First they wanted to take away your gas-powered vehicles. Then they came for your gas stoves. And now, the latest front in the War on Things That Work appears to be targeting your lawnmower. Oh, and your leaf blower also. But only if they are powered by a gasoline engine. You’re fine if you have an electric model. USA Today dutifully sounds the alarm, declaring that gas leaf blowers and lawnmowers are “shockingly bad for the planet.” They note that bans have already been enacted in several states and cities and more are on the way. You certainly didn’t need me to tell you that this is all being done as a way to “blunt climate change.” These people have become so predictable that it’s almost painful to watch.

Your lawn may be the next climate change battleground. And parks. And playgrounds.

Regulators and clean-air advocates are increasingly eyeing the pollution emitted by small gasoline engines used to power lawn mowers and leaf blowers as they seek to blunt climate change. Environmentalists say using a commercial gas leaf blower for an hour produces emissions equal to driving from Denver to Los Angeles.

Among cities and states with bans or limits: California; Burlington, Vermont; and Washington, D.C. Vancouver, British Columbia, also has restrictions in place.

Proponents are pointing to the 2022 ban on leaf blowers in the District of Columbia as a shining success. But the law in question never even mentions climate change or emissions. It was a noise reduction ordinance. They are very serious about it, however. There is a $500 fine for being caught using one. They even set up a website where you can rat out people using a gas-powered leaf blower.

California’s ban takes effect next year and it’s not quite as bad as DC’s. They are banning the sale of “small off-road engines” (SOREs) but people who already have one can continue to use it without being arrested. You can even resell your used equipment to someone else. (How generous of them.) Denver has a similar ban.

Of course, you can read through that entire report and not find a single mention of what seems like an important factor. All of the electric mowers and blowers that people buy to comply with the bans are going to have to be recharged regularly. And a lot of that electricity still comes from fossil fuels. So you’re not really reducing the “carbon footprint.” You’re just moving it around.

The ban in California may be even more problematic. They have already strained their electrical grid with their previous mandates to the point where the state has had to ask people not to recharge their cars at night in some areas. You can try to make everything run on electricity, but that juice will have to come from someplace. Oh, and do you know what the small gas engines on lawnmowers do? They make their own electricity.

Personally, I switched over to an electric weed trimmer years ago. I didn’t do it to “save the climate,” (obviously) but because I found a nice one that weighed quite a bit less than the gas-powered model. That’s a lot easier on my back and knees, as many of you will come to appreciate as you age.

But I still use a gas-powered lawnmower. We make special trips a couple of times per year to get ethanol-free gas for it. Of course, that hasn’t been an issue for me for the past few years because I found a teenager looking for work who mows my lawn and refills the tank. It’s almost like I still live in a free country… for now.