Leaf blowers?... there oughta be a law!

Still, still, still: the night is calm and still.
  The Christchild in his crib lies sleeping,
  angels round him watch are keeping.
 Still, still, still: the night is calm and still.

I write regularly about the growing level of environmental noise as a threat to peace and wellbeing, including our spiritual health. Some are suggesting that noise is the new smoking, a hazard which affects sleep and amps up anxiety. We read in scripture that a number of biblical figures including Jesus and the apostle Paul took time away from the demands of life to become spiritually focused and renewed in the quiet.

We may like the notion of Jesus being born on a "silent night" but don't tell us we can't make noise around our homes. I have to share with you the report of a raucous meeting near Montreal a couple of days ago. The council decided to ban leaf blowers during the summer, and the locals got out the tar and feathers:

BEACONSFIELD, QUE.—Tensions erupted in a Montreal suburb after councillors voted to pass a contentious summer-long ban on leaf blowers. The mayor of Beaconsfield says he could barely get a word out at Monday’s meeting between the heckling, yelling and other disruptions from the crowd of more than 100 people.Georges Bourelle says protesters gathered outside city hall before the 5-1 vote in favour of banning leaf blowers between June 1 and Sept. 30 starting next year.

Bourelle says police were called as a precaution after one councillor was allegedly threatened by a person who opposed the regulations. He says leaf blowers raise health concerns due to noise and air pollution, as well as the dispersion of fine particles he says can contribute respiratory and cardiovascular illness. Opponents of the leaf-blower restrictions refute the mayor’s claims about the risks posed by leaf blowers, saying a seasonal ban on the landscaping tool could hurt local businesses.

They had to bring in the police? This is both hilarious and disturbing. Leaf blowers have been around for a while and I remember back nearly twenty years ago when landscapers in Los Angeles threatened a hunger strike (I kid you not) when local government banned them. Over the years they have become an increasingly noxious presence, akin to giant parsnip or ticks -- is my bias showing? I looked out my window after a Spring snowstorm to see a neighbour using her leaf blower to clean off her car.



We have another neighbour who treats her yard as though it is an extension of her living room and is out EVERY DAY blowing imaginary particles off her manicured lawn. Ruth was amused that I found this frustrating until she retired and is now treated to the daily roar.

I wonder if we'll get to the place where banning leaf blowers, at least for some seasons of the year, will become the norm in municipalities addressing noise pollution?
 
I often head out on the deck early to read -sometimes with a book light -- so that I can experience some blessed quiet. So, may noise machines be curtailed, oh God, hear my prayer...quietly...