So lately I’ve decided it’s time for a new vehicle. Yippee! Nothing like giving yourself a nice big present, right? And so soon after the holidays I almost feel guilty.
Currently I’m driving a Teeyota RAV4. “Teeyota” is how they say Toyota in Hawaii, or at least on the Big Island, where my wife and I lived when we bought the RAV. It’s been a fine set of wheels, and provided me with many satisfying trips to the Kona dump. Unlike everywhere else we’ve lived, trash collection in Kona wasn’t provided by the city or county. But the dump was free, and the line was never long.
But back to car shopping, which is something that in the past has sometimes been a big time sink. And not fun. Too many choices, for one thing. Lucky for me, it’ll be easier this time because some of the usual suspects are out of the running, including Toyota and Subaru, makers of our current stable, along with GM, Chrysler (I really wanted that Ram 1500!), Hyundai, Kia, Mazda and Nissan. In fact, it looks like the only makes I have to consider are Honda, Ford, BMW and Volkswagen. Fantastic. Life just got easier.
The reason for this shrinking car pool—smack yourself if you don’t already know—is that many automakers have decided to support Trump’s plan to roll back the fuel efficiency standards implemented under the Obama administration. Only four decided to stick with California’s standards, which were the basis for the Obama standards: Honda, Ford, BMW and Volkswagen.
Climate Change and Fuel Efficiency
Why is this important? Trump doesn’t just want to “adjust” mileage standards but demolish them—reducing the goal by about 35 percent. If this reduction is implemented, vehicles will emit about six billion tons of carbon dioxide over their lifetimes. That’s billions. That’s tons. And CO2 stays in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, increasing global warming.
If you agree that climate change is real and we need to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), we need to reward businesses that help society do so, and penalize those that don’t. So,no more Teeyotas, no more Subarus, no more GM, Chrysler, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda or Nissan.
You may wonder why I believe that California’s air quality standards will actually curb GHGs. Short answer: because I was there. In one of my prior positions I managed the portion of the state’s Department of Finance that oversaw all of California’s environmental and natural resource departments, including the California Air Resources Board. We had to approve all of their spending, financial legislation, and regulations. I looked closely at not just their regulations but the entire regulatory process.
When my staff and I reviewed CARB’s regulations, we would begin from a position of NO, you cannot implement the regulation unless you prove it’s economically cost effective; i.e., benefits exceed costs. I personally reviewed many of CARB’s major regulations. I’d pose questions to their engineers, managers and even the Executive Director if need be in order to understand the need for, costs and benefits of the regulations, as well as “who pays” and whether there were alternatives to the regulations that would be, on balance, more cost effective. In the end, CARB always made its case. They were smart and talented. They considered alternatives. They met repeatedly with the industries that would be affected by their proposed regulations and responded to their concerns. Invariably, they convinced me that their regulations made sense when considered from the perspective of society as a whole.
Do Businesses Have a Social Responsibility?
The automakers who side with Trump have indicated that their decision to do so is simply a business decision. Given climate change, and the fact that vehicles contribute about twenty percent of our GHGs, we need businesses to recognize their social responsibility. They need to consider their impact on society as a whole, the way CARB does.
But back to car shopping, the newly simplified and far more enjoyable version that I’m about to plunge into courtesy the Association of Global Automakers, who like to make business decisions with their heads stuck in the ground.
Thanks, too, to Trump. Because without Trump, the federal EPA never would have sought to reduce the fuel efficiency standards previously established to help combat climate change. But Trump has managed to install cronies at the federal EPA who have eliminated (or are in the process of eliminating) 95 major environmental rules previously established after careful scientific review (New York Times, Dec. 21, 2019). The current head of the EPA (after the first appointee, Scott Pruitt, was forced to quit due to numerous improprieties) is Andrew Wheeler, a former lobbyist for the coal industry, and fossil fuel booster. Just what we need: more fossil fuel boosting?
Well, at least some people will be happy to boost global warming. Yes, Global Warming is actually a boon to certain parts of the world, such as RUSSIA, and we know who loves RUSSIA, and is best buddies with PUTIN, and will do absolutely anything –
Wait! Hold the presses. Does this mean I should be thanking Vladimir for making my life easier? Well I never! Life sure is complicated, ain’t it?
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