Few things rip through the serenity of a Sunday in suburbia like the 70-db wail of a gas-powered leaf blower. Improvements have been made to make them more efficient, but using that motorized hurricane for just an hour still sucks down 1 pt. of gas and oil. With more than 30 million acres of lawn in the U.S., it's a high price to pay for a job that can be done almost as well, if somewhat more slowly, with a rake. Besides, you can't lean on a leaf blower when you're done.