From the editors - issue 2

Too many of us have woken up, disturbed by the blaring din of leafblowers. In class, our teachers have had to shut windows due to the disruption. The facilities team does a fantastic job of keeping our campus beautiful, but transitioning to electric leafblowers would allow the team to continue its great work, without the jarring racket.

Middlesex was intended to be bucolic. The main driveway creates a sanctuary from outside commotion, and our orientation about the Circle, rather than a more utilitarian quadrangle, suggests a pastoral landscape—not to mention Estabrook Woods. Noise pollution from dawn until midday, evidently, contradicts Frederick Winsor’s high-minded intent. So does environmentally harming our campus: according to the California Air Resources Board, one hour of gas-powered leaf blowers emits the equivalent pollution of driving a modern car 1,100 miles.

Cambridge, Mass., is phasing out gas-powered leaf blowers, with a full prohibition in 2026; many other communities have imposed harsher bans. Concord also has a phase-out plan, under which the town will prohibit offending devices starting 2030. Middlesex can do better than adhering to this comparatively feckless mandate. With electric leaf blowers, the benefits of tranquility in the morning and in the classroom are inestimable.

GVT & GZ