Gettin' "Reel" with the Lawn

I read somewhere a while back that running a standard push mower for one hour emits the same amount of pollution as six cars in the same time period. I just found that to be phenomenal.

So, when our trusty push mower died last week from a bad carbeurator (thanks for the diagnosis Scott!) we decided to go a bit more green. With the price of gas, the amount of pollution and the stress of having machines break down (our central air died but that's another story. . .) we started considering a reel type mower.


I have mixed feelings about the thing. Having mowed grass for a living for a year I'm not terribly impressed. If I were my customer I wouldn't have paid me for that mow job. However, our grass was really long yesterday so I'm trying to reserve my judgment until we've given it a fair chance. It just didn't cut very evenly and had to be done twice.

A reel mower runs completely on your pushing power. It's the kind of lawn mower you probably pushed at your Grampa's house! We were sweating by the time our little patch of earth was trimmed nicely.

I was still having a few doubts about the new plan until this morning. I listened to Texas oil man T. Boone Pickens on "Good Morning America" and then on NPR in the car on the way to work. He explained supply and demand in the oil market in a way that I finally understood it. Then he said that you and I, by continuing to buy oil to fill our cars (and lawnmowers), are financing both sides of the war in Iraq. . .

So, when you weigh it all out:
Get fit. Save money. Go green. Make a small, concrete stand for peace in our world.

I think a little sweat and some uneven grass is worth it!