 40 less) and it is 33% more powerful. Jules gardeners want the power in his hands. It's a bit like it was a phallic replacement, you know? The noise problem, we will see later. The New Yorker article recalls very well: after all, the sound is a weapon. We used songs from Britney Spears to crack the Guantanamo prisoners.
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