Who said anything about falling 36" trees? And guess what? Stihl is now making electric saws. Or at least putting their name on ones they sell. A friend of mine has one and he likes it. He cuts down and cuts up LOTS of trees, lots of big trees and has all sorts of saws, almost all Stihls. Stihl won't go bankrupt, they will start making battery powered saws in all sizes as soon as the technology is available. Of course there are all sorts of questions that need to be answered. And legislating the use of products that don't exist yet won't make those products magically appear. Legislation is messy. Lotsa folks don't realize what they are trying to pass into law. Oftentimes legislation is proposed just to get the issue talked about. To get folks to really think about goals. I am pretty sure these two in Minnesota don't expect the bill to pass but instead want the issue to be thought seriously about. And a question for you: If you could buy a battery powered saw that weighed the same, ran the same length of time, performed the same, and had batteries that charged as fast as the saw drained batteries, and it cost the same as a gasoline powered saw, would you? I certainly would. When it came time to buy a new saw. Actually, I would consider buying one anyway, even though I don't need a new saw.
Eric