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Fewer zero-emission vehicles will be required on California roads by 2014

Posted at 5:01 PM on 27 Mar 2008

California's Air Resources Board has voted to reduce the number of zero-emissions vehicles required to be sold in the state by 2014 from 25,000 to 7,500. It's a hefty reduction, though less dramatic than the recommendation by CARB staff that the requirement be cut to 2,500 vehicles. Not-quite-zero-but-still-relatively-less-emissions vehicles, like plug-in hybrids, will make up the rest of the quotient, the board decided.

source: Reuters

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Comments: (7 comments)

You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have a Gristmill account, log in below. If you don't have a Gristmill account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five.

So what!

Who cares? "Zero emissions" is a feel good distraction.

It's system-wide GHG emissions and local air quality that matter here.

by drocto at 10:21 PM on 27 Mar 2008

Preserve the 25,000 ZEV savings

On average the plugin hybrids will probably use 10% of the fuel of a regular car, so require 7,000 ZEV and substitue for the 15,000 dumped with 20,000 PHV. More than making up for the fuel use by raising the numbers of PHV.

Someone should have pushed them on this. And require that enough renewable electricity be generated to recharge them.

And move the timeline up to 2010, hehey. 10 times these numbers by 2014?

Total conversion to plugin hybrids would take 20 years if 15 million were converted per year. That's what really needs to happen.

But geo heat exchange heating/cooling of buildings is more important with a potential savings of 36% of GHG. That could go faster.

It's a big job, with lots of economic growth in store. And it pays its own way in energy cost savings.

BTW, Peterbilt has hybrid semis now, ready to plugin to truck stops and recharge in motion with inductive charge lanes? With some added batteries and a pickup coil that rides over the charge coils in the roadway, yes.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin

by amazingdrx at 11:42 PM on 27 Mar 2008

Now You Like Cars?

So, all of a sudden cars are good? I thought we were all supposed to have light rail stations to our neighborhoods. Or maybe, we're supposed to abandon suburbia and move to "green condos" with a population density the size of Bangalore.

At any rate, it sounds like once again technology has stepped in to save our sorry butts from self-annihilation no thanks to the eyebrow pierce and tofu crowd.

by jabailo at 9:11 AM on 28 Mar 2008

Electric mass transit

And plugin hybrid bikes could replace 200 million of our 300 million cars, the rest could be plugin hybrid hypercars.

And electric freight trains could replace most long haul trucking. The rest done with plugin hybrid trucks.

That would all fit into a 20 year renewable energy and conservation econopmic revival. Happy times. Real freedom, without oil wars.

Enough extra cash flow to provide universal healthcare and government supported higher education and even pay down the deficit and debt. Maybe restore our currency and financial system to healthy capitalist competition again?

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin

by amazingdrx at 9:22 AM on 28 Mar 2008

Skeptics

Global warming skeptics are affecting decisions. But that is OK. Stick to your vision California, & let EVs lead the way. Someday, technology will see ICE come to an end & HEVs shortly thereafter.

Your future is not determined by your past

by litesong at 1:39 PM on 28 Mar 2008

Bribes

Nobody should really worry about whether California is going to have electric cars or PHEV's because the roads in the state are degrading at a rapid rate.

With the cost of a barrel of asphalt having gone up by a factor of 5 in the last five years and asphalt being at least 15% of the road surface.... well there isn't going to be much in the way of road repairs.

The paved surface area in California is facing a steep decline and that decline will accelerate quickly as the state is broke. We got looted by Enron and then governator Arnold Schwarzenegger(sp) decided some tax cuts would be a fine idea.

I would reccomend a sturdy mountain bike on the order of the Big Dummy by Surly. (scroll waaay down)

Put the Carbon Back

by Pangolin at 2:26 PM on 28 Mar 2008

ev's

so who would want an electric car anyhow? if wind and solar generate electricity they are neutral in impact. they have one moving part to replace and are quiet and nonpolluting. so who would want one anyhow?

by earlysnows at 3:11 PM on 28 Mar 2008

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