What is the most enviromentally friendly lawn mower?

Question

gas, electric, or push lawn mower?

Answer 1

A goat.  Or a couple of guinea-pigs in an open-bottomed run.  Moved every day, would feed them & they'll shorten the grass.

Answer 2

Tough call.

When I use my push mower, I end up guzzling about 4 cans of beer, which then, in turn, consumes more energy to replace than the little bit of gasoline I formerly used in my gas mower.  And I find that I need a good roast beef sandwich to restore my energy level, which results in dead cows, increased grain consumption and who knows what stuff the cow leaked into the water supply.  Plus, it is such a pain in the butt to use, that I end up letting my grass get overgrown, which increases water consumption.

My old gas mower spit out fumes, made noise and leaked oil.  It seems like an environmentalist's nightmare every time it gets cranked up.  But beer consumption was reduced because it was fast and easy, except the pulling the starter cord part.

My electric mower, which like my gas mower, is also idle at the moment, isn't bad.  I don't need but 1 beer, don't get hungry and I don't directly burn any gasoline or cause local exhaust fumes.  Plus, my neighbors don't gripe about the all the noise from the gas mower when I use the electric.

I guess I would opt for my electric mower.

Answer 3

A cow, better yet, several cows.  They  it the grass, produce milk, and leave fertlizer

Answer 4

The old kind that you had to push and keep the blades sharpened yourself. My dad used to have one.

Answer 5

The push lawn mower because it doesn't use any energy, other than you, to power it.

Answer 6

The push lawn mower is the most eco-friendly. No fossil fuels required and great exercise!

Answer 7

None of the above!  It's call a sickle...  It's a sharp bladed instrument, used to cut grass and fight enemies (if you're a serf) It's also carried by death, which is a coincidence, because that's who we are going to see if we don't start using the sickle.

Answer 8

You have plenty of answers above, but also consider shrinking your area of lawn with the addition of shrubs and ground covers; less work all the way around, and therefore less energy uses, whether your own or produced energy.

Answer 9

We bought an electric mower years back and are delighted with how quiet it is.  We don't use the bag and let it self-mulch, so we rarely fertilize.  Our old push mower had to be sharpened periodically, which meant using gas to haul it down to the shop. That said, you do get a bit more exercise with the push mower.  Our lawn is small so it doesn't take long to recharge the electric mower.  But the most environmentally friendly mower of all is no mower.  We're getting rid of the back lawn in the fall and replacing it with native grasses, forbs and wildflowers.  It won't need any mowing at all!

Phooey on gas mowers.  They're noisy and they stink and leave a residue on plants.

Answer 10

Lots of answers here... but I'm going to still say the push mower.  But I'll go a step further than that.  Mow every other week, letting the grass grow a little higher than you normally do.  Then adjust the blade so that you cut less grass.  THEN keep the clipped blades on your lawn.  This process makes less waste, keeps your lawn greener with need for less water, AND it will keep weeds down.

I even found a picture for you in the source part of this answer!

~Cheers!~

Answer 11

NONE OF THE ABOVE

Electric mowers are still powered by remote generators that burn fossil fuel.

Push mowers make you eat and burn more food, the food decomposes into methane and is emitted by you when you repush through the really tall stuff.

THE ANSWER

Let the grass grow!...the more surface area exposed to sunlight, the more your lawn can reprocess CO2 out of the atmosphere.

Sometimes the best answer is the easiet one ;-)

Answer 12

With the old push mower, the only energy used was yours, so no power was depleted. You left out a fourth possiblility-a goat.

Mull that over , you get manure, your trash is taken care of and the grass is mowed.

Answer 13

The push-mover is the most environmentally friendly mover.  The only energy that goes into it is your own.  Gas and electric lawn mowers rely on fossil fuels.

Another answerer mentioned a sickle.  Push-mowers are much quicker and more efficient than using this tool.  But hey- whatever floats your boat.

--samTHEman

Answer 14

As everyone else (almost) has said - the push mower. Have you considered replacing your lawn with a "no-mow" lawn eg Roman chamomile is a ground cover that handles traffic well and doesn't need mowing. It is said that "the more it is trod, the better it grows". You could get a lamb, and fertilise as you mow, providing wool and meat too. Or simply rip out the lawn and grow useful plants.

Answer 15

You know the answer. There's no need to input any energy in a push lawn mower. All the energy comes from your push. You can also use scissors if you want.