Sounding Off:

Leaf blowers are destroying Newport Beach’s “green” quality of life.

Enduring the noise from never-ending leaf blowers in Newport Beach is next to impossible. Leaf-blowing noise interferes with our residents’ sleeping, working and communicating.

The aggravation from the unnecessary noise creates stress that continues well after the leaf blowing subsides.

Now, leaf blowing is aggressively threatening our environment. Our city’s government developed the Task Force on Green Development. This is a good idea, but leaf blowing goes completely against the group’s ideas. The first item on the task force’s agenda is air quality.

How can the task force effectively approach Newport Beach’s air quality — both inside and outside — if the leaf blowing continues?

The California Air Resources Board continually states that leaf blowing is costing our state billions of dollars a year. Gardeners who carry and use leaf blowers place heavy demands on our medical system.

Newport Beach homeowners, residents, visitors, medical staffers and city personnel are all affected because leaf blowers stir up our air into small windstorms, spreading pollutants that irritate everyone’s eyes, throats and lungs.

Leaf blowing is not “green.” The practice is outdated. Whether gas or electric, the outcome is the same: medical horrors for Newport Beach residents and the gardeners themselves.

The Task Force on Green Development has an obligation to stop leaf blowing in Newport Beach permanently. It is irresponsible for Newport Beach to allow leaf blowing to continue.

CAROLE WADE lives in Newport Beach.