Congress removes CARB and other state's ability to set emissions standards

I live in Maine which is called (locally?) "the tailpipe of the nation." My county requires emissions testing but it makes me wonder how much of that pollution is "our air" and how much blows in from the west. Since pollution doesn't know state lines, it makes sense that it's federally regulated (at a minimum), just like water rights, trade rights, etc. If a state upstream of me wants to do even better, good for them!
 
https://www.latimes.com/environment...n-bid-to-overturn-california-gas-only-car-ban
The Advanced Clean Cars II rule, enacted in 2022 by the California Air Resources Board and granted a federal waiver by the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency in December 2024, required car manufacturers to sell an increasing percentage of zero-emission or plug-in hybrid vehicles to California dealerships over the next decade.
How is this CARB mandate NOT the "regulating of interstate commerce"? Effectively CA is blocking a Detroit company (say Ford, GM) from selling their cars across state lines? When CA announced this, I immediately thought this wouldn't be constitutional and "interstate commerce" clause. Lets not forget when this clean air business started. This isn't 1969, even my camaro is "CA Compliant." Under the auspicies of clean air and CARB, we've seen CA tank the oil industry in this state to the point where our gas prices are nearly double everywhere else in the country. Enough is enough.
My uncle visited from Wisconsin for the first time since 1988. He could believe how clear the air was in comparison.
Oh and by the way, my cost to charge an electric car is 30 cents a kWh at home at 3 am, 50-70 at a supercharger. Its not about "smog" or the environment; its a racket.
 
https://www.latimes.com/environment...n-bid-to-overturn-california-gas-only-car-ban

How is this CARB mandate NOT the "regulating of interstate commerce"? Effectively CA is blocking a Detroit company (say Ford, GM) from selling their cars across state lines? When CA announced this, I immediately thought this wouldn't be constitutional and "interstate commerce" clause. Lets not forget when this clean air business started. This isn't 1969, even my camaro is "CA Compliant." Under the auspicies of clean air and CARB, we've seen CA tank the oil industry in this state to the point where our gas prices are nearly double everywhere else in the country. Enough is enough.
My uncle visited from Wisconsin for the first time since 1988. He could believe how clear the air was in comparison.
Oh and by the way, my cost to charge an electric car is 30 cents a kWh at home at 3 am, 50-70 at a supercharger. Its not about "smog" or the environment; its a racket.
Clean air isn't the sole reason gas is expensive. What tanks moist companies in the cost of doing business on many levels in California. But if you live there and have a good job-your pay is commensurate with the cost of living. I lived in So Cal all my life until 13 years ago until I retired.

It was a WONDERFUL place to grow up. I wouldn't have changed it for anything.
 
I live in Maine which is called (locally?) "the tailpipe of the nation." My county requires emissions testing but it makes me wonder how much of that pollution is "our air" and how much blows in from the west. Since pollution doesn't know state lines, it makes sense that it's federally regulated (at a minimum), just like water rights, trade rights, etc. If a state upstream of me wants to do even better, good for them!
Isn't West of Maine basically all Canada? :)
 
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California's gas price is $1.65/gallon more than the national average. Not only high taxes and infrastructure costs, but high Cap & Trade costs levied against the oil refiners, who simply turn around and pass that along to the customers. That $.65/gallon increase that's coming soon isn't a tax, it's a cap and trade penalty.

Also coming in the coming years is the outlaw of gasoline powered vehicles. EV's and plug in hybrids will be allowed, but not pure gas. Screw that!

And CA trying to solve global warming all by themselves by forcing CO2 emissions is pure folly.
 
Clean air isn't the sole reason gas is expensive. What tanks moist companies in the cost of doing business on many levels in California. But if you live there and have a good job-your pay is commensurate with the cost of living. I lived in So Cal all my life until 13 years ago until I retired.

It was a WONDERFUL place to grow up. I wouldn't have changed it for anything.
The only thing keeping California afloat is tax revenue from silicon valley. The movie industry is moving out.
Not anymore I got a good job, and a lot has changed in the past 13 years here. With two six figure salaries you still struggle unless you want to live in the midst of gun violence. I'm talking specifically about LA and related suburbs. Cost of living has skyrocketed, especially after COVID. With the gas it's the tax racket, Arizona gets the same gas AFAIK and it's at least a dollar cheaper. We saw this on vacation to Colorado River when you cross the border. CARB plays it's role in choking supply and all the refinery's are shutting down.
My wife is going to stop working because it makes no sense to pay 75% of your salary to child care, and this is paying someone 21$ an hour cash. No doubt actual other child care would be more.This is no place to raise a family, but we both have boomer parents that we don't want to leave. This isn't the state you grew up in anymore.
 
If something has worked well then what impetus is there to change it?
The LA basin had horrible air quality in the sixties.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Also, if people didn't want to live in Cali and are leaving, then housing prices would be declining like they are in Florida.
Doesn't seem to be happening,
 
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California's gas price is $1.65/gallon more than the national average. Not only high taxes and infrastructure costs, but high Cap & Trade costs levied against the oil refiners, who simply turn around and pass that along to the customers. That $.65/gallon increase that's coming soon isn't a tax, it's a cap and trade penalty.

Also coming in the coming years is the outlaw of gasoline powered vehicles. EV's and plug in hybrids will be allowed, but not pure gas. Screw that!

And CA trying to solve global warming all by themselves by forcing CO2 emissions is pure folly.
That's what Congress just changed. California (and several other states) are no longer allowed to ban gas vehicles or have different emissions standards than the rest of the country.
 
That's what Congress just changed. California (and several other states) are no longer allowed to ban gas vehicles or have different emissions standards than the rest of the country.
Does that include CO2? If so, that will kill CA and their cap and trade laws.
 
The only thing keeping California afloat is tax revenue from silicon valley. The movie industry is moving out.
Not anymore I got a good job, and a lot has changed in the past 13 years here. With two six figure salaries you still struggle unless you want to live in the midst of gun violence. I'm talking specifically about LA and related suburbs. Cost of living has skyrocketed, especially after COVID. With the gas it's the tax racket, Arizona gets the same gas AFAIK and it's at least a dollar cheaper. We saw this on vacation to Colorado River when you cross the border. CARB plays it's role in choking supply and all the refinery's are shutting down.
My wife is going to stop working because it makes no sense to pay 75% of your salary to child care, and this is paying someone 21$ an hour cash. No doubt actual other child care would be more.This is no place to raise a family, but we both have boomer parents that we don't want to leave. This isn't the state you grew up in anymore.
I'm quite aware of that.
 
If something has worked well then what impetus is there to change it?
The LA basin had horrible air quality in the sixties.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Also, if people didn't want to live in Cali and are leaving, then housing prices would be declining like they are in Florida.
Doesn't seem to be happening,
California real estate prices hit a record high as reported three days ago.
https://fox5sandiego.com/business/p...e-price-hits-new-all-time-high-c-a-r-reports/
 
If something has worked well then what impetus is there to change it?
The LA basin had horrible air quality in the sixties.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Also, if people didn't want to live in Cali and are leaving, then housing prices would be declining like they are in Florida.
Doesn't seem to be happening,
Because an outright ban on hybrids/gas is different from trying to limit emissions which was done in the past. There are significant infrastructure impacts on this change. We're come a long from from catless carbreuated engines. I don't know one person that thinks CA has the infrastructure support for all electric fleet. One of the recent fires is being blamed on electrical infrastructure, yet we have the highest energy and transmission costs in the nation.

The housing prices are a supply issue, not demand. That's why they can charge what they charge for these run down units. And frankly they are declining, slowly. I'll be buying in the next 6-12 months purely out of need and I'm tracking. San Diego is more expensive than LA at this point.
 
Yeah. Smog is making a comeback.
You may not know that federal emission standards were significantly tightened in 2024. To include aspects of tailpipe emissions that were less regulated before. Some of this is expected to 'rollback' (CO2 per mile for example) and some probably will not rollback, PM, NOx NMOG, CO for example. But the bottom line is that federal standards have become seriously strict.

In response to such a move, I'd expect CA to simply tax gasoline and diesel into impracticality. A de facto push into EV's.
 
You may not know that federal emission standards were significantly tightened in 2024. To include aspects of tailpipe emissions that were less regulated before. Some of this is expected to 'rollback' (CO2 per mile for example) and some probably will not rollback, PM, NOx NMOG, CO for example. But the bottom line is that federal standards have become seriously strict.

In response to such a move, I'd expect CA to simply tax gasoline and diesel into impracticality. A de facto push into EV's.
Good thing the private jets everyone flies to climate‑change summits in don’t pollute at all.
 
I will repeat what I have posted probably a dozen times before-
I grew up in So. Cal in the 60's. We used to go out to my Grandma's house in the San Gabriel Valley on the weekends/holidays. It was twenty miles as the crow flies to the San Gabriel Mountains. The air was so dirty-it would be rare to see them. The only time they could be seen is when the winds came in and literally blew the smog to Victorville. My throat would hurt badly from playing outside and breathing the air.
CARB changed all that.
Today-there are more vehicles registered in California than any other state-and the air is cleaner than it has ever been.
It's easy for someone to sit in Virginia and say "great".
Well...I lived it.
Not only is this a step backwards for California-but a step backwards for state rights.
There was a brown haze on my side of the mountain too. But. Ca has overstepped their bounds. Putting businesses out of business because their equipment is too old isn't right. I would prefer to see emissions regs and testing for the appropriate year.
 
You may not know that federal emission standards were significantly tightened in 2024. To include aspects of tailpipe emissions that were less regulated before. Some of this is expected to 'rollback' (CO2 per mile for example) and some probably will not rollback, PM, NOx NMOG, CO for example. But the bottom line is that federal standards have become seriously strict.

In response to such a move, I'd expect CA to simply tax gasoline and diesel into impracticality. A de facto push into EV's.
Knock themselves out. More gas for the rest of us.


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