In response to Live Earth, I thought I would post some of the things we have done to lower our impact on the Earth.  This post is about the most recent thing we’ve done, replacing our old gasoline-powered lawnmower with a person-powered push mower. 

This was a good idea for us for a couple of reasons.  Most importantly, we don’t like to be bothered with the upkeep of a gasoline powered mower, with the trips to the gas station, the oil, and everything else.  Also, I could never get the damn thing to start.  I would pull on the cord over and over again, but I am actually a pretty small person and the short length of my arms prevents me from being able to make the pull at the speed and length that it needs to be at to make the engine go. 

The best benefit, though, is that every time we mow the lawn we get a good workout.  See you are moving (usually at a decent speed) so you get your heart rate up for some good cardio, but you also have to use your shoulders, arms, and legs to push it over your lawn. 

Our lawn is small – we have about a tenth of an acre – so we can use a small mower for that and not have it present too much of a challenge.  With a much larger lawn, I think I would have bought an electric mower that plugs in to charge, but can be used wirelessly on your lawn. 

We haven’t used a gasoline powered lawnmower since last year, so we have definitely spent less on gas and oil.  And when you need to turn the push mower around, you can just pick it up.  It’s not heavy at all.  Not nearly as heavy as a gasoline-powered mower.  I’d imagine it’s more safe, as well.  Since the blades only turn in response to the movement of the wheels, you have complete control.  With our old gas-powered mower, I would have the goal of never letting the bar go so I could keep the thing running to do the whole yard.  Otherwise I’d have to get someone to come start it for me again.  Ugh!