On Earth Day, I heard the drone of a leaf blower somewhere in the neighborhood. I couldn't see it, but it was out there, probably a block away. As the distant whining became more and more annoying, I realized that, for me, leaf blowers are still a mystery.

I presume they are called leaf blowers because that was their original use. Some sort of labor saving device. But in this part of the world, leaf blowers are used primarily to blow grass clippings off of sidewalks and curbs into the street (where artificial breezes from vehicles blow them back against the curb where they clog street drain grates when it rains).

If leaf blowers were invented to replace rakes and brooms, then why aren't grass clippings blown into piles and "disposed" of in the same manner as swept and raked glass clippings?

If leaf blowers presumably reduce labor, haven't they caused the loss of jobs?

Does "lawn care" cost less now than it did in the age of the rake and broom?

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