A green way to move the snow
Hubby and the wovel (“wheel” + “shovel”—rhymes with “shovel”)
Monday, January 23, 2012
by Susan Rubin
It is 23 days into 2012 and on Saturday we finally got some seasonally appropriate weather. While I’m not a huge fan of winter and snow, I do realize that the cold dark stillness of winter is necessary for a green and vibrant spring. One thing I dislike more than snow is snow blowers. I can’t stand the noise and I don’t enjoy breathing in the toxic stinky fumes. Quite frankly, I harbor a deep concern whenever fossil fuels are burned. We’ve got to find ways to cut our addiction to gas, coal and oil on every level if we care about future generations surviving on our planet.
Last year, when my husband threatened to buy a snow blower, I took swift and decisive action. I bought a wovel online before he could get his act together and purchase a snow blower. He rolled his eyes skyward as he watched me assemble this crazy combination of wheel and shovel in our living room. Needless to say, he was extremely skeptical that my new toy would really move the snow out of our driveway.
This contraption was named Time magazine’s best invention of 2006. The Wovel is super green, it is recognized by Co-op America and National Green Pages™ for its positive, pollution-free environmental standards and zero carbon footprint in usage.
This wacky snow removal device performs equal to or better than a snow blower, and doesn’t hurt your back at all. As it catapults the snow effortlessly off of your driveway, your tricep muscles get a nice workout. Using the wovel is no more stressful than walking, its easy to use for both young and old alike. Unlike most things we buy these days, it is manufactured in the USA.
Last winter’s frequent snow storms gave our Wovel a run for the money. It worked so well that my hubby admitted to me that the Wovel was one of my best hare-brained ideas. The cost of the wovel is under $200, if you pay to plow your driveway, you’ll no doubt save more than $200 over the course of a snowy winter
Visit www.wovel.com to learn more.
Susan Rubin is a long time Chappaqua resident and mom of 3 who is deeply concerned about climate change and resource depletion. She is a member of Transition Westchester: From oil dependence to local resilience.
Cool. The super in my office building (in the city) has one; he loves it, and people always stop him to ask about it.
Here’s my problem: why does this thing cost $200? would love to have one but seems to be way overpriced!
Leslie,
I’d be happy to let you take mine for a test drive! The snow plow guys charge way more over the course of a winter and I doubt you’d find a snow blower for less than $200
You’re also not burning fossil fuels and putting pollutants into the air. That is priceless!
S
I am the VP of Sales and Marketing for NooTools, the company that makes the Snow Wolf (as we have re-branded it this year from the Wovel). Thank you and your husband for your great endorsement of our product. There was an independent study comparing the Snow wolf wheeled shovel against a regular snow shovel done by the Director of the School of Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Massachusetts that found that the Snow Wolf was 85% less stress on your back and 75% less stress on your cardiovascular system than shoveling! So it is not only better for the environment, it is also better for you. The Snow Wolf has a suggested retail price of $149.95 and is available at independent retail stores, catalogs like Plow and Hearth, and online at Snowwolf.com.
