Free Republic

The GOP-led Senate voted Thursday to take away California’s ability to set its own tailpipe emissions standards, effectively killing the country’s biggest driver of EV investment. The vote was 51-44. The move nullifies a measure, enacted by the state in 2022 and later adopted by 11 other states, banning the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. The House already passed the same resolution. Now it heads to President Trump for his signature. U.S. carmakers and auto dealers argued that keeping in place the waiver—which permits California to set stricter emissions rules than the federal government—could cripple the industry by...

Few people realize just how destructive the modern EPA is, so we’d better hope that Trump’s efforts are successful. Trump’s EPA has started the process to rescind the EPA’s authority to regulate CO2 and other alleged greenhouse gasses. It would remake our nation and shake a Western civilization already being pummeled by green madness. These regulations, both here and abroad, have been stalking horses for socialism and vehicles for fraud. graft, and funding left-wing actors on a scale unseen in human history. On the international stage, the move to declare CO2 a pollutant and man its evil cause agent began...

California regulators withdrew a proposal to mandate the sale of zero-emissions trucks over the next 20 years on Tuesday evening. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) pulled back its request to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a waiver that would have allowed the state to require massive increases in sales of electric or zero-emissions truck models over the coming decades. As of 2023, only 0.3% of all registered heavy-duty vehicles in the U.S. were zero-emissions models, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation. CARB’s Advanced Clean Fleets rule would have mandated California’s truck fleet to move to zero-emission...

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — As Californians grapple with the aftermath of devastating wildfires, a pressing question looms: Who will bear the financial burden of rebuilding the Los Angeles area? While some point to politicians, others are calling for fossil fuel producers to be held accountable. Christina Scaringe, California Climate Policy Director for the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute based in Sacramento, said they are working on a climate superfund bill aimed at holding major fossil fuel companies responsible for their climate impacts.... ...Scaringe emphasized that the bill is about fairness and affordability for Californians. ....The proposed climate superfund...

...The withdrawal comes after the Biden administration recently approved the California Air Resources Board’s mandate phasing out new gas-powered cars by 2035, but had not yet approved waivers for four other standards for diesel vehicles that the state adopted....

President Joe Biden is set to allow California to ban the production of new gas-powered vehicles after 2035. California and 11 other states were awaiting permission for the ambitious measure, which Biden is set to give in one of his final acts during the lame-duck period, two people briefed on the matter told the New York Times. President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly signaled his opposition to the measure, setting up a legal battle for the second administration. One-quarter of vehicles bought in California are electric, the highest in any state, yet still far behind the aimed-for 100% in a decade....

— Less than two weeks after the California Air Resources Board voted on controversial updates to its Low Carbon Fuel Standard program, a Republican State Senator is pushing to roll them back. State Senator Brian Jones on Tuesday announced he'll introduce a bill to repeal the updates, stating the legislation is needed because of the likelihood those new standards coupled with other state policies will likely raise gas prices.

...The RV industry saw it coming. Since 2020 it’s been working with CARB (the California Air Resources Board—creator of ACT) on how these regulations would affect the industry and RVers. Industry had hoped CARB would work in an exemption for recreational vehicles. That didn’t happen. The situation is further complicated by more than just the ACT regulation. It also involves a trio of regulations passed in the last two to three years: the ACT, the Omnibus Low NOx rule, and the Advanced Clean Fleets rule. Together, these regulations are designed to transition medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs)...

In the push to stop burning fossil fuels, California may find itself becoming less of a national power player after November. That’s if Donald Trump or the Supreme Court dismantles one of the state’s key weapons against carbon emissions, a half-century old Environmental Protection Agency waiver program that allows California to set regulations that are stronger than federal rules.

California’s top air quality regulator today urged the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency to “immediately” approve the state’s regulation phasing out diesel trucks. Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph was among more than 250 people who signed up to speak today at a virtual hearing focusing on whether the EPA should grant California a waiver that allows the state to enact its regulation. The hearing was expected to last 12 hours.

The Biden administration could allow California to implement a rule designed to push green locomotives, but a growing list of stakeholders are warning that the regulation would severely impact the state’s economy and the national rail industry. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could soon determine whether it will allow the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to move forward with a state regulation that would ban the use of locomotives that are more than 23 years past their manufacturing date unless they run using zero-emissions technology, according to Progressive Railroading. The rule could disrupt supply chains and saddle the state’s railway...

Coast Guard will not enforce new California rule, citing 'safety concerns' The Center Square) - The U.S. Coast Guard says it “will not enforce” a new California Air Resources Board regulation, citing “safety concerns.” The Coast Guard and business organizations oppose CARB's requirement that commercial harbor craft install diesel particulate filters linked to a number of fires. Seventeen states are suing the Environmental Protection Agency for giving an exemption to California alone to enact its own air standards that, by power of its market size, govern much of the rest of the country.

The final rule in a set of regulations adopted 15 years ago takes effect this week, banning some 70,000 big rigs from California roads. A set of clean air regulations implemented by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in 2008, and later signed into law as Senate Bill 1, states that any diesel vehicles weighing over 14,000 pounds and built before 2010 are banned from operating on California roads as of Jan. 1, 2023.

As California expands its efforts to phase out natural-gas use in homes, the nation’s largest gas utility is trying to reinvent itself for a future in which far fewer customers use its core service. Southern California Gas Co., a unit of Sempra, is studying how to repurpose its system—and handle the costs of doing so—as the state works to ban the sale of gas furnaces and water heaters starting in 2030. The state’s initiatives are the latest in a series of measures aimed at reducing future gas use to address climate-change concerns. Already, about 50 California cities and towns have...

Members of California’s Air Resources Board today questioned the practicalities of their staff’s proposal to ban gas-powered vehicles, raising concerns over challenges in buying and charging electric cars.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is restoring California’s authority to set its own tailpipe pollution standards for cars, reversing a Trump administration policy and likely ushering in stricter emissions standards for new passenger vehicles nationwide. A waiver approved Wednesday by the Environmental Protection Agency allows California to set tough emissions rules for cars and SUVs and impose mandates for so-called zero-emission vehicles that do not contribute to global warming. Former President Donald Trump’s 2019 decision to revoke California’s authority to set its own limits on auto emissions was one of his most high-profile actions to roll back environmental rules...

Hundreds of requests for details on the specifics of the container shipping backlog. So, I spent 3 days calling sources, digging for details and gathering information on the substantive issue at hand. The epicenter of the problem is not what is being outlined by financial media, corporate media and politicians who have a specific interest in distracting from the issues at hand. This has nothing to do with COVID-19. The issues being discussed today relate to events that happened a long time ago. As a matter of fact, it was so predictable that Amazon, Walmart, UPS, FedEx, Samsung, The Home...

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...

We’re in crab season, here in Maryland. Some versions of Crab Imperial can be totally ‘keto friendly’, and here is one, from the long-time Maryland seafood company and restaurant ‘Phillips': http://www.phillipsfoods.com/recipes/classic-crab-imperialCrab Imperial 1 lb. Phillips Jumbo Lump Crab Meat 1 tsp. parsley 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice 1 egg 1 tsp. Phillips Seafood Seasoning 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 3 oz. Hellmann’s mayonnaise 1 tsp. melted butter Imperial Topping: 3 oz. Hellmann’s mayonnaise 1 oz. half & half 1/2 tsp. Phillips Seafood Seasoning 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce Pinch of paprika 1/4 c. shredded Cheddar cheese 4...

The next frontier in California’s battle against pollution: lawn equipment. State air regulators are laying long-term plans to phase out gasoline-powered devices like leaf blowers and lawn mowers, saying they can produce more noxious emissions than cars. Plenty of Bay Area cities are already acting: At least eight have banned gas-powered blowers, and more restrict their use during times of day or up to a certain noise level. Novato may soon join the list. “What I think we need to realize is that we have to do something different for climate change in the world,” said Novato Mayor Pro Tem...