Neuton lawn mower cuts noise

On a beautiful sunny summer day there’s nothing better than sitting out on the porch, relaxing and reading a book among the blooming perennials in my parent’s suburban yard. That is until a neighbor pulls that cord and revs up their lawn mower, drowning out twittering birds and shattering my peace. So when I saw that the Neuton Battery Powered Lawnmower makes less than half the noise a gas mower does, that made me smile.

Stop Noise: it's making you stressed!

Noise is something I’ve been thinking a lot about while walking the swarming streets of Chicago and living a block from a fire station this summer. While sirens are loud for a reason, other loud noises seem unnecessary and just annoying.

There are many groups out there taking a stand against noise pollution  The EPA even had a noise control program for a while and for good reason. Turns out constant noise can have real health effects.

In 2007, The Washington Post reported:

“… study after study has found that community noise is interrupting our sleep, interfering with our children’s learning, suppressing our immune systems and even increasing — albeit just a little — our chances of having a heart attack. It is also tarnishing the Golden Rule, reducing people’s inclination to help one another.”

Turns out our bodies have actual chemical reactions (adrenaline) to the noise we are exposed to. “’The idea that people get used to noise is a myth,” the Environmental Protection Agency has reported. “Even when we think we have become accustomed to noise, biological changes still take place inside us,’” according to the Post.

So if you don’t want a beautiful, wildlife and people friendly no-mow lawn and you don’t want to go the livestock route (rent-a-goat!) than the Neuton seems like a quiet, clean alternative to gas mowers. They even have battery recycling!

Elizabeth Ulion is a graduate student at Northwestern University. She hopes her lawnmower loving father sees this post and takes note! Hi, Dad!

Photo Courtesy of fluzo/Flickr