We consumers can use our voices to advocate for quieter cities, streets and communities. Take, for example, the issue of leaf blowers.

Last month and this month, the leaf blowers have been going full blast. And at full volume.

I ran a so-called indoor air purifying machine only to block out noise from leaf blowers.

The manufacturers are doing strong then. Even when they don’t have to be. Years ago, a company built an almost silent vacuum cleaner. But it never went into production. During a test period, the company learned that consumers weren’t convinced the vacuum was doing a good job. Why? Because it was too quiet.

It’s almost comical, but it’s human nature.

I imagine if Harley-Davidson released a silent motorcycle, motorcycle enthusiasts might not be very excited. The very sound of the engine connotes power. Or so I am told.

Without this sound, only people like me would be satisfied.

I wonder if this translates into politics. Do voters opt for the loudest candidates, believing them to be more powerful than the more quiet candidates?

Either way, help is on the horizon. Noise pollution, while not a top priority, is at least taken more seriously than in the past.

For example, an ordinance in the city of Naples, Florida now requires fans to be electric and quieter. The new law, which came into effect on October 21, bans gasoline blowers. Electric or battery-powered fans are allowed, but only if the noise level generated does not exceed 65 decibels.

No one runs around to measure sound emissions. Instead, the city relies on the item’s decibel rating from the manufacturer.

As of January 1, using a gasoline leaf blower will become illegal in San Anselmo, California.

Los Gatos, Calif., Has had a similar ban since 2014. In Los Gatos, the decibel level must be measured at a distance of 50 feet from the leaf blower. They also ban all blowers on Sundays and holidays.

The mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Florida wanted to ban gasoline leaf blowers, but the notion was not adopted; not enough city leaders supported him.

Since 2017, Palm Beach, Florida has banned gas-powered fans, but only on properties that are at least one acre in size. I doubt the law is doing much good.

Some communities opt for very limited regulations, such as the time of day or the months of the year that machines are allowed. But such nibbling on the edges does not solve the problem. For example, New Castle, New York, bans gas-powered leaf blowers, but only from June to September. Which lacks all the interest of the noisy leaf blowing season.

The tendency to implement local laws to control noise remains low, but it is growing gradually. And, I predict, will continue to grow.

But to see widespread results, we’re going to need action at the state level. Last month, California became the first state to ban gasoline leaf blowers. A similar ban is being debated in the New York State Senate, but it’s too early to judge what will or will not pass.

Even California law is limited. Although the law also covers lawn mowers, chainsaws and other equipment, the ban will not take effect until around 2024. And even then, the ban only affects the sale of these devices, not their usage. Machines currently in use will continue to be used. Machines purchased in other states and imported into California will remain legal.

Yet over time the law should help. It is a valid start.

However, I would like lawmakers to also address electric and battery powered fans. Although they are less noisy, they are still quite noisy.

I have observed a lot of leaves that fly away unnecessarily over the decades. The objective should be leaf removal, for example by bagging or (where permitted) leaf scorching.

The goal is not simply to blow leaves from point A to point B.

But that’s what a lot of people do.

Before moving to New England, my wife and I rented a half house. We, the tenants, had nothing to do with grounds maintenance. The owners, who lived elsewhere, hired companies to mow the lawns, shovel snow and remove leaves.

Except, from my point of view, the leaves were never removed. They were just blown into the street, or across the street, depending on the wind. Often the leaves ended up on the lawn of the house opposite. This house too had hired leaf blowers who just blown the leaves on the street and on the lot of the house we were renting.

I once asked one of the workers if they had bagged the leaves yet. He said no. The very idea shocked him. Then he blew other leaves from the property.

Maybe they were hoping that a city truck would come and suck the leaves. Maybe the city trucks did. I do not know.

But it was quite funny to see mercenaries blowing leaves one way, and at the same time neighbor’s mercenaries blowing them up right away.

When I was a kid there was a hit song called “Dueling Banjos”.

As an adult, I witnessed a duel of leaf blowers.

Arthur Vidro is one of the Eagle Times’ recurring financial columnists. His “EQMM Goes to College” appeared in the May / June 2021 issue of Ellery Queen’s Mystery magazine.