Get Mowing

Summer brings the familiar sound of lawnmowers running at all hours of day. Though a perennial symbol of this time of year, the harm that inefficient gas-powered mowers cause the environment far outweighs their benefits to lawns cosmetically. In an EPA study, it was found that about 9 percent of some types of air pollutants nationwide come from lawn and garden equipment small engines.

The solution to this problem is simple: manual lawn mowers. Substantially less expensive and far more beneficial to the environment, manual lawn mowers can offer countless rewards. The manual mower is not only lightweight and extremely quiet, it still produces a clean-cut yard just as a gas mower would. Since it takes a bit more physical exertion, it also has more health benefits than a gas mower: You get a workout.

"Using a push lawnmower is a great way to get exercise as well as avoid creating CO2 emissions,"says Steve Tiwald from Naperville's Green Earth Institute.

For example, Eco Mowers offers dozens of options for manual mowers on its Web site, www.ecomowers.com.