This makes 6v 8v 12v debate child's play.
Adler
Bush on Smog Patrol
=94Texans should listen attentively to their governor on this one: We've
got to clean up the air even if it means changing our heedless roadhog
ways. =92I urge you to be bold in your proposal,=92 Gov. George W. Bush t=
old
the state's environmental board this week in written remarks on coping
with the state's smog problem. One component of boldness, he said, is
likely to be tougher vehicle-emission standards, following California's
example. Bush suggested that Texas impose tailpipe-emission standards
similar to California's. This could get drivers into vehicles that
produce less gasoline-based air pollution. The governor also urged
switching to cleaner-burning gasoline and making a =91significant=92
reduction in industrial pollution.=94
These excerpts of Gov. George W. Bush, from an editorial in the Austin,
Texas =93American-Statesman=94 took me back to my first Clean Air Confere=
nce
in September 1994. William Yellowtail, the US-EPA Regional Administrator
for Denver, Colorado spoke on Air Pollution Issues; some of his excerpts
were: There are two ways to go about this solution: =93We make cars
cleaner or we get people out of the cars... Unfortunately, the fleet
turnover doesn=92t happen fast enough. If it were to make a real
difference, it isn=92t going to happen tomorrow, unless we get fairly
aggressive about what we do=85 Somehow you people and all people, have to
be able to figure out a way to convince the public that mass
transportation is the way to go. Politicians just cannot be counted on
to make the tough decisions=85 There are lots of smart people in this
room. You are the experts, you are the creativity in this whole arena.
The challenge to you is to be bold, in fact, out right fool-hardy
perhaps, and design the solution before the crisis.=94
Texas=92s new scrappage and inspection and maintenance proposals can be
found on The Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission=92s website
(TNRCC): =93www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/oprd/991216.html=94
Frozen Devices and Frosted Motorists
Lines for car emissions tests dragged on for hours across the state of
New Jersey, with 25 percent of inspection lanes closed by computer
snafus and staff shortages. Larry Sherwood, general manager of Parsons
Infrastructure and Technology Group of California, the company running
the tests, said that employees are having problems calibrating the new
equipment used to measure tailpipe emissions, and conducting routine
maintenance on the machines for the first time.
Another problem adding to the delays is malfunctions in scanners
designed to transfer data from bar-coded vehicle-registration cards to
the computer system. Employees instead must enter the numbers manually
at the start of the test. Also, frozen devices kept angry motorists
waiting in long lines yet again, state officials disclosed; the finicky
$400 million system has been freezing up in cold weather. The
freeze-ups were the result of unexpected condensation in probes used to
test tailpipe emissions and in computer sensors that make up the
sensitive, complex system, which went on line only three weeks ago.
Without offering an explanation for why the system wasn't designed to
withstand cold weather, Parsons was working feverishly to weatherproof
its equipment.
The air inside the state's inspection facilities is making some people
sick, according to Assemblyman Anthony Impreveduto, (D-Hudson). "I have
received calls from motorists and inspection station employees who
complain of unhealthy conditions at the state-owned testing facilities."
In a letter written to the commissioner of the state Department of
Transportation, Impreveduto explained, "=85that several inspection line
employees have fallen ill because of the unhealthy air conditions in the
testing facilities. The situation has been made worse in recent days
with a protracted period of rain and drizzle. In fact, I understand that
some Parsons employees already have filed union grievances and contacted
the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.=94
There have been reports of at least six instances in which the tires of
cars being inspected were ruined by the treadmill rollers. Parsons has
had more than $300,000 in state-imposed fines for the long lines. The
motorists long waits have been up to three or four hours with the cars
idling and the heaters on in 30-degree weather, creating pollution the
state wants reduced. There also aren=92t any waiting rooms or bathrooms
for the public, only portable toilets.
The fall 1998 newsletter =93Clean Air NJ=94 on their website
=93www.cleanairnj.org=94 states that Larry Sherwood, the Parsons manager =
for
the new program is a 20 year veteran in the air pollution control field.
Sherwood=92s experiences range from developing and testing vehicle
emission analyzers, to field operations and enforcement. Parsons has
been in the air pollution control business for over 30 years and has
provided emissions expertise in California, Nevada, the Philippines, and
Greece.
In Pennsylvania, the auto emissions inspections could erupt as an issue
on two fronts. First, there is a need to
explain why motorists in the mostly Democratic greater Pittsburgh and
Metro Philadelphia have to subject their vehicles to annual tailpipe
tests while those in Republican-dominated Harrisburg, Lancaster, Reading
and Allentown don't have to do that, as originally planned. Plus, the
public has never received an explanation of the details of a $145
million buyout of the old centralized auto emissions testing contract.
It was a deal involving the expenditure of public money to affect public
policy.
In September of 1997, there were efforts to encourage the removal of the
California Bay Area exemption, putting the Smog Check II program into
the Bay Area. The proposed reductions of pollution levels, according to
the Air Resources Board, could be reduced by more than 100 tons a day.
The entire program of reductions needed each day for the entire state is
112 tons a day. When New Jersey=92s program started up, Mr. Sherwood
boasted 800 tons of reductions a day. Reformulated gasoline was to be
the other =93silver bullet=94 and proposed reductions would be seen rapid=
ly.
Adding up all of the proposed reductions in emissions reported, one
would think the air was so clean it would suck the clouds out of the
sky.
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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