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.
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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.
This doesn’t ban ownership, only sales. Which just means the sales will move to Nevada, Arizona and Oregon.
It’s virtue signaling. Even if they effectively cut off the supply of new equipment into the state, well maintained small engine equipment can last 30 years or more. My Uncle Ron has a gasoline powered corn mill that belonged to my great uncle Neal, if it’s not yet, it’s getting very close to 100 years old and still works great.
This is a way for Newsome to mollify his green supporters without actually doing anything concrete…except for harming California businesses, which they most decidedly don’t give a crap about.
One step at a time, as with gun control. Eventually, confiscation (with or without financial compensation), euphemistically called “buyback,” will be on the agenda.
How sad to see California heading towards ‘s***hole’ status. Generations built California creating a massive economy. Sadly, liberal socialist politicians are destroying the state. When we see corporations relocating to states like Texas, the writing is on the wall. California will become a state of poorly educated welfare citizens, no middle class but lots of filthy rich Silicon Valley corporations keeping the state above water through massive taxes.
“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.”
Oregon, Arizona, and Nevada expected to see an large increase in the numbers sold on gasoline powered backup generators, lawn mowers, small gas powered fire fighting pumps, and other small stationary engines.
Why this article’s focus on gasoline? . . . the Legislative Counsel’s Digest paragraph for AB-1346, quoted in the above article, concludes with “. . . to support the transition to zero-emission small off-road equipment operations.”
I read that to mean:
No diesel-fueled small engines
No propane-fueled small engines
No LNG-fueled small engines
Not even any small coal/charcoal-fired small steam engines, as found in ride-able mini-trains operating in many amusement parks.
In other words, these geniuses want everything “off-road” to shift to being electric battery powered, without any apparent consideration being given to the fact that ALL batteries suffer from self-discharge over time. The net result if AB-1346 is ever enforced will be one of the biggest wastes of electricity in this country since the invention of the electric lightbulb.
California has always been on the bleeding edge of societal trends. When all the sanctuary citizens of this state find out what is really going to happen when the latest round of trends kicks in, they will either not pay attention and go about business as usual or just ignore the laws. Only law abiding citizens will be tracked down and fined, because no one else has any money.