Posted on 10/15/2021 7:41:50 AM PDT by Yo-Yo
CARB says there are 16.7 million small engines in the state compared to 13.7 million passenger vehicles, drastically affecting emissions.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed legislation that aims to ban the sale of gas-powered lawn equipment, generators, and other small engines designed for off-road use.
This new law builds from the executive order signed by Newsom in 2020 that bans the sale of new passenger cars powered by internal combustion engines in 2035. In the same order, Newsom calls for "100 percent zero-emission off-road vehicles and equipment," the phaseout of which must now be road mapped by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in 2022 and officially put in place by 2024.
The text of the signed bill specifically calls for the banning of small off-road engines (SORE), calling out emergency response equipment and generators as well as both residential and commercial lawn equipment.
However, the SORE category expands past the named items. CARB officially defines SOREs as off-road spark-ignition engines that produce 25 horsepower or less. Other equipment examples given by the board include industrial, logging, golf carts, and specialty vehicles. It's not yet clear how this will affect small off-road recreational and sport vehicles like ATVs and dirt bikes, though most exceed that 25-hp threshold.
“Small gas engines are not only bad for our environment and contributing to our climate crisis, they can cause asthma and other health issues for workers who use them,” said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, a co-sponsor of the bill. “It’s time we phased out these super polluters, and help small landscaping businesses transition to cleaner alternatives.”
There are currently 16.7 million small engines in California, according to a fact sheet supplied by CARB. That's significantly more than the state's fleet of 13.7 million passenger vehicles. Approximately 77 percent is made up of residential lawn and garden equipment, while federally regulated construction and farming machinery make up 11 percent. The remaining 9 percent is attributed to commercial lawn and garden, which may be hit hardest by this legislation.
These fleets of small engines are responsible for a substantial amount of the state's emissions. In fact, CARB says that running a leaf blower for an hour is equivalent to driving a 2017 Toyota Camry for 1,100 miles.
Marc Berman, author of the legislation, recognizes that the transition to battery-powered equipment will be a hardship for some small businesses. He says that California will pledge approximately $30 million to aid commercial businesses, but given that there are around 50,000 outfits in the state that'll be affected by the change, that works out to around $600 each.
According to financial figures supplied to the Los Angeles Times by Andrew Bray, vice president of government relations for the National Association of Landscape Professionals, that simply isn't enough. A gasoline-powered commercial riding mower could cost a business anywhere from $7,000 to $11,000, while the zero-emissions equivalents often cost more than twice that.
Equipment cost aside, there are also logistical concerns. For example, Bray believes that a three-person crew would need to carry as many as 40 fully-charged batteries to complete a full day's work. Additionally, these small companies may even need to upgrade their workshops to handle the daily charging of this equipment.
Legislators have their concerns as well. Given California's history of brownouts and power grid problems, some lawmakers like Senator Brian Dahle say that banning critical fuel-based power backup mechanisms like generators makes no sense.
"[Fuel] is very sustainable. It’s easy to access. And when the power is off, you can still use it," said Dahle. "You can still run a generator to keep your freezer going, to keep your medical devices going. But when your battery’s dead and there’s no power on, you have nothing.”
California will require that the ARB determine the regulations which will govern small engines no later than July 1, 2022. The adopted regulations will be put in place 18 months later on Jan. 1, 2024.
No sir, lawn equipment simply does not create mass.
Do you seriously believe that running ANY yard machine for 1/2 hour is going to produce more than 307 pounds of carbon?
I use my chainsaw for hours at a time after storms that knock out power most of the time. Every time an ice storm is predicted, I move my generator and my chainsaw into the heated storage space. I have a battery powered Sawzall and an battery powered chainsaw that sees occasional pruning duty, but there is no way that is useful when 12-48inch logs are on my personal or county road.
I think these government types all live in the same condo complex and all this stuff is taken care of by people they never talk to. Wait I am describing the California gardener situation perfectly. Government types of all races do not talk to people who own work boots and gloves. They talk to lobbyist and urban vote leaders.
The emissions comparisons are not for CO2 gasses nice straw man though. The emissions comparisons are for CARB regulated emissions of NOx,SOx, unburnt hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide,PM2.5 particulates and VOC compounds. Modern computer controlled closed loop engines with three way catalysts and PM filters produce nearly no emissions of those regulated emissions. What they do produce is measured in the part per billion range. A two cycle engine on a leaf blower on the other hand will produce massive amounts of every one of those regulated emissions. One only has to watch the plume of blue smoke pouring out the leaf blower to see that. The smell of unburnt fuel and oil is thick in the air anywhere they are used. The numbers given by CARB have been lab verified by putting tail pipe sensors up the exhaust pipes of not only on road vehicles but also putting them up the pipes of SORE engines. The newly passed law doesn’t even contain a reference to CO2 in the actual text of the law read it ca.gov has the text in PDF form. What is in the law is NOx,VOC,PM and ROG emissions which SORR engines produce in huge amounts. Manufacturers could put three way catalysts and closed loop computer control on off road engines and bring them into compliance with what is acceptable for on road use. It would add a few hundred dollars to the price but it would cut emissions down to near zero just like modern cars. About the smallest engine that could be fitted with three way cats is likely in the 10hp range dual O2 sensors and an ECU to run them plus fuel injection vs carburetor.
Looks like the tech already exists and manufacturers have been too cheap to implement it. So they got bite by CARB. Look at the emissions reductions with the cat and ECU control there is no longer a smog problem at least not from SORE engines.
https://www.ecotrons.com/small_engine_fuel_injection_kit/
The nitrogen compounds are not the "greenhouse gases" anyway.
You don’t understand how NOx is formed apparently. All internal combustion forms NOx be it diesel or it to cycle. Diesel Trucks and cars have very expensive SCR catalysts with dual sensors and urea aka diesel exhaust fluid to charge the catalysts with. They produce copious amounts of NOx just like every other high compression combustion event. The emissions are controlled with technical means via dual or three way catalysts, urea fluid, and triple sensors dual O2 sensors and a final NOx sensor for SCR systems none of that exists on a small engine and they absolutely do produce large amounts. That’s documented scientific fact with literally thousands of hours of tail pipe and manifold tests. Personally I don’t care what you believe the data is publicly available from the EPA,CARB and even the manufacturers themselves as they must release emissions data normalize to grams per km traveled or grams per go hour of operation. Look it up it’s freely available. The text of the law is accurate and verifiable by not only CARB but also the EPA own technical reviews no one cares what internet people think the EPA rules are written by scientists who have documented evidence.
I'm sure the bigger engines scrub a most of the nitrogen crud; however, those small engines simply do not pass through enough air in 1/2 an hour to justify the fuss.
Western society is being outlawed, banned, and shunned one piece at a time. It is just stupid to attempt to change The Way of Life just because someone thinks there is something adverse about them. Once we go back to horses, people will complain about horse droppings. On the bright side, the buggy whip manufacturers can come back.
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