California, already nearly bankrupt, stands as a shining example to the rest of the country - and indeed, the world - of what not to do. Having convinced themselves that they can unilaterally Save The Planet™ by enacting increasingly onerous regulations along with higher taxes and fees, they seem bemused by the fact that more businesses (and citizens) are leaving the state than are relocating into the state. This has never before happened in the history of the area. It's costing them tons of money as businesses move to friendlier areas such as Texas, yet they seem unconcerned, even as they teeter on the edge of financial ruin.
They have a Planet To Save, no matter the cost. And so it is that they've imposed new and very costly regulations on trucks that are virtually guaranteed to shut down 60% or more of small trucking operations in the state; many from out-of-state will simply refuse to enter California at all.
Beginning Jan. 1, older-model tractors that pull trailers at least 53 feet long must be equipped with tires with low rolling resistance. All sleeper-cab tractors and trailers built after 2010 must have aerodynamic devices such as side skirts.
Ms. Caesar said the rules are important to protect Californians from the toxins found in diesel exhaust, which the California Scientific Review Panel found to cause cancer in 1998. She said the toxins are also associated with asthma and other respiratory and cardiovascular problems.
Mr. Laskowski said that while he appreciates California's efforts to guard the public's health, complying with the rules is just not financially possible under current economic conditions.
CARB’s new emissions rules could raise state gas prices by $2.22 a gallon by 2020 — a 50 percent increase, according to a California Trucking Association study published in April. The study also found that the rules could cost California more than 600,000 jobs, $68.5 billion in Gross Domestic Product and $21.7 billion in lost income between 2015 and 2020.
But they have a Planet To Save! Onward!
In other environmeddle news, Gaia has repaid a lifelong professional enviromeddlist's relentless efforts to Save Mother Earth by savagely snuffing out her life as she was taking a well-deserved vacation at a Mexican resort.
The executive director of San Francisco-based environmental group Rainforest Action Network has died in a swimming accident at a beach near Mexico's Pacific coast resort of Puerto Vallarta, police said Friday.
Rebecca Tarbotton, 39, was swimming Wednesday at a beach about a half hour north of Puerto Vallarta when she was caught by a wave and tossed around, said Adan Leyva, spokesman for Puerto Vallarta municipal police.
Leyva said that paramedics tried to revive her after she was brought ashore, but she was dead by the time she reached the hospital.
Sadly, it appears that in addition to being ungrateful, Mother Nature has a cruel streak. One hopes that the vehicles used by paramedics were, at the very least, environmentally friendly. And while such a death may at first blush appear tragic, as deaths are generally perceived to be, nonetheless there is a silver lining to it, of sorts: her carbon footprint has ceased to exert any negative impact upon the fragile biosphere.
