OK, you enviro-pansies, I'm gonna do my part:

[AZhitman]

Supposedly, running a lawnmower for one hour contributes more nastiness to the atmosphere than an entire year of driving.

SO I'm ditching my good ol' MacLane tiff mower (circa 1984) in favor of a new electric model.

I hate extension cords, so I'll probably go with a rechargeable unit... and my "lawn" is pretty small, so it should be a good purchase.

It'll actually be nice to hear myself think while I'm mowing, and I think I can get about $50 for the old heap from the scrap metal dealer.

Now, if I could only recharge it "off-grid" via solar panels - But alas, the homeowners' association prohibits solar collectors. FAIL.

[rn79870]

God bless you Greg! Green is good. Also, bless California. There is a law in CA that forbids restriction/use of solar panels. In fact, the law requires that any owner of neighboring properties who has shrubbery, trees, etc, that cover over 10% of the collection area, trim or remove the vegetation. You'd think that AZ, with it's abundance of sunshine, would cash in on the asset.

[AZhitman]

I'm sure my new mower, made of petrochemical-based plastic, with nickel-hydride batteries, was manufactured in a vacuum where all the pollutants were magically whisked away to Neverland, and the parts were transported to market in hemp-based packaging by environmentally-sensitive sled dogs who recycle their own poop.

[audtatious]

You should not cut your grass as the more it grows the more CO2 it scrubs out of the atmosphere....

[rn79870]

Thanks for that Matt. I'm going to use it on my wife and the homeowners association here when they comment on my lawn.

[audtatious]

No problem. Just let me know when you need help again

FWIW, I grew up with electric lawn mowers. I hated the damn things but my dad insisted that they required less maintenance and were easier to use. Now, with the grass we had growing up (my parents were not huge on landscaping) it worked OK. My lawn would laugh at an electric lawn mower due to how thick the grass is. My 6hp mower does a decent job altho it can struggle at times and my wifes 3hp lawn mower dies within 2 feet because it does not have enough power.

[C-Kwik]

My 6hp mower does a decent job altho it can struggle at times and my wifes 3hp lawn mower dies within 2 feet because it does not have enough power.

Your wife has a mower too? Do they match?

[audtatious]

Does the mower match the curtains?

Depends on whether I have weed-whacked first or not

[stopcamping]

the homeowners' association prohibits solar collectors. FAIL.

HOAs are major fail.

[AZhitman]

HOAs are major fail.

I disagree.

People who don't keep their yards nice and paint their house turquoise are major fail.

[rn79870]

Ours has a little squad that "inspects" the homes every 3rd. month and if you are in violation, (weeds, etc) you get a violation notice from the HOA. It is a pita but, it has it's good side. Besides, I get a large pool, hot tub, a tennis court, a 4 table billard room and a clubhouse that I share with 250 other homeowners for $51.00 a month. I can't complain, pool maintenance alone would probably be over $100/month if I had a pool in the back yard.

[AZhitman]

Yep - My HOA dues are $45 a month, and my front yard is a 3-acre park with trees and green grass...

Hell, the water bill alone probably cost that.

Wish we had the clubhouse / community center - However, our development isn't finished yet.

[HashiriyaS14]

Yep - My HOA dues are $45 a month, and my front yard is a 3-acre park with trees and green grass...

Hell, the water bill alone probably cost that.

Wish we had the clubhouse / community center - However, our development isn't finished yet.

+1 to HOA's. I pay $75/month and that includes all common area groundskeeping, a pool membership, snow removal services, trash collection, cleanup from storms, and lots of other goodies. Money well spent, IMO.

Anyway, is that stat really true about the 1hr of lawnmowing compared to a YEAR of driving?

[AZhitman]

So I've read.

Hell, so much of what the greenies spew is horse****, it wouldn't surprise me if it is a lie.

However, they don't have cat cons, or recirc'ed fuel vents, or O2 pumps, and they run pig-rich... so, I wouldn't be surprised if it's true, either.

[HashiriyaS14]

So I've read.

Hell, so much of what the greenies spew is horse****, it wouldn't surprise me if it is a lie.

However, they don't have cat cons, or recirc'ed fuel vents, or O2 pumps, and they run pig-rich... so, I wouldn't be surprised if it's true, either.

I googled around and found something that said 1hr of lawnmowing is equivalent to like 100 miles of driving, which would seem to make a lot more sense to me.

The article went on to say that the reason was primarily the lack of cats, as you said.

[ishkabibble]

All you HOA folks are communists.

[stopcamping]

All you HOA folks are communists.

[rn79870]

All you HOA folks are communists.

If I could afford a nice 40+ acre ranch, and didn't have to look at my neighbors property everytime I looked out the window, I'd agree with you. Unfortunitely, once a neighbor thinks it's his right to keep his motorhome parked in front of his house with his boat in the driveway, and put up 20 ham radio antennas, and plant weeds, and paint his house day glow orange, and put his truck on blocks in his front yard, I'm kind of glad I have a HOA to complain to.

[AZhitman]

When they took away our right to enforce "natural consequences" (civil rights my ***), something needed to take its place.

[nismofly]

if your name was chuck norris you wouldnt have to mow your lawn

[ishkabibble]

If I could afford a nice 40+ acre ranch...

Well get working, then, you lazy bum.

What, just because you don't want to work hard, you expect the community to take care of everything for you?

Damn libbies...

[audtatious]

He's in Cali so I'm sure he could find someone to work for pennies an hour.

[AZhitman]

Well get working, then, you lazy bum.

What, just because you don't want to work hard, you expect the community to take care of everything for you?

Damn libbies...