Full Text of SR0306 102nd General Assembly
SR0306 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Gas-powered leaf blowers, which simultaneously | 3 | | harm our health and environment, continue to be popular today; | 4 | | although gardeners and landscapers love the efficiency of | 5 | | these devices, educating consumers about the use of these | 6 | | blowers is important in order to enhance our health and lower | 7 | | toxic air pollutants in our everyday environment; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The most noticeable consequence of gas-powered | 9 | | leaf blowers is the ear-piercing noise, which is not only | 10 | | annoying for neighbors but also harmful for our health; | 11 | | according to a 2017 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | 12 | | report, leaf blowers create a common noise that can contribute | 13 | | to permanent hearing loss; additionally, noise pollution can | 14 | | cause stress, headaches, difficulty sleeping, productivity | 15 | | loss, higher heart attack rates, and more; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Even worse than the irritating noise produced by | 17 | | leaf blowers are the health effects created by particulate | 18 | | matter and exhaust gas released into the air; as leaf blowers | 19 | | generate wind speeds of around 180 miles per hour, they propel | 20 | | into the air potentially hazardous substances, such as dirt, | 21 | | mold, pollen, animal feces, and pesticides; exposure to these | 22 | | dust clouds, which take hours to settle, damages the human | 23 | | respiratory system and may cause irritation, allergies, and |
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| 1 | | disease; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Gas-powered leaf blowers are detrimental to the | 3 | | environment; most gas-powered leaf blowers use a two-stroke | 4 | | engine, which burns fuel very inefficiently and releases all | 5 | | of its tailgate emissions directly into the environment; the | 6 | | emitted air pollutants include carbon monoxide, which | 7 | | contributes to ground-level ozone, nitrous oxides, which | 8 | | contribute to smog formation and can cause acid rain, and | 9 | | hydrocarbons, which can be carcinogenic; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The environmental impact of gas-powered leaf | 11 | | blowers must not be underestimated; one study showed that | 12 | | under normal usage conditions, a leaf blower two-stroke engine | 13 | | emits nearly 300 times the hydrocarbons of a pickup truck, 93 | 14 | | times the hydrocarbons of a sedan, and many times as much | 15 | | carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides; if a pickup truck was | 16 | | driven for 3,900 miles, the amount of hydrocarbons emitted | 17 | | would be equivalent to using the two-stroke leaf blower for | 18 | | only about half an hour of yard work; therefore, be it
| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 20 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we encourage people to | 21 | | research alternatives to using a gas-powered leaf blower to | 22 | | reduce the negative impact these devices have on our health | 23 | | and environment.
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