Green lawn-care franchise offers opportunity

Herb Hauls grew up far from environmental nirvana, in an asphalt-heavy North Philadelphia neighborhood where buses and cars junked up the air and blades of grass were few.

He earned a degree in electrical engineering at Drexel University, working first at Peco Energy Co. and then for the Navy in ship acquisitions, overseeing vessels' electric plants and control systems. He cleared six figures last year, he said.

Now, he's mowing lawns for a living.

This is not an act of desperation. It's a fully reasoned career switch based on a belief that Philadelphians, no matter how tiny their allotment of turf, and their lawn-rich suburban counterparts will have an environmental conscience akin to that of property owners in other parts of the country - and will be willing to open their wallets to back it up.

As the name implies, Clean Air is more than organic treatment of soil and the green stuff it sprouts. Non-chemical alternatives have been around for at least 20 years.

It's what's on each of its trucks that distinguishes Clean Air: a roof-mounted, 135-watt, 12-volt solar panel and an inverter to charge its all-electric equipment for mowing (except for ride-ons), trimming, and blowing.

"It's a great talking point," Hauls said of his solar-powered offerings. "Whether people care is another issue. I don't think we have on the East Coast as environmentally conscious people as on the West Coast. It's a matter of educating."

Clean Air's website (cleanairlawncare.com) does some of that with the following assertions:

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Green lawn-care franchise offers opportunity