Diesel particulate pollution down 50%, CARB says

We’ve all heard about the negative effects of pollution on the atmosphere (global warming) and the health risks as well. Many industries are doing their part to help in the ways they can. One thing the trucking world is doing to help is to try to control emissions of their diesel trucks. Although some companies are slower to adapt than others, the trend is a positive one. The California Air Resources Board, also known as CARB, goals include attaining and maintaining healthy air quality; protecting the public from exposure to toxic air contaminants; and providing innovative approaches for complying with air pollution rules and regulations.

The chemicals that are the main focus are: black carbon (the black soot portion of health-damaging fine particle pollution), methane (the primary constituent of natural gas and also emitted by livestock) and hydrofluorocarbons (industrial chemicals used in refrigeration and air conditioning).

These chemicals tend to have strong and immediate global warming influences. Actions to reduce emissions of these short-lived climate pollutants will produce a relatively rapid reduction in their contribution to climate change.

California has been addressing fine particle pollution from diesel engines over the past 10 years, and findings presented last week indicated a 50 percent reduction of these compounds in ambient air over the past 20 years. I’m happy to say that all TMS Logistics trucks, a ReedTMS company, are CARB approved and we’re doing our part to help control harmful gas emissions. Let hope more fleet owners get on board and leave the world a better place than we came into it.

Read more here.

A must read regarding the California CARB program

California trucking group slams CARB fuel policies

The California Trucking Association released a study that shows significant job losses directly attributable to the California Air Resources Board’s fuel policies. Goods movement and agriculture sectors especially will be hard hit if the policies are allowed to go into effect as currently designed, CTA says.

CTA says the report, titled “The Impact of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard and Cap-and-Trade Programs on California Retail Diesel Prices,” demonstrates the effect that CARB’s regulatory actions will have on the state’s retail diesel future, leading to a $6.69 per gallon price tag.

The Stonebridge Associates study finds that by 2020, CARB’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, in combination with the AB 32 Cap-and-Trade Program, could increase the price of diesel fuel by $2.22 per gallon; that would represent more than a 50 percent increase in the price of diesel fuel and $6.69 per gallon at the retail pump. The average price difference between California and neighboring states would be $2.33 per gallon when accounting for taxes.

According to the study, between 2015 and 2020, these higher “California-only” diesel fuel costs will cause a loss of nearly 617,000 jobs in the containerized import sector, $68.5 billion in lost state domestic product, $21.7 billion in lost income and $5.3 billion in lost state and local taxes. CTA says the study states that a “California-only” diesel will put California’s transportation sector at a significant competitive disadvantage.

“CTA is supportive of the production and use of alternative fuels, but the cost gap between CARB’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard and the diesel fuel that the other 49 states will continue to use is unacceptable,” says Scott Blevins, president of Mountain Valley Express and 2012 CTA president. “This is a serious setback for any business dependent on diesel fuel for its operations. State regulators need to step down from their ‘ivory tower’ and understand the impact of these unfair policies on California truckers. CARB’s blind pursuit of policies that will drive many California-based trucking companies out of state or out of business should be of great concern to all Californians.”

CTA says the report states the diesel fuel price increases will cast an even wider net, affecting food, fuel, clothing and other essential services transported by trucks. The report can be downloaded at http://caltrux.org/LCFS.

Story from truckersnew.com