Gas lawn equipment is horrible for health – here’s how these cities are fixing it
A new interactive mapping tool shows how a growing number of US cities and states have passed regulations restricting the use of gas-powered lawn equipment, or incentivizing the use of electric equipment, with big clean air benefits for a comparatively small investment.
While gas lawn equipment use may seem like it’s not all that big a deal at first glance, gas leafblowers and lawnmowers can actually extremely bad for air and human health – sometimes moreso than cars.
The issue is that “small off-road engines” (SOREs) usually don’t include any sort of pollution controls, and are often dirtier two-stroke engines that create more power in a small package, but emit orders of magnitude more pollution in the form of unburned particulates from the incomplete combustion process they undergo when compared to four-stroke engines.
As a result, running a gas leaf blower for an hour can produce more emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and reactive organic gases (ROG) than driving a small passenger car 1,000 miles. The car still has plenty of other impacts – higher carbon emissions and energy use, contribution to sprawl and land use, oil dependency and so on – but for these specific smog-forming pollutants, SOREs have a major impact.
It’s gotten to the point where California regulators at one point said that gas lawn equipment was responsible for more NOx + ROG emissions statewide than passenger cars did. And in Colorado, lawn & garden equipment contributes about a third as much ozone as the Colorado’s large oil & gas industry, or also about a third as much as all on-road vehicles combined (including heavy duty trucks).
This pollution doesn’t just form smog and harm human health, but when it happens in residential areas as it often does, it can directly pollute the air of the homes nearby – and operators, of course, have to breathe it every day. Not only that, but the rumbling noise of lawn equipment can create quite a nuisance in residential areas, especially with the rising popularity of working from home.
As a result of all of this, regulators in many states and cities have recognized that restrictions on gas lawn equipment can give outsized air quality benefits for relatively little cost or disruption, and that’s exactly what they’ve done in many places across the country, according to a new analysis by U.S. PIRG.
The new interactive mapping tool was created by U.S. PIRG, a public interest advocacy group which focuses on a number of issues, including environment and clean air.
It shows that cities in 26 states have passed some sort of restriction on use of gas lawn equipment, or incentive to swap to electric. As you might expect, California and Colorado are leading the way here, but plenty of other states and cities have something available, including some that aren’t always known for defending clean air on the state level (like, for example, Texas),
These restrictions take several forms. From California’s statewide ban on sale of new gas lawn equipment, to city restrictions on gas leaf blowers or on any equipment over a certain noise level, to municipal use of electric equipment, or simply incentives to encourage swapping out gas for electric.
Thankfully, there are better options available these days, and they’re quite cheap compared to the outsized air quality benefits they produce.
Electric lawn equipment has improved dramatically in recent years, offering lower noise, no emissions, and just as much power as gas-powered versions. Units are often available at a similar price as gas versions, and not only that, there are incentives available to replace gas models with electric ones.
Some of the locations on the above map have focused on an incentive approach rather than limitations. So in places that have boneheadedly made it illegal for local governments to restrict the use of gas leaf blowers like Texas has, cities like Austin and Dallas have nevertheless instituted incentive campaigns to help their residents and encourage switching over.
US PIRG’s page describes several policies that cities or states can implement to help reduce the impacts of these small polluting engines, and residents can certainly talk to their representatives and encourage movement on this issue.
And if you’re looking to get yourself some gas lawn equipment, keep an eye out for Electrek’s “Green Deals” posts where deals come up quite frequently. And check with your state or regional clean air regulator to see if any rebates are available – here’s California’s page and here’s Colorado’s, but as you can see from the map, there are incentives available elsewhere too.
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With the launch of the first-ever Class 8 vocational EV in the North American market, PACCAR Kenworth is raising the battery-electric bar and underscoring just how far the market has come since the Tesla Semi made its debut nearly a decade ago.
When Tesla pulled the wraps off its all electric Semi truck all the way back in November of 2017, the rest of the industry was hardly thinking about BEVs. Nearly a decade later, the world is still waiting for the Semi to begin regular production, and PACCAR is launching its second generation of HDEVs with the debut of this, the all-new Kenworth T880E vocational truck.
“The Kenworth T880E marks a groundbreaking milestone in Kenworth’s history as we bring to market the first Class 8 battery-electric solution built for vocational applications,” explains Kevin Haygood, Kenworth assistant general manager for sales and marketing. “The T880E is engineered to meet the evolving needs of operators and vocational fleets while still providing the durability, reliability and customization our customers expect.”
The new electric K-whopper is motivated by PACCAR’s in-house ePowertrain platform, capable of putting up to 605 hp and 1,850 lb-ft of peak torque to work, while delivering the same levels of drivability and dependability fleets expect from a Kenworth – but power and torque are only part of the T880E’s work-ready résumé.
Open to work
In addition to a stout, Class 8 electric chassis fitted with heavy-duty Kenworth brakes and axles, the T880E’s central drive eMotor allows for significant wheelbase flexibility so fleet buyers can spec out exactly the machine they need to get the job done. The T880E was also designed to enable lift axle installations from trusted Kenworth upfitters for a vocational-friendly BEV integration.
Additionally, the T880E features a wide selection of factory-installed options that include both high- and low-voltage ePTO (electric Power Take Off) ports, mechanical ePTOs, and the same wide array of body configurations as the ICE version.
Speaking of the ICE version, the electric T880E also can also be had in the same set-back front axle and set-forward front axle configurations with the same multi-piece hood construction. Inside the cab, the latest in driver-focused technology includes the Kenworth SmartWheel and a new 15″ DriverConnect digital touchscreen. Dash and vocational features like RAM Mounts and factory-installed PTO switches are available. The T880E is also offered with Kenworth ADAS packages for customers interested in DigitalVision Mirrors, Bendix Fusion, and Lane Keeping Assist.
It’s so big, you guys
The T880E was on static display at last week’s ACT Expo in Anaheim, California. Check with your local Kenworth dealer for availability.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Kenworth.
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The tire-blistering SU7 Ultra has been the Xiaomi brand’s flagship super sedan since its launch, but a controversial software setting has limited the car to “just” 900 hp in regular driving – resulting in an outcry from owners who ponied up for the big boy numbers. With its latest software update, that missing 648 hp is back on tap!
The SU7 Ultra made waves throughout the performance car world when a bright yellow striped example lined up alongside a white quarter mile king, the 1,000+ hp Tesla Model S Plaid, and promptly smoked it.
That wasn’t all. A preproduction SU7 Ultra prototype lapped the legendary Nürburgring circuit in just 6 minutes and 46.874 seconds, firmly stamping the 1,500+ hp Xiaomi’s alphanumeric into the track’s record books with a time nearly fifteen seconds quicker than a Rimac Nevera or, on the ICE front, either a Corvette ZR1, Viper ACR, or Porsche 918 (take your pick).
It’s hardly any wonder, then, that the customers who signed up – in droves, too – were disappointed to learn that the SU7 they were allowed to buy had been neutered by the safety nannies to the tune of nearly 650 hp. (!)
We’re so back
The outrage from SU7 Ultra owners was immediate. And, facing mounting pressure online and on social media, Xiaomi ultimately decided to withdraw the performance-limiting features while acknowledging the need for more transparent communication about future software updates they messed up, saying in a statement, “we appreciate the passionate feedback from our community and will ensure better transparency moving forward.”
So, rich people can rocket themselves down the road in 9 second hypercars again and all is right with the world. A happy ending – but one that sort of illuminates a fresh set challenges for automakers peddling “software-defined vehicles” to a market that still thinks of their cars as very much hardware defined products.
That’s evidenced by the resistance to pay for features by subscription and complaints by more informed customers that “software locked” range and convenience features just subsidize the cost of more expensive trim levels and pad profits for manufacturers and suppliers.
The new reality is playing out in real time now, and the Jeff Bezos-backed $20,000 electric compact pickup from Slate Auto is going the other way entirely – time will tell whether more, or less tech is the answer.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Xiaomi, via CarNewsChina.
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Tesla (TSLA) has started offering reduced interest rates on the new Model Y in the US — this equates to a direct discount on the brand new vehicle that was supposed to spark Tesla’s demand back.
The automaker has announced “1.99% APR or $0 Due at Signing available for well-qualified buyers” on the new Model Y in the US for the first time:
This amounts to a direct discount worth a few thousand dollars. It is the first widely available discount on the new Model Y coming just weeks after the cheaper non-Launch Edition launched in the US.
It follows a $2,000 direct discount that Tesla offered to early Model Y owners last week.
These discounts and subsidized financing point to soft demand for the updated best-selling vehicle in the US. Tesla just delivered a disastrous first quarter, which it mostly blamed on the Model Y changeover, resulting in lower inventory.
However, industry watchers, including Electrek, noted many signs that the Model Y changeover was not the only issue. Tesla added significantly to its inventory in the first quarter, and the wait times for the new Model Y were extremely short.
Now, the discount weeks after launching the new Model Y confirm the soft demand in the US.
It’s not as bad as Europe and China, where Tesla has already been offering 0% financing on the new Model Y for weeks.
Electrek’s Take
I think it’s clear by now: the new Model Y is not coming to save Tesla.
Let’s be honest: It will still be a significant vehicle program by volume. It just won’t help Tesla return to growth this year.
The RWD Model Y is still coming and has a chance to help in the US. It is already available in China, and it’s not helping Tesla much there, but that’s in a hyper-competitive market, especially at lower prices where the RWD Model Y operates.
Tesla’s performance in Q2 in China will be interesting since it is basically back to its regular lineup for the whole quarter.
The US appears to have been Tesla’s least affected market, but Q3 will be the real test with the full lineup and no backlog of demand for new Model Y.
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