I would think that Mexican immigrants were being used by our society.

I'd think these were unionized government workers, probably working for some county somewhere. Why do I say that?

First of all, there are too many of them clustered in one place. Not all of them are needed to do the job at hand.

 Second, they have tools designed by the lazy, for the lazy, for people who would pass the time, punch the clock, and get little or nothing done, because they didn't want to kill the job.

Third, they're inconsiderate because they use a lot of fossil-fuel energy to get less work done than could be done with a rake, a broom, a big shovel, and a big bucket. Seeing that they burn little of their own body's energy, they're probably in bad shape, but that's OK, because we pay for an obscenely generous low-deductible medical plan for them and their maladies brought on by not being fit.

Fourth, they are trapped in the same sort of living hell as Sisyphus, moving things only to have to move them again. Who with a blower ever picks up the objects blown around? They just "wipe off the booger" onto somebody else and move on, coming back later to find the same objects blown back at them. But again, what the heck, they need to have work.

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 11.11.07

How did it come to this? Take the most evil fuel burning device this side of a Hummer or a gas-powered daquiri maker and outfit two teams with them, fire up the leaf blowers and blow the ball towards the goal. The "first ever leaf blower hockey game in the history of the world" was played yesterday in Toronto, which now has yet another reason to hang its head in shame for having one of its citizens, an ad exec named Michael Paul, invent such a crime.

According to the Star: With an official band for inspiration (Air Supply) and an unbreachable code of conduct ("No aggressive blowing"), the inaugural game began yesterday morning at an outdoor rink. when the Windbreakers faced off against the Fallen Leafs. ("No harm intended to the other Leafs.") The game surface was slick with rainwater, not ice, but players from each team strapped on diesel-powered leaf blowers over their red and white jerseys, left their Tim Hortons coffee cups on the bench, and stepped up to do battle.

"There is a definite technique involved, it's not just glamour," said Paul's son, Teo, a chef, Fallen Leafs player and official event "catalyst." The Fallen Leafs, made up of
Toronto chefs and
Ontario Place

landscapers, beat the Windbreakers, the admen, in two games; 5-2 and 2-1, amidst the reek of diesel fumes. One contestant said "We're looking for a bio-diesel sponsor for next year." ::The Star; perhaps decent pictures will be posted on the new ::Official Website

From: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/11/the_end_of_the.php (With a photo...)

Bottom line is all these cities have well paid people who are directors of departments that decide how to maintain public spaces and tax residents for that. These directors work for our electer representatives, typically led by a city council and mayor. In the cases of cities where they do stupid things like you capture and describe, the directors should be fired for their stupidity, and the elected officials should be thrown out of office for their stupidity. We have reached a day and age when environmentalism is that straight forward - you get it or you get your ass out of our way. So, in what cities do heads need to roll, and what are the names?

In my city of East Cleveland, I don't think they will even pick up yard waste, and folks sure don't waste money bagging it... looks like a compost friendly green republic. Of course, I think East Cleveland is probably as environmentally friendly a community as there is anywhere in America...

Disrupt IT