Being low-polluters isn't enough

We're about to become part of the problem, but we tried -- we really did.
In a few days we expect to take delivery of a gasoline-powered lawnmower. It replaces a three-year-old battery-powered model purchased through an environmental program designed to get pollution-prone mowers off our lawns.

Battery-powered mowers must improve.

Living in California's Central Valley, a geological bowl where pollution settles when the air is still and especially when the temperature climbs, retiring gasoline-power polluters makes sense. In this case, it made dollars and sense. By trading in our old gasoline model, the local air pollution control district -- that means the taxpayers -- provided a voucher than paid about three-quarters of the cost of a new battery-powered model.
There was an immediate problem: Consumers had only one lawnmower choice and the make picked by the air district was among the lowest rated around. It still is. Not only did the machine perform poorly -- a new, re-chargeable battery was required within a year and the safety features on the machine quickly became inoperable -- the manufacturer refused any help. The only time the manufacturer was responsive was when we had to replace the battery. They were more than happy to take more of our money.
Moving toward electric powered yard equipment makes sense. Gasoline-powered mowers are heavy polluters. But unless the battery-powered machines perform at a level comparable to gasoline-powered machines, getting consumers to buy them won't happen.
And the machines simply don't measure up. Product rating services consistently rank them much lower than gasoline machines. That's a shame.