We Can Clearly See that Reduced Emissions Should Be a California Goal
by Mike Gatto (CalMatters) … However, experts tell us that it may take decades for electrics to replace the millions of light-duty cars and trucks on our roads — and even longer to realize universal access to affordable, zero-emission vehicles and charging stations for all Californians.
Clean air shouldn’t have to take a once-a-century pandemic to achieve. California can do more to tackle the environmental toll from existing vehicles today.
For example, data from the California Air Resources Board show that the renewable motor fuels available to California drivers get cleaner each year thanks to the use of low carbon fuels.
Currently, gasoline is blended with 10% renewable ethanol, but California is exploring wider adoption of higher biofuel blends like E15, which many states and countries have already embraced. With more renewable fuel in the tank, we could not only displace more petroleum, but also reduce consumption of toxic fuel additives linked to cancer and smog.
Another worthwhile opportunity exists among heavy trucks and equipment. Diesel particulate matter is a leading cause of polluted air, particularly harming the health of disadvantaged residents living near ports, rail yards, warehouses and freeways. Diesel-fueled trucks are responsible for almost one third of California’s annual emissions of nitrogen oxide emissions, a key ingredient in smog. The same trucks emit more particulate matter pollution than all the state’s power plants combined. Renewable biodiesel could play a much greater role in reducing those emissions.
California has long been the hotbed of independent thinking and groundbreaking technologies that become global trends. That’s especially true when it comes to cleaning up the transportation sector, America’s top source of greenhouse gas emissions. Continued progress will play a vital role in protecting the health of California families, especially minority and low-income communities, where hazardous air quality has been shown to cause more premature deaths, asthma and other illnesses. READ MORE
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE: DIESEL TECHNOLOGY IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY (Diesel Technology Forum)
