Originally Posted By: bchannell
Originally Posted By: Johnny2Bad
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Originally Posted By: fsdork
I will seriously consider a battery-powered lawnmower and trimmer the next time around. If I can be sure I can get the lawns cut on one charge, and not have to replace a battery within the life of the mower chassis, I'm in.
Its 2018, and lithium ion batteries are great. Why mess with a gasoline powered mower, especially for a small yard?
Last year I got a:
EGO 20 in. 56 Volt Lithium ion Cordless Push Mower with 5.0Ah Battery and Charger Included
----Included 5.0Ah Arc-Lithium battery powers all EGO POWER+ products
----Single-lever, 6-position deck-height adjustment
----Charges in approximately 80 min with included standard charger
----Runs the mower for about 45 minutes
...but for an even smaller yard, consider a Black and Decker rechargeable or maybe Ryobi battery mower for cheaper than the Ego.
Home Depot, Lowes, Amazon....
No oil changes, no getting gas for it, no air filters, easy decision.
The raw materials needed to manufacture most battery types (save for lead/acid) are mined in areas far removed, as in an ocean away, from where they are manufactured. That means a trip in a cargo ship, burning bunker fuel, the most polluting fuel known to man (banned within the maritime limits of Canada and the USA, but then again, those mines are not in Canada or the USA for the most part, and China is still a steamboat away), for about six weeks.
Electric battery-powered anything looks a lot better if you ignore the environmental cost of manufacture, but ignoring it doesn't make it go away. Nor does electrical generation come for free; even a pollution-free (when operating properly) nuclear plant has a huge, and I mean huge, environmental cost of construction. Everything else pollutes.
I'm not arguing against electric or battery power, but you have to look at the whole picture; that warm, fuzzy feeling might be a result of you lying to yourself.
When the environmental cost of manufacture of a dozen 1960's Cadillacs is equal to that of one smartphone (not a car, a phone), the equations get modified a bit. In other words, maybe you should use that smartphone for another year or three, at least. And maybe driving an older mower for a few more years makes net environmental sense, even if it generates more pollution, because replacing it with new is worth a long, long time's worth of CO2 emissions, even if it emits zero CO2 once running.
Hey, if you live in this world long enough, you will eventually have lived through a half dozen of these "I know what's good for you better than you do" types, who are half the time, completely wrong. So, just think about things a bit before you drink the Kool-Aid. Maybe they're right, maybe they're wrong, but don't just assume.
The fact is that the mantra is "Reuse, Reduce, Recycle" in that order. Industry wants you to believe that its "recycle, reduce, reuse". That's because Industry wants to constantly sell you new stuff, even if it means replacing what they sold you last year ... in fact especially if it means replacing what they sold you last year. Just ask ... should I, really?
You nailed it!!! Everyone should be reading this.
I dunno about that either. Factor in the pollution associated with the manufacture and distribution of a new gas powered piece of OPE, then the constant need of a fossil fuel, the fuel's manufacturing and distribution needs, etc.. It's gotta be a wash in terms of it's carbon footprint compared to battery operated stuff.
