Gas Usage For Lawn Mowing

American Totals

• According to a research project sponsored by NASA, America is blanketed by about 128,000 square kilometers or almost 32 million acres of lawn grass that needs regular cutting and maintenance. That regular lawn maintenance consumes about 800 million gallons of gas each year, averaging out to about 5 gallons of gas per household. Although that number is small compared to the 142 billion gallons of gas consumed in the United States annually, gas-powered lawn equipment is a big contributor to the nation's pollution problem.

Pollution

• In addition to their gas consumption, lawn mowers and other gas-powered lawn equipment emit a considerable amount of pollution. According to the EPA, "Operating a typical gasoline-powered lawn mower for one hour produces the same amount of smog-forming hydrocarbons as driving an average car almost 200 miles under typical driving conditions."

More Efficient Equipment

• Save on fuel by switching to manual equipment, including reel mowers and hand-powered rakes and brooms instead of gas-powered mowers, rakes and blowers. If manual isn't an option, consider replacing your gas-powered mower with a cordless electric mower. An electric mower makes about 20 decibels less noise than a gas mower, which reaches the same decibel level as a motorcycle -- 95 decibels. A gas mower running for about 45 minutes uses about 50,000 BTUs of energy in the form of gasoline, but an electric mower doing the same job uses about 2,500 BTUs in the form of kilowatts. If you must keep your gas-powered lawn mower, improve your gas usage by regularly replacing the spark plug and air filter, sharpening the blades and keeping the engine clean.

More Efficient Gardening

• Reduce your gas usage by reducing the need for gas-powered lawn equipment. Plant low-maintenance ground-covering plants instead of grass. Mulch along walks, trees, lamp posts, and edgings to lessen the need for trimmers and edgers. If you must have a lush, green lawn, choose slow-growing varieties of grass that need to be mowed less often.