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.
A lot of construction equipment falls within the description ‘small off-road engines’.
From concrete saws to deep diggers. Good luck, building a high-speed rail line with hand tools, just like in the 1800’s … at $15/hour.
I think star drills and black powder might be a net CO2 emitter.
Not many people know what a star drill is!
Surely you’d just buy one from a neighbouring state?
Works well, if you already live near the border. Not so well for those who live further away from an applicable neighboring state. Don’t let it’s thin looking (on a map) width fool you, California is a big state, it can take up to several hours just to drive to the border of the closest neighboring state, depending on where in Cali you live. (and double that to include for the return trip)
Allowing exceptions requires very careful drafting of the rules or will have to allow a degree of discretion. The latter leads to a culture of bribery and corruption.
It’s not just California.
Let me seek guidance from Americans on this. I know that UK’s politicians are frequently ignorant of science and engineering. Are those in the US the same?
Or are both lots extraordinarily silly? Or corrupt? Or…
JF
Humans will be humans, wherever they live. The same types of people are attracted to politics.
I got out of California none too soon…
we need to find a word for actions beyond stupid!
cant see too many people or businesses doing gardening being happy to have to ditch their stuff and buy massively expensive battery items
battery line trimmers are lovely and quiet but theyre also pretty gutless and short lasting and in aus no change 900 to 1k to buy
plaid. You have stupid, moronic, and plaid.
Spaceballs – They’ve Gone To Plaid – YouTube
Perfectly mad.
A lovely reason why was/is a guy name of Soichiro Honda
He lived in Japan through WW2 and was an ‘engineering type’
The name is surely Shirley familiar as The Go To Source of reliable small engines, exactly as described.
But Mr Honda ‘chose’ to do his development work at a time & place when petrol/gasoline was perfectly unavailable to someone like him.
So he set to developing his little engines using White Spirit aka: Turpentine as a fuel for them
This was Real Turpentine, not the stuff you get in DIY stores and called White Spirit. Modern white spirit is simply ultra refined kerosene/paraffin .
Now then, if you are the owner of a stand of Coniferous Trees. you can take a leaf (haha) from the rubber plantations and you can harvest ‘stuff’ from the trees without killing them.
And what you can get out of Conifers, is Turpentine.
(This is where The Plot & I diverge, I cannot recall if it is 2 litres annually or 2 gallons)
Ain’t that just So Beautiful, you can run small engines EXACTLY as they were originally designed by burning trees without actually burning them.
It would thereafter be in your own and everyone else’s interest, to Look After The Trees.
And if you look after the trees, they will look after you
Pass the message along………….
Just drive to Nevada and buy one and bring it back. Tell the governor to honk on BoBo
Another idea so good it had to be mandatory. Also, battery and charger salesmen rejoice.
Also, maybe the American Lung Association should stick to reality.
I see a sizable market for used gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers (etc.) in California’s future. LMAO.
And they failed to get rid of this idiot when they had the chance.
Small engines have tiny CO2 emissions, but are big contributors of criteria emissions.
This law is mostly about air quality, not GHG.
And it is not very targeted. If you want to solve small engine emissions, you should target commercial users. Lawn and garden companies, rather than consumers and emergency devices.
If you really care about facts, the best thing you can do for air quality is manage the damn forests, but that’s asking too much. Better to go after lawn care…
You are probably right. But, I don’t have confidence that Gov. Nuisance understands. He probably thinks that he is going Greta’s bidding.
You reap what you sow, California. Elder would have reversed much of this non-sense but you decided otherwise. Also looking at you, Canada, with Soy Boy Milksop Trudeau.
It will be fun to watch the increased load on the power system as millions more Californians start plugging-in their new battery rechargeable lawnmowers, leaf blowers, etc. They already have brownouts, and this will just add more load to an overloaded power system, causing more and more brownouts and blackouts.
The place is going to seed.
Property owners in AZ, NV and ID thank you.
I do hope Harry and Meghan have generators and powered garden equipment….or are the special ones exempt?
I gather off road also covers co2 emitting jet skis, speed boats, and the sail boat’s backup ICE, but millions of methane emitting illegal aliens hoofing it off road across the border are still welcome.
More insanity. The people that need generators mostly live in the rural mountains of California. They are also the least likely to abide by this insanity. They’ll drive to Nevada and buy them. This will just create a black market. How the hell are contractors
supposed
to power their job sites??
They are transitioning to zero energy. They will hurt. They will run naked in the caves. They will throw their spears to attempt to catch food. They will kill each other. They won’t even have fire as it is the original sin. They will eat raw vegetables that they plant with their bare hands as there will be no metal tools They will use natural dentistry.
[QUOTE FROM ARTICLE]”California 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.” {END QUOTE]
This is total nonsense. I usually fill a 5-gallon portable gasoline container every spring for my lawn mower, and it usually lasts through the entire mowing season (April through October). With 5 gallons of gasoline I could probably drive 125 to 150 miles, which is much less than the distance I normally drive in seven months.
I’m wondering whether Ravin’ Gavin has ever tried mowing his lawn with an electric mower. It’s a real pain, always having to flip the extension cord from one side to the other to avoid running over it with the mower, not to mention the problem of the cord getting tangled around trees and bushes. But Ravin’ Gavin is rich enough to have other people mow his lawn, probably riding on gasoline-powered mowers, while ordinary people still push their mowers.
Let’s see what happens during the next major California wildfire, when the firefighters can’t get their electric water pumps to work, if there are no electrical outlets nearby. Especially if it’s illegal to bring in a diesel generator!
Banning petrol / diesel engines for ancillary equipment . .
What can one say without being offensive?
Answer; nothing of course, absolutely nothing ! !
Why settle for half measures Governor? Just ban gasoline and all other fossil fuels – immediately? That way you and the rest of the fools in Sacramento wouldn’t have to spent their valuable time listing all the equipment – and you can cycle everywhere. Oops – oil for your chain also will be on the banned list. I hope these are grounds for suing Newsom and the CA legislature for this nonsense decision.
Learning to control fire and use it for warmth and cooking is one of the defining stages of the emergence of humans. Along with bipedal walking and language.
So banning the burning of carbon based material is a form of genocide.
Trouble is it’s catching with Planet Ark in Oz jumping onboard-
Push to ban petrol powered lawn mowers and leaf blowers (msn.com)
and then Jim’s Mowing franchise weighs in too with the urban lawns and you can see the appeal for the latte set paying for their garden manicures. Good luck rural folk as your farm animals don’t vote.
Just buy them from the next state over – problem solved
Its clear why the recall election failed. No one is better equipped to destroy California than Newsome. Residents will not be satisfied until the entire state is reduced to a smoking ash heap.