Dear editor,
I was dismayed and alarmed to find out that three of our five Select Board members decided to ignore the wishes of the community and voted to extend the period in which commercial lawn care companies are allowed to operate gas-powered leaf blowers. For most decisions, we rely on our elected town officials to use their best judgement to do what is right for the citizens of Lexington. I imagine that it is often difficult to discern exactly how voters feel on a particular issue. However, in this case, there was a town-wide referendum in which the people clearly indicated their desire to be able to enjoy their time at home without the ubiquitous and ear-splitting whine of gas-powered leaf blowers. This is a serious quality-of-life issue as well as an environmental and worker safety issue. While the mandate may create a short-term hardship for lawn care business owners, the playing field is level. All companies must comply, and any increased costs will undoubtedly — and appropriately — be passed onto customers. It’s not clear what a one-year delay would have accomplished – or why it was deemed necessary given the fact that lawn care companies were already given three years to prepare. I am grateful to the 96 town meeting members who chose to uphold the wishes of the community. I was disappointed that the Observer did not detail which Select Board members voted to ignore the mandate of the people – I would like to make a note to myself for upcoming elections.
Kei Kishimoto
I was one of the town meeting members who voted to extend the gas-powered leaf blower ban by one year.
Many town meeting members cited the same reasons as Kei Kishimoto for voting “no” on 29b and and in favor of the original ban. Ear-splitting noise, quality of life issues, and worker health and safety issues. In my opinion, as soon as those issues are raised as reasons for a gas-powered leaf blower ban, the discussion veers into hypocrisy.
Everything that has ever been said as part of the gas-powered leaf blower debate about the harmful impact of fossil fuels on people and the environment is true. It’s clear that electric batteries have to be part of the world’s green strategy if we are to reduce and eliminate the impact of climate change and global warming. In wealthy communities like Lexington, these batteries provide residents with green and clean and peace and quiet.
But there as an “inconvenient truth” about lithium-ion batteries that, to my recollection, has never been so much as mentioned or acknowledged by proponents of the gas-powered leaf blower ban.
Lithium ion batteries have two key components, lithium and cobalt. In countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which provides 70% of the cobalt currently used worldwide, and South America’s lithium “golden triangle”, which spans the borders of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile and provides 60% of the lithium currently used worldwide, including lithium from brines stored deep underground, the mining of lithium and cobalt has a huge negative impact on the environment and people.
Lithium and cobalt mining require huge quantities of fresh water that cannot be recovered. For example, it takes more than 130,000 gallons of water to extract one ton of lithium from brine. Other direct affects are water and air pollution. Both also affect soil fertility, agriculture, fish, cattle, wildlife, and drinking water. The resultant pollution can cause asthma attacks, heart problems, lung problems, skin and eye irritation, and cancer.
It is my opinion that the use of lithium-iron batteries passes environmental injustice, negative environmental impacts, and negative health impacts to communities and countries where the people aren’t lucky enough to have the wealth, resources, and freedoms we have in Lexington. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, people, including children, work under slave labor conditions. In North and South America, lithium mining adversely affects the cultures and rights of indigenous peoples.
By the way, I admit my own complicity and hypocrisy. My iPhone and my MacBook both use lithium-ion batteries. Because of the overwhelming evidence of the environmental injustice of the quest for green and clean and peace and quiet, the car I buy next summer will have an internal combustion engine.
To reach these conclusions I have read many articles and papers published in peer reviewed journals. I realize that most people aren’t going to be interested in doing the same. So, for additional information, take a look at the following.
Take eight minutes to watch “This Is What We Die For”, from Amnesty International. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWYQkhoi754
Take fifty minutes to listen to the March 13, 2024, edition of On Point, with Meghna Chakrabarti, titled “The Human Cost of Cobalt: Modern Slavery in the Democratic Republic of the Congo”. https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2024/03/13/human-cost-cobalt-modern-slavery-in-the-democratic-republic-of-congo
Take nine minutes to watch “How Bad is Lithium Mining For the Environment”, from Planet Proof. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdsj70EfcIg
Take two minutes to watch “Mining Lithium Violates Indigenous Rights and Permanently Pollutes the Earth!”, from Nizhoni Films. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwvMKUXYmOo
Take ten minutes to watch “Lithium Mine Pits Electric Cars Against Sacred Indigenous Land“, from The Guardian. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv9iHH7g6xk
Take six minutes to watch “Argentina’s Indigenous Kolla People Speak About Lithium Mining and Self-determination”, from Amnesty International Canada. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynu-6UY8FUo
Kudos to Kei Kishimoto for his letter above. I agree that we need to know the names of the three select board members who ignored the wishes of Lexington’s citizens.
I would add that a major article in the NYT Magazine found that noise generally is a major health hazard–something that’s not only relevant to leaf blowers, but to the current efforts to expand Hanscom Airfield. They wrote:
“On a spring afternoon in Bankers Hill, San Diego, the soundscape is serene: Sea breeze rustles through the trees, and neighbors chat pleasantly across driveways.
Except for about every three minutes, when a jet blazes overhead with an ear-piercing roar.
A growing body of research shows that this kind of chronic noise — which rattles the neighborhood over 280 times a day, more than 105,000 each year — is not just annoying. It is a largely unrecognized health threat that is increasing the risk of hypertension, stroke and heart attacks worldwide, including for more than 100 million Americans.
We’ve all been told to limit the volume on our headphones to protect our hearing. But it is the relentless din of daily life in some places that can have lasting effects throughout the body.”
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/06/09/health/noise-exposure-health-impacts.html
In my neighborhood, the leaf blowers ran steadily from around mid-March through October. A lot of make-work went on, driven by the owners, no doubt. The workers ran the leaf blowers on the street, on driveways, and on pristine lawns, places where there certainly wasn’t the need.
The noise drove me crazy, often forcing me to stop work. I eventually started taking my dog running whenever the leaf blowers started up, but I should be able to choose my time for that, rather than having to leave my house.
The votes of Select Board and Town Meeting members are posted on the Town’s website. Voting in favor of the proposed delay were Jill Hai, Suzie Barry, and Doug Lucente. All three also voted against the phase-out of gas-powered lead blowers when Town Meeting originally passed it.