Posted on 03/17/2005 9:14:29 AM PST by SierraWasp
Pollution plan proposed
Governor says goal is to remove 15,000 polluting vehicles from road
By Hank Shaw Capitol Bureau Chief Published Thursday, March 17, 2005
RANCHO CORDOVA -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to scrap one polluting car for every California kid hospitalized with asthma.
Schwarzenegger on Wednesday proposed to nearly quadruple the state fund for retiring or repairing "gross polluting vehicles," a move he hopes will go a long way toward cleaning up the state's air.
California's air quality is fragile, and the San Joaquin Valley suffers particularly because smog and other pollutants get trapped in the low-lying region and cannot easily be blown away by the wind.
Experts say pollution in the Valley contributes to more than 1,000 deaths a year
State officials say air pollution also contributes to asthma suffered by roughly 15,000 children who spend time in California hospitals each year. Schwarzenegger says his goal is to retire that many polluting vehicles annually.
To do this, he plans to spend $16.3 million in the next fiscal year for the Consumer Assistance Program, up from $4.5 million this year. The program, which began in 1998, was suspended for two years beginning in 2002 due to budget cuts.
Anyone with a car or truck that fails a smog check can apply to the state for grant of up to $1,000 to scrap the jalopy, or as much as $500 to get it up to code.
Most such vehicles are at least 15 years old and emit at least twice as much pollution as allowed under the law. According to the state Bureau of Automotive Repair, a car built in 1980 belches about 30 times as much pollution as one built today.
Schwarzenegger showcased his proposal Wednesday by crushing a 1987 Chrysler New Yorker at the Rancho Cordova Pick-N-Pull auto yard, where old cars and trucks are crushed for scrap or laid out for parts.
"When it comes to the environment, status quo is not an option," he said. "We have to leave things better than the way we found them."
Holding up a 40-pound container of rusty dirt, Schwarzenegger said some of the worst-offending cars can throw that much particulate matter into the air every year.
"This is why we have to get rid of the dirty, polluting cars," he said.
Schwarzenegger's proposal dovetails with similar legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Dave Cogdill, a Modesto Republican whose district includes Calaveras County.
Still in its infancy, Cogdill's plan would focus on the Valley -- home of the nation's foulest air -- and confine the program to gross-polluting vehicles. Cogdill would not raise taxes or fees to fund the program. State registration fees fund the program that Schwarzenegger wants to expand.
Cogdill is toying with offering tax credits or write-offs, but his bill will probably not be ready for debate until next session. Schwarzenegger declined to give an opinion on Cogdill's proposal Wednesday.
The Legislature must agree to spend more on the Consumer Assistance Program before it can take effect, and the state budget is not due until June 30.
Meanwhile, information and applications are available on the Internet at www.smogcheck.ca.gov or by calling the Department of Consumer Affairs at (800) 952-5210.
This will hurt the working poor in the California inner-cities and minorities. Seriously. A lot of working poor folks drive "buckets," cars that barely get them places despite their horrid condition.
If RINOLD would focus on cutting state spending and cutting taxes (and for the feds to do the same) the working poor and minorities would have money to buy newer, cleaner cars.
Ok, forester... Here's the deal! We fought the Wilson Administration with it's MTBE and it's support for GANG-GREEN's numerous and varied attempts at usurping land-use control from local elected representatives for 8 long years!
Then we contiued the fight with the help of one consistent conservative media voiced out of the Bay Area... Melanie Morgan on KSFO who organized protests at the Crapitol against MTBE, SMOG-CHECK-II and even started the historic CA Recall election signature gathering with Sean Steele of the CAGOP!!!
Now the Recall gets hi-jacked by an aledged Republican who puts back in our faces what we fought Davis on (an WON) and here comes this idiot putting it all back in our faces to the power of 10!!!
And to make it worse... Some of us who protested at the Crapitol could see this coming on Arnold's campaign website, yet we have to put up with FReepers, including the owner of the site, telling all of us we'd be better off with this guy! And look what's happening!! FReepers standing around picking their danged noses like nothing is happening!!!
It's MADDENING!!!
I drive my '69 Dodge Power Wagon MAYBE 500 miles per year, half of which is on my own property. It isn't worth getting a new truck, but I can't do without it.
I stated that there should be exemptions for historic vehicles.
I remember the rallies at the capitol building. I remember the Sac B S condemning the rallies as KSFO promotions taking advantage of us low IQ radio dopes. Years later the B S acted as if they discovered the hazards of MTBE.
Secondly, Schwarzenkennedy's left hand does not know what his right hand is dong. He favors DLs for ILLEGAL immigrants -- what the hell are they going to drive? There's a state program to pay for their car insurance already, is there going to be a program to buy ILLEGAL aliens late model cars? No doubt funded by fines paid by citizens who can't afford anyting but an old car!
I keep it mainly to piss off the local codes people and have my phone number on both sides of it.
My wife's Buick has never shown more than a trace of HC or CO on the annual tests; it is maintained in a state of tune.
The F100 doesn't have to be tested.
The registration costs the same for each.
Free money for the state and the county.
That's right, take the 80 year old geezer's beat up 71 Chevy away from him today and next you'll be demanding that 85 year old geezers don't have a right to wobble their 50 year old Schwinns down the road; when he's reduced to walking, make it a crime for anyone to use the right-of-way who can't make a pace of 5 FPS walking with his cane waving back and forth for balance.
Quit tailgating.
That should be the issue: do we as a society have enough money to fund all of this stuff? Where is the issue of spending priorities in all of this? I personally think this is a better idea for reducing pollution then two thirds of the other crap that CARB has passed (like MTBE).
Because I don't see the pollution issue going away, I might as well support stuff that makes sense...instead of being against everything.
Who are you to decide whether or not my 'classic' is worthy of a life ? If you want to throw sh!t at others, be ready for me to find fault with your ride...
Stop tailgating ???
There are plenty of those limping, broken down rust buckets parked in my neighborhood, all owned by ILLEGALS. Arnold could hit two birds with one stone by insisting on deporting illegals.
So, what in the he@@ is your suggestion? (snort!)
You do, but they're rarely as bad. In Germany at least, there's something called the TÜV, which is an inspection and smog check on steroids, far more picky than in any US state, including unauthorized accessories (which is why you don't see LEDs and neons all over German cars). It's required every, IIRC, two years, and it's a big deal for car owners. So much so that used car ads show the date of the last TÜV, with those cars with the most time left until the next TÜV being the most desirable.
So basically if you see a junker with German plates spewing smoke, it's got max two years left unless someone fixes it. At that point it'll be junked or sold off to Eastern Europe.
I'm sure Arnold's HumVs are exempt too.
Time for Carry_Okie to repost his wonderful graphs on the NRDC and their funding sources etc. BTW, I'm going to be sending those to the people I talked with the last few days.
All lists.
Probably not - it wouldn't look good if he divorced Maria; and he'd have to then PAY for the service..
Let me guess then, owning a car is a privilege bestowed by government? We are so lucky to have such a nice government.
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