Guest essay by Eric Worrall
California just banned the sale of gasoline powered backup generators, lawn mowers, small gas powered fire fighting pumps, and other small stationary engines, as part of their drive to reduce CO2 emissions.
Newsom signs law to eventually ban gas-powered lawn equipment in California
by: Associated Press
Posted: Oct 10, 2021 / 07:08 AM PDT / Updated: Oct 10, 2021 / 07:08 AM PDTCalifornia will soon ban the sale of new gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers, a move aimed at curbing emissions from a category of small engines on pace to produce more pollution each year than passenger vehicles.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law on Saturday that orders state regulators to ban the sale of new gas-powered equipment using small off-road engines, a broad category that includes generators, lawn equipment and pressure washers.
The California Air Resources Board has already started working on a rule to do this, a lengthy process scheduled to conclude early next year. But the law Newsom signed on Saturday removes any doubt, ordering the agency to apply the new rule by Jan. 1, 2024, or as soon as regulators determine is “feasible,” whichever date is later.
“Gov. .Newsom signing (this law) really sets a strong course to not only his commitment to transitioning to zero emissions but also to cleaner air and healthier lungs,” said Will Barrett, director of clean air advocacy for the American Lung Association in California.
…
Read more: https://ktla.com/news/local-news/newsom-signs-law-to-eventually-ban-gas-powered-lawn-equipment-in-california/
A ban on gas powered lawn equipment would just be a serious inconvenience for most people, unless you have a very large lawn.
But the law bans a lot more than that.
AB-1346 Air pollution: small off-road engines.(2021-2022)
An act to add Section 43018.11 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to air pollution.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
AB 1346, Berman. Air pollution: small off-road engines.Existing law imposes various limitations on the emissions of air contaminants for the control of air pollution from vehicular and nonvehicular sources. Existing law assigns the responsibility for controlling vehicular sources of air pollution to the State Air Resources Board. This bill would require the state board, by July 1, 2022, consistent with federal law, to adopt cost-effective and technologically feasible regulations to prohibit engine exhaust and evaporative emissions from new small off-road engines, as defined by the state board. The bill would require the state board to identify and, to the extent feasible, make available funding for commercial rebates or similar incentive funding as part of any updates to existing applicable funding program guidelines to local air pollution control districts and air quality management districts to implement to support the transition to zero-emission small off-road equipment operations.
Read more: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1346
The text requires regulators to consider “… (E) Expected availability of zero-emission generators and emergency response equipment. …”, so there is no doubt they plan to cover backup generators and emergency fire fighting equipment if they can.
This is beyond serious. Imagine trying to fight the fire approaching your house, only to have a low battery light start flashing on your fire fighting water pump. Or someone who requires powered medical equipment, like oxygen generators or sleep apnea devices, struggling through an extended power outage without proper treatment for their health condition.
Gasoline powered equipment, barring a mechanical failure, works as long as you can keep it supplied with gasoline. But battery equipment needs power to recharge it. Where do you get more power, if the sky is covered with smoke or clouds, or the solar panels are covered in dust, snow or ash, and the power lines are down?
Obviously it is possible that regulators will embrace sanity on these issues, and provide sensible exceptions – but at this stage an outbreak of common sense is far from guaranteed.
Well that should drive out more people from CA…how will people get reliable power if their government keeps effn it up?
Let’s go Brandon
The failure to remove California’s special exemption from nationwide standards on pollution are showing the expected result. CARB has been staffed with True Believers for a very long time, and are, with the complicity of liability lawyers, the major reason why gas cans are so dangerously awkward.
Probably, the only cure would be national standards, and disestablish CARB.
It’s part of their plan to cut down on medicare and SS costs.
Does this cover ATVs?
Well, Newsome escaped the recall and now feels invincible. He is going to keep on charging down this foolish road to the destruction of California. I wonder how his good buddies in the movie business will feel about being “Green” when they don’t have any electricity at the studios. Eventually, this insane net zero stupidity will start impacting even the elites and celebrities….
I don’t want to hijack the comments. I’ve just received this statement on another website and am wondering whether anyone can point me in the direction of confirmation/non confirmation.
“In fact a wind turbine in a good location will produce the same amount of energy as was used to create it in only a few years.”
I don’t think this is true, but maybe?
Lots of dangerous unintended consequences, par for their course.
By fair, or by foul, Newsome survived the recall effort. Californians will pay the price of having an emboldened extremist in power for at least the next 13 months. Some were packing to leave California the night of the recall failure. More will make that choice with every new edict.
The first big, extended power outage (by fire, earthquake or low generation by renewables) will demonstrate the absolute foolishness of such a blanket edict. In the meantime, the impact on construction, landscape management, etc., etc. will create a lot of very upset citizens.
It’s about time to set up aid stations for fleeing Californians along major highways near the border. (Carbon) Grapes of Wrath II does not need to come with the meanness of the first one. I just hope there is not a fuel crisis at the time or a blanket shortage caused by the government program for when “children won’t know what snow is”.
I doubt that the ban on gas powered fire fighting equipment will stay in the law.
Good! Let them sit in the dark and burn, f**king idiots voted for this and they f**king deserve it.
1Vote 1Day
So, maybe since the Communist California has banned generators and other ICE type products, we can finally in the rest of the more normal USA get rid of the worthless CARB requirements forced onto us by these idiots. This would be a win win for us, cheaper products due to less stupidity, and only one version to be built increasing the economy of scale. One can only hope.
Hey, the recall against Newsom failed because public employee union SEIU and Netflix Billionaire CEO Reed Hastings spent millions blaming it on the Republican Trumpers. So California gets whats coming to them.
Remember when Newsom ran for governor and promised everyone he would ban capital punishment, ban small gasoline motors and turn criminals loose? Yeah, I don’t either. So it’s no wonder California lost congressional representation due to people and businesses streaming out of the state.
I’ve got a feeble electric mower that was only used a few times before realizing it was not workable in thick lawns. It was from a steeply discounted, no-returns sale at Home Depot, but I’ll let you have it in California for only $1,000 including a lithium battery and charger. If nothing else you may want the large battery as backup for when the power goes out and the fires return.
This is the end of the beginning of the end for California. The end has arrived. I suspect Honda will relocate all their remaining facilities to Texas and Utah, and without backup generators the blackouts will become completely intolerable for huge number of people.
Stupid Stupid Stupid Stupid!
And what does this say about the fine people of California who elected him?
Stupid.
but at this stage an outbreak of common sense is far from guaranteed.
but at this stage an outbreak of common sense is far from guaranteed.
but at this stage an outbreak of common sense is far from guaranteed.
and so on
Every year I go to Mammoth to ski. But I reserve One day to go to Carson City to buy Calif-banned Denatured Alcohol. Many travel to Yuma, Las Vegas and Stateline to buy ammo. I guess Arizona and Nevada will have to stock more gas lawnmowers, generators and such. You can’t stop us Newscum.
Just prt of Maurice Strong’s efforts to Block the tailpipe…”
https://www.technocracy.news/club-of-rome-the-origin-of-climate-and-population-alarmism/
You missed the ‘best’ banned gas powered small engine category—chain saws. Guaranteeing CA cannot do the forest thinning needed to prevent more severe forest fires, let alone fight them by building fire breaks, while also shutting down their logging industry—there are no extension cords long enough for California’s Sierra Nevada forests. Besides which they also banned portable generators to attach them to, as you noted.
I suspect this will not stand. It merely provides vivid grounds for ridicule of abject green stupidity.
Arizona and Nevada retailers are cheering.
The governor has clearly not been paying any attention at all to what life is like in Lebanon right now.
And this sounds like a real boon for Home Depot stores in Reno and Las Vegas.
“Gasoline powered equipment, barring a mechanical failure, works as long as you can keep it supplied with gasoline. But battery equipment needs power to recharge it.”
I am not sure there is any significant difference between “power to recharge” a battery and suppling a motor with gasoline. In the UK at the moment there are a lot EV powered cars who are driving around looking smugger than usual thanks to ongoing petrol shortages.
We have had an electric lawn mower for over 10 years and it works fine. It is less noisy, lighter and less polluting than a 2 stroke engine. What is not to like?
California….the Cuba of the lower 48 states! If this nonsense is allowed to stand you can bet that repair shops will do a good business. For those who don’t import equipment from other states, they will keep their antique lawn tractors, generators and chainsaws running for a long time….and (unless somehow CA regains its collective sanity) eventually this will extend to cars, trucks and SUVs….
That will be one of the few good future job prospects in CA – small engine mechanics!