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.
Get a 100-foot cord.
Plan the mowing so the cord follows.
Been there. Done that.
No gas to mix. No failure to start.
Did run over the cord once.
If you spent hours in a closed garage with a running vehicle you would simply be dead, regardless of whatever pollution prevention technology the vehicle has.
Yes, you simply plug it into itself. Why didn’t I think of that?
= = =
Joe Biden already has. And tested the procedure, too.
A bridge too far.
People will just buy what they need in Nevada and ignore the law.
And millions of them will do so.
Good for California! And I hope it hurts and I hope it hurts a lot! The idiots out there put the Dems in office so let them reap the whirlwind! Could not happen to a more deserving state!
California requires all lawn mowers to be USB powered so you can run your mower and play with your laptop at the same time.
My 12 year old self did not give a crap about that and had no money for 100’ extension cords. I killed that useless piece of crap and moved on.
That would be interesting, maybe they just plug them into themselves for recharging? :-)
“The pollution from modern cars is about nil.”
Might depend on their definition of pollution. Today’s big polluter is carbon dioxide. The amount of carbon dioxide per gallon of fuel isn’t radically different for any fossil-fueled engine (I imagine).
Catalytic converters convert certain polluting exhaust components into carbon dioxide. Certainly baby-size catalytic convertors could be put onto small engines.
Actually, the two-cycle engines used in chainsaws, leaf blowers, etc., are certainly dirtier than 4-cycle engines used in the larger equipment.
Our most populous state has become the classic textbook case of extreme liberal mismanagement by design.
They better learn to smuggle in mufflers as well.
All of this is reason 9437 NOT to ever cross of the border into California.
And they are much worse now
Not sure if it's a government regulation somewhere or fear of lawsuits, but one annoying thing about any corded equipment made in the last 10-20 years is the cords are now designed to easily pop out of the socket on the equipment.
So the slightest jerk (and I mean the slightest) or quick change in direction and the cord will pop out and the blower/mower/power rake/etc will stop running and you will lose your momentum and have to stop and push it back in.
Trying to mow and/or blow when you have to stop every 20-30 seconds just as you were start to get a good pace just to re-attached the cord really, really, really will drive you ^!@&^ mad.
Who made this rule or who designed them this way deserves to be shot.
Firemen battling forest fires required to use electric chainsaws.
Oh shoot Larry get out the jumper cables the battery went dead.
This will put many thousands out of work in CA.
I own a line of the newer more powerful battery powered lawn equipment. Not bad.
“I think it is about right. The pollution from modern cars is about nil.”
This is not true. Burning a gallon of gas in a car or weed eater will produce the same amount of CO2.
In Michigan they are called “Ozone Action Days.” My husband loves them because he doesn’t have to mow the lawn those days.
Cali had spies at fireworks stands who would call in the license plate number of any Cali vehicle that had stopped to purchase fireworks. They'll do the same with those who buy gas engine products. Just like they do the same right now for anyone stopping at a gun store for ammo.
I have an 18” Ego chain saw that I prefer over my 18” gas.
That’s yard work, no way a replacement for loggers.
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