AGZA Info Packet v6 by Luke Massman-Johnson

WHO WE ARE AGZA is American Green Zone Alliance, the global leader in zero-‐emission grounds maintenance strategies. We’re a proactive member-‐based organization that accredits AGZA Service Providers and certifies AGZA Green Zones™.

OUR VISION A future in which all green spaces — yards, parks, campuses, commercial grounds, and entire municipalities — are healthy and sustainable for workers, the community, and the planet.

OUR MISSION Kick gas out of lawncare, everywhere! Enlighten lawn care professionals and property owners on the consequences of gas, engage them with the many benefits of clean, green sustainable land maintenance, and help them transition to quieter, cleaner, healthier tools and practices.

HOW WE DO IT 1. We’ve designed a HOLISTIC IMPLEMENTATION of quieter zero-‐emission battery-‐electric equipment and common-‐sense environmentally friendly practices. 2. WE EDUCATE AND ACCREDIT property owners, grounds managers, and lawn care professionals. 3. WE CERTIFY AGZA Green Zones™ maintained exclusively with zero-‐emission equipment and sustainable practices. 4. WE CREATE effective zero-‐emission equipment packages tailored to real life requirements. 5. WE PARTNER with equipment manufacturers to rigorously test the latest zero-‐emission equipment, gather emissions data, submit design and performance feedback, and actively promote the best products. 6. WE ADVOCATE for policies and programs that advance the cause, including AGZA Green Zones, gas mower exchanges, bans on gas leaf blowers, and environmental social justice.

WHY WE DO IT

WHAT’S SO BAD ABOUT GAS? A staggering list of pollutants, health risks, and environmental dangers are the inevitable outcomes of gas equipment. Just one hour of mowing with gas creates as much smog-‐forming pollution as driving a car between 200 and 640 miles! AGZA has identified the biggest consequences of the 120 million gas lawn machines operating throughout the US.

EMISSIONS • • • •

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Carbon Monoxide (CO) Smog: (NOx + VOCs) Particulate Matter (10 + 2.5)

GAS & OIL

SOLID WASTE

• 1.2B Gal gas burned each yr. • 17M Gal gas spilled each yr. • 97 Gal of water required to refine each gallon of gas

• 400M gas, oil and lubricant bottles to landfills annually • Air and oil filters, spark plugs, belts, and hoses

TOXIC WASTE • • • • •

Gasoline 3M Gal residual oil Carburetor cleaner Engine degreaser Chemical-‐soaked rags

NOISE POLLUTION OUR HEALTH • • • • •

Gas is louder than electric Tinnitus & hearing loss Stress & aggression Hypertension Headaches

• Serious health threats to workers and community • Degrades air, soil & water • Disrupts neighborhoods • Adds to climate change

AGZA PRODUCTS We offer two solutions: AGZA Green Zone™ Certification and AGZA Service Provider Accreditation.

AGZA GREEN ZONE™ CERTIFICATION AGZA Green Zones can be created in outdoor spaces of any size, from an individual lawn to multi-‐ acre commercial and municipal properties. AGZA Accredited Service Providers verify that green spaces are maintained exclusively with zero-‐emission equipment and sustainable land care practices. AGZA offers four sizes and types of Green Zone: Residential, Academic, Commercial, and Municipal.

RESIDENTIAL GREEN ZONE

For the homeowner who wants to eliminate gas machinery and virtually the entire carbon footprint of his or her lawn. You’ll breathe easier and your neighbors will love the peace and quiet.

ACADEMIC GREEN ZONE A low-‐noise zero-‐emission Academic AGZA Green Zone not only creates a more peaceful, less distracted learning environment, but also gives the institution desirable environmental credentials.

COMMERCIAL GREEN ZONE Commercial AGZA Green Zones reduce noise for employees and customers, slash the carbon footprint of grounds maintenance, and provide a robust ROI — both financially and in public relations.

MUNICIPAL GREEN ZONE

AGZA partners with city, county, and state officials to create zero-‐ emission parks, civic centers, and thoroughfares. Citizens get quiet green spaces and clean air, and politicians get the appreciation.

AGZA PRODUCTS (cont’d)

AGZA SERVICE PROVIDER ACCREDITATION AGZA educates and accredits homeowners, lawn care professionals, and grounds managers on the benefits of battery-‐electric equipment, on their safe and effective use, and on eco-‐friendly grounds maintenance practices. We offer accreditation to lawn care professionals at two scales and price points: Independent and Regional / National

INDEPENDENT SERVICE PROVIDERS For local lawn and garden companies who implement sustainable practices, use zero-‐emission equipment, and create AGZA Certified Green Zones™ for their customers..

REGIONAL / NATIONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS For grounds maintenance companies with multi-‐state territories. Regional managers will be educated in optimal use of zero-‐ emission equipment and eco-‐friendly practices, and be qualified to certify AGZA Green Zones for their customers.

An OpEd by Luke Massman-‐Johnson for The American Green Zone Alliance. Summer 2015

LET’S KICK GAS OUT OF LAWNCARE IN LA Continued use of gas lawncare equipment is a failure of environmental and social justice: it’s high time LA transitions all of its grounds maintenance from dirty gas to clean electric. Everyone hates the notorious drone of LA’s ubiquitous gas leaf blowers, but noise pollution is just one of the many hazards inherent to all gas-‐powered lawn equipment. Gas mowers, blowers, hedgers, edgers, trimmers, and saws are some of the most polluting equipment still allowed in the US, and they expell staggering volumes of toxic emissions every day. • • • •

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) = main GreenHouse Gas (GHG), causes Global Warming Carbon Monoxide (CO) = poisonous, a secondary GHG Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) = poisonous, highly reactive, creates PM2.5 and smog Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) = toxic, carcinogenic, creates PM2.5 and smog

THE SMOG: A TRUE LA HORROR STORY Smog (aka ground-‐level Ozone) is the result of a chemical reaction between the NOxs and VOCs in gas exhaust when they get “cooked” by heat and sunlight. LA’s notorious history of smog goes back to the early 1940’s when the air was so noxious that the city thought it was under a gas attack from the Japanese! When the burning of coal, oil, and gas were finally indicted, Los Angeles went on to became ground zero for initiating The Clean Air Act and many crucial emissions-‐reducing technologies for cars, factories and power plants. But the dirty secret of those air quality laws is that they left “non-‐road” gas engines exempt. So for the past three or four decades the egregiously polluting two-‐stroke gas lawn tools have continued to billow pollution far worse than has long been banned everywhere else in society. PARTICULARLY NEFARIOUS Hidden in the toxic exhaust of gas lawn equipment is Particulate Matter (PM2.5), microscopic droplets of poisonous NOx and carcinogenic VOCs. These particles are so tiny they are inhaled deep into the lungs where they lodge in tissues, evade our immune system, and trigger a suite of respiratory problems from asthma and emphysema to lung disease and lung cancer. Children, the elderly, and those with heart and lung conditions are at heightened risk from PM2.5. But it is the countless lawn workers who inhale these toxic pollutants every day, year round, that may be at the greatest long term risk. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE For many homeowners, the greatest grievance from gas lawn equipment is the maddening whine of a neighbor’s leaf blower. But the proven health effects from noise pollution go far beyond nuisance. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), and credible non-‐profits like Quiet

Communities, noise pollution from gas lawn equipment poses very serious physical and psychological effects. • • • •

Tinnitus & hearing loss Elevated stress levels Aggression Hypertension

• • •

Immune system suppression Headaches Poor concentration

• •

Productivity loss Sleep disturbance

Three factors compound to cause the damaging effects of noise pollution: loudness, distance, and duration. Lawn crews work with incredibly loud gas machines, held at arm’s length, all day long — which makes them acutely vulnerable to the cumulative effects of noise pollution in lawn care. It’s worth noting that the Decibel (dB) scale for loudness is logarithmic not linear, meaning the damaging effects increase exponentially along the scale. In fact each increase of 10dB is twice as loud as the previous, so a typical 95dB gas lawn mower is four times louder and more hazardous to the operator than an average 75dB electric lawn mower. And since OSHA’s safety threshold for unprotected ears is at 85dB, switching from gas to electric literally makes all the difference to the ear of the operator. GAS EQUIPMENT SUFFERS DISASTROUS LIFE-‐CYCLE PROBLEMS AS WELL By definition gas equipment is fundamentally dependent upon, and sustains, the oil and gas industry. But without even diving into the alarming hazards of a fossil-‐fuel based economy, just consider a few of the on-‐the-‐job “externalized” dangers of gas machinery — negative impacts which are not widely known and are rarely tallied against the supposed advantages of gas equipment. • • • • • •

Every year Americans burn some 1.2 billion gallons of gas in lawn and garden equipment, creating countless millions of tons of smog and greenhouse gasses. 17 million gallons of that gas is spilled or evaporates just during fueling — disappearing into our soil, groundwater and air. That’s more than the infamous Exxon Valdez spill. Two-‐stroke engines are terribly inefficient, releasing up to 25-‐30% of their gas-‐oil mixture unburned with their other emissions. Maintenance and repair of gas lawn equipment requires oil, filters, spark plugs, gaskets, hoses and pulleys. Machine cleanup is done with toxic carburetor cleaners, brake cleaners, engine degreasers, and even gasoline. 400 million quarts of motor oil are sold in CA annually. When disposed, each bottle still contains 1-‐2oz of residual oil, resulting in 3 million gallons of waste oil in our landfills.

SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? The remedy is simple and imperative: we must go electric! Stunning leaps in battery tech and industrial design have resulted in entire suites of cordless electric tools that finally rival the raw performance of gas. They don’t have to hide behind dainty residential poodle lawns, either. They’re ready for all-‐day commercial operations on multi-‐acre properties! The latest battery electric performance, power, and run times are the straws that will break the back of

gas. Because in almost every other way — from zero emissions, low noise, low maintenance, to healthy for operators, and total lifetime costs — battery electric has always far exceeded gas. The lawn care industry is on the cusp of a zero-‐emission, lower-‐noise revolution. The cost savings by completely eliminating fuel, oil, spark plugs, filters, hoses, and the maintenance thereof ensures a healthy ROI to go along with your much healthier lawncare, air quality, and peace of mind. THE LIST OF BENEFITS FROM BATTERY ELECTRIC IS COMPELLING • • • • • • • •

40-‐70% quieter, bringing peace to our neighborhoods, schools, parks, and office complexes Up to 90% efficient: gas engines are famously inefficient No ongoing gas and oil costs, and no gas-‐oil mixtures No spills, fumes, or stains, no toxic chemical cleanup and degreasing Very little maintenance compared to gas engines The best batteries charge faster than they are used, so two batteries gives you infinite run time. Manufacturers have created entire suites of lawn tools with swappable batteries As your electricity increasingly comes from renewables, the carbon footprint of your lawncare virtually disappears!

CONCLUSION: NOISY, HIGHLY-‐POLLUTING GAS EQUIPMENT MUST BE ELIMINATED FROM THE LAWN CARE INDUSTRY The benefits of zero-‐emission electric equipment are obvious and plentiful, and in light of LA’s incredible new Sustainability Plan there couldn’t be a better time to completely eliminate gas lawn equipment throughout LA. And when we do, our workers, citizens, neighborhoods, communities, local air quality and the atmosphere will all breathe a huge sigh of relief.