Continuing a years-long push, the California Air Resources Board cracked down further on emissions, sharpening the debate over the scope of its plans.

“The new rules, green-lighted [March 23] … seek to curb methane emissions at oil and gas production plants by up to 45 percent over the next nine years,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported. “The cuts will come from a combination of heightened efficiency requirements, inspection mandates and rules meant to ensure that leaks are discovered and fixed swiftly. The regulations apply to both onshore and offshore oil and gas centers.”

“The standards, which experts said mark the first major piece of environmental regulation passed by any state since the turnover of power in Washington, were hailed as a triumph by environmental activists, but criticized as cumbersome, costly and ultimately unnecessary by oil and gas producers.”

Federal fortunes

CARB’s actions took on a particular edge as political battles in Washington have concentrated around environmental standards put in place over the previous eight years. “In the works for over a year, the rulemaking comes as the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers work to unravel Obama-era measures to control emissions of the potent climate pollutant at oil and gas production sites nationwide,” according to Bloomberg BNA.

The foray into gas indicated CARB wasn’t satisfied with controlling vehicle emissions, although those make up the lion’s share of regulated pollutants. “The state’s proposal is its first attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at its onshore and offshore oil and gas facilities and natural gas storage sites and is part of broader effort, now mandated under state law, to curb emissions of short-lived climate pollutants like methane,” the site added. 

The automotive industry, working to pivot toward lower- and zero-emissions vehicles without surrendering market share in a still-robustly gas-powered economy, was instrumental to the inside-the-Beltway shift. “The CEOs of Ford, General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler moved fast to cut a quick deal with Trump to reopen a review by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation of emissions and fuel-economy standards that had been closed under President Barack Obama,” Business Insider noted. “The automakers don’t like that California effectively plays by its own environmental rules and as a subplot in the Trump deal had argued for a single national standard to govern fuel-economy and emissions standards.” 

Fight for money

But California hasn’t budged. In fact, it has been rewarded for holding the line on its strict enforcement of auto emissions rules. “As part of its court-ordered payback for cheating on diesel vehicle emissions tests, Volkswagen might bring a heap of green – in the form of money and technology – to Sacramento,” observed the Sacramento Bee. “Under a settlement with federal officials and the California Air Resources Board, the disgraced automaker is poised to spend tens of millions of dollars promoting zero-emission vehicles in Sacramento and four other cities. In addition, Sacramento is the lead contender for Volkswagen’s first ‘Green City’ designation, which would bring the city $44 million between now and 2020 for public outreach and other programs related to zero-emission vehicles, according to a proposal Volkswagen has filed with CARB.”

Adding to the adversarial climate, automakers have grown frustrated with CARB’s unwillingness to loosen up on standards for zero-emissions vehicles despite what have become disappointingly flat sales. “With state rebates, federal tax credits and manufacturer discounts, the effective monthly payments in California for zero-emission vehicles including the Nissan Motor Co. Leaf and Ford Motor Co. Focus Electric can add up to zero – or less – a month, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said in written comments to the California Air Resources Board,” according to Automotive News. “Yet the ZEV market share has remained at the 3 to 3.5 percent level,” the alliance said in its 80-page submission, asking the agency […] to ease up on plans to require more sales of the vehicles.”

In the government’s obsessive project to treat us all like prison inmates, it has destroyed the great cars America once produced. Except for pollution controls — which were done stupidly anyway — all government controls on cars amount to tyranny.

If I want to drive in a dangerous car, what business is it of theirs?

It’s especially idiotic because the government lets people ride on motorcycles. Even with a helmet, bike riders are completely unprotected in an accident. By contrast, even someone in an old 1960s rust-bucket, before many modern safety devices were imposed, is far better protected.

Then there’s the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards that the oppressor Obama raised to 35 mpg. Hey, if I want to buy a huge gas-guzzling dinosaur V-8 and pour gas into it at 8 mpg, that’s my business.

The whole “oil shortage” is a lot of slick government hucksterism. There never was an “energy crisis” in the 1970s. What happened was that the crook Nixon took us off the gold standard in 1971. The unconstitutional inflationists at the Federal Reserve Board then debased the dollar, driving up the price of everything, including gas.

Gas Price DROPPED

I remember when I first got my license in 1971 when I was 16 the price of a gallon of gas in Detroit was 31 cents. The price of gold, before Tricky Dick’s thievery, was $35 an ounce.

Today, the gold price is $1,658 an ounce. So, that’s 47 times as much as in 1971.

However, gas today now is $3.53 a gallon. That’s only 11 times as much as the 31 cents of 1971.

If gas had risen along with the price of gold, it would cost $17 a gallon. But capitalism has actually improved production and refining methods, so the real price has dropped to a fraction of what it was.

There is no gas crisis. There is no oil crisis. There is only a government crisis.

Enviro-extremists like Obama, Al Gore, Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown are intent on controlling, and ruining, our lives. They want to shove us out of our cars and into mass transit and high-rises.

We need to resist. Except for exhaust regulations — which affect the air everybody breathes — all auto regulations should be abolished.

Then we’ll get great cars again like this 1967 Shelby GT500E Super Snake Eleanor. Listen to that engine roar when she peels out!

.

Jan. 21, 2012

Some budget action might take place today. But who knows.

Meanwhile, government apologist Peter Schrag charges that Republicans, “having swallowed Grover Norquist’s no-new-taxes Kool-Aid, and intimidated by a couple of Southern California radio talkers, would try to block any version of Gov. Jerry Brown’s split-the-difference budget solutions.”

But Schrag is the one who “swallowed…the Kool-Aid.” The reference is to the the 1978 massacre at Jonestown, Guyana of 918 people. Most of them were forced by the “Rev.” Jim Jones (actually a non-religious con man) to drink Kool-Aid laced with cyanide.

Jones and his followers were left-wing Democrats tied into the state’s Democratic establishment during the first governorship of Jerry Brown. Jones even met several times with then-First Lady Rosalyn Carter, wife of liberal Democratic President Jimmy Carter.

The real Kool-Aid being drunk now in 2011 is by those who believe the state’s budget problems will be solved by a massive, $13 billion yearly tax increase for five years, costing each family $5,000 over that period.

Meanwhile, back outside Schrag’s own private Guyana-in-California mental world, the Daily News reports that we soon may be paying $5 a gallon for gasoline. Schrag probably is aware that gas prices have risen.

But our servants in the state Legislature probably missed that one because they get free cars and gasoline, courtesy of the taxpayers of California. Here are some of the models they’re currently driving (some legislators make payments above what the state pays, as noted in the link):

Calderon, Ron, D-Monterey Park: 2006 Cadillac STS

Cedillo, Gil, D-Los Angeles: 2007 Lexus RX 400H Hybrid

Cogdill, Dave, R-Modesto: 2009 Chevrolet Silverado

Florez, Dean, D-Shafter: 2007 Lexus RX 400H Hybrid

Hollingsworth, Dennis, R-Temecula: 2007 Ford Expedition

Huff, Bob, R-Diamond Bar: 2008 Cadillac CTS

Runner, George, R-Lancaster: 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid

Wright, Rod, D-Inglewood: used 2005 Cadillac XLR Roadster (pictured above)

GOP Redevelopment Hypocrisy

Schrag does quote Gov. Brown on the hypocrisy of most Republicans in backing the continuation of wasting $1.7 billion a year on redevelopment. As my colleague Steven Greenhut noted in his column yesterday:

California Republicans love to talk about limiting government, fighting bureaucracy and keeping taxes low, but March 17 they proved that this is nothing more than a rhetorical device. Given the opportunity to rein in the size and power of government in a tangible way, Assembly Republicans — with a sole exception — punted. They rallied to save some of the most abusive and wastrel government agencies around.

The sole exception was Assemblyman Chris Norby, R-Fullerton.

If Californians had any sense, Norby would be made governor in a special election.

But too many people, beginning with Brown and Schrag and redevelopment-obsessed Republicans, would rather keep chugging the Kool-Aid.

March 29, 2011