Big clean car news: the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and four major auto manufacturers (Ford, Honda, Volkswagen, and BMW, which represent about 30% of the automotive market) announced a compromise agreement regarding emissions and fuel efficiency standards. Already, several news reports have portrayed this agreement as rejection of the Trump Administration’s proposed freeze of … Read more
NOTE: This commentary originally appeared on CALmatter’s website. Since 1984, Californians have been pulling their older cars and pickups into smog-check stations and pulling out their wallets to pay for a test to certify that their vehicles meet state emission standards. The average cost for a vehicle-inspection in 2018 was $48.60. It has been money well … Read more
UPDATE: SB 210 has cleared the Senate. Its next big stop is in the Assembly Transportation Committee, most likely early next month. It’s imperative that state legislators send this bill to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who made clean air one of the centerpieces of his 2018 campaign. Please support our efforts to pass this legislation. San Francisco … Read more
It’s a busy time for air quality – the California Legislature is in the middle of its legislative cycle; agencies are developing spending plans and regulations and local governments are considering ordinances and other actions that will affect our air. Given all this commotion, air quality advocates must be engaged at all levels of government. … Read more
“The state Senate today said that it’s time to clean up heavy-duty diesel trucks by subjecting them to the kind of inspection and maintenance requirements that car drivers have faced for decades,” said Bill Magavern, Policy Director for Coalition for Clean Air. “With Senate approval of Senator Connie Leyva’s SB 210 by a super-majority vote, … Read more
SB 210, by Senator Connie Leyva (D-Chino) is an important opportunity to prevent thousands of tons of harmful pollutants emitted into our air by heavy-duty diesel trucks. SB 210 establishes emissions-control inspection and maintenance requirements for diesel trucks weighing more than 14,000 pounds, bringing the hundreds of thousands of these big-rigs on California’s roads closer … Read more
[Coalition for Clean Air Staff met with United operations team to see what happens behind the scenes] The Coalition for Clean Air will present the 2019 Air Quality Award for Corporate Environmental Stewardship to United Airlines at our annual awards luncheon on May 31. We will be recognizing United Airlines for their leadership pursuing electrification and alternate fuels. … Read more
[Photo by B. Magavern: Bus Rapid Transit in Guangzhou] By Bill Magavern I recently had the opportunity to learn first-hand about China’s efforts to reduce transportation emissions. California can learn from several aspects of China’s experience, and in other areas China could benefit from following California’s example. Thanks to my hosts at Innovative Green Development … Read more