Hey, You Can't Do That

Equipment is now more efficient, cleaner and quieter

Many, many years ago, I started out my career as an editor for an engineering magazine. One of my first assignments was to cover a new device that reportedly could generate more energy than it would take to fuel it. I was impressed and wrote a dandy article applauding this “miracle of engineering science.”

That was a mistake, and the only silver lining was that we didn’t have email back then, so complaints took several snail-mail days to reach my desk. As readers told me, “There’s no such thing as a perpetual-motion machine.”

I configured a weak retraction, and never mentioned the device again—and neither did the inventor. At the time, an engineer friend explained where I went wrong. He said I didn’t understand the word “entropy,” a natural law of physics that simply means one can never get more energy out of something than is put in—or something like that.

Anyway, that was more than 30 years ago, and the dream of developing a perpetual-motion machine, one that would actually solve the planet’s energy challenges, is still just that, a dream. But engineers are scrambling to find ways to take advantage of alternative energy sources. Witness the spate of wind farms, along with ongoing new technology to tap into geothermal, sun and nuclear energy. They haven’t found the magic key to start the perpetual-motion machine yet, but who knows.

In the meantime, manufacturers have taken giant strides to make better use of the energy resources we have. Carburetors are long gone, replaced by fuel-injection systems. Unless a collector of old cars, you likely won’t even know what a set of points is, long put out of commission by electronic ignition.

Lightweight materials, better lubricants, advancements in battery technology, and innovative engine designs, together with computer technology, have allowed landscape professionals to get more energy and power out of their equipment. I didn’t say more bang for their energy buck, because that’s a different story. Unquestionably, though, equipment is more efficient today, which helps to conserve fossil fuels, reduce air and noise pollution, and enhance your bottom line.

When you page through this issue, keep in mind how new technology has already changed the way you operate, and look for equipment and products that will deliver even more efficiencies. Many of the products in this issue will also help you diversify if adding a new service or two is part of a strategic plan. Others will help send an important sustainability message to customers.

The words, “hey, you can’t do that,” came from a disgruntled engineer who took offense to my article and the perpetual-motion machine inventor. But what would the world look like if people didn’t try to invent something or improve on something that seemed rather impossible at first?

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