PacCoastFwy923
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2008
- Location
- Oakland
- TDI
- 2015 Passat SE TDI 6-speed manual; 2006 mkV Jetta TDI / 5-speed / Pkg 2
There’s been many disparaging things said about the EPA, California EPA, and CARB in various threads in this forum, without much in the way of defense.
I was standing with my two sons watching our local Independence Day parade this summer. A big draw of the parade every year is the classic cars. It’s a small parade, and there are maybe two dozen examples representing the span of a century of our automotive history. But what struck me this year was the sweet smell of the pure exhaust, and it brought back memories… and the slightest headache.
I’m a kid of the 1970s, and growing up in Oakland, I remember the hazy brown summertime smog that hung over everything, everywhere. It wasn’t just the cars, it was the smokestacks down by the estuary, and the airplanes trailing black strings of exhaust, the big ships at port and the locomotives and semis that pulled their loads out of town.
I remember talk of acid rain, of the Statue of Liberty being rebuilt from the inside out partly in response to the damage caused by it, of stone monuments and graveyard markers whose details were etched away, and news stories of dead forests, fish, and lakes.
When I began flying small planes in the early 90s, the smog was still prevalent, and a hindrance to navigation (and those rag tag old Cessnas I was flying were definitely contributing to the problem). I was also becoming socially aware of the prevalence of asthma, heart disease and lead poisoning among residents in close proximity to primary transit corridors, in the direct path of fallout from soot spewing big rigs – an unfortunate consequence of being in the wrong economic strata.
I just read an article this weekend describing new theories about the cause of the Great London Smog of 1954, that killed anywhere from 3,000 to 12,000 residents prematurely (in 1954!!!), and parallels to modern day filthy air quality in China’s big cities. But it’s a reminder of how far we (locally) have come in my 40+ years.
Our air quality is a clear as ever. Ships at the port shut down and are connected to new shore power connections. A soot spewing big rig actually stands out now on the freeway, because the others operate so cleanly – some due to new, strict mandates at the port, where they can idle for hours. Standing on the side of a busy, traffic clogged thoroughfare isn’t necessarily pleasant, but it’s also not noxious. Modern airplane engines are vastly cleaner (and quieter) than old, and it’s readily apparent to the eyes, ears, and nose whenever a 727 or early generation biz jet launches. Airlines are even replacing their beastly pushback tugs with emissions-free battery powered units. Acid rain? I don’t know… I definitely don’t hear about it like I used to.
How much NOx is too much? I don’t have the expertise to make that defense. The current gen dieselgate TDIs are cleaner than the (still legal) generation before them (such as our ’06 Jetta). But clearly, the new, tight NOx standards are achievable by others, so why defend VW and give them a pass? For convenience? For affordability? Because only a small number of lower income older folks with emphysema will die just a few weeks / months / years sooner? I mean, yeah, leaving the dieselgate TDIs on the road probably would have just been the smallest drop in the NOx bucket. But this court decision sure did send a crystal clear message that traveled around the world.
Is it expensive to run an industrialized society cleanly? Yep. But it’s expensive to cause people to get sick an die young, too.
So it seemed fitting at that Independence Day parade this past summer, bringing up the end of the parade of exhaust-spewing cars, were the current generation of electrics that so many of the young kids oohed and aahed over (though maybe because of their flapping gull wing doors), and as they passed, the course marshals stood back, and for a short time, the cars were gone and the streets were open to the people.
So thanks EPA, Cal EPA and CARB. I think you’ve done some good.
I was standing with my two sons watching our local Independence Day parade this summer. A big draw of the parade every year is the classic cars. It’s a small parade, and there are maybe two dozen examples representing the span of a century of our automotive history. But what struck me this year was the sweet smell of the pure exhaust, and it brought back memories… and the slightest headache.
I’m a kid of the 1970s, and growing up in Oakland, I remember the hazy brown summertime smog that hung over everything, everywhere. It wasn’t just the cars, it was the smokestacks down by the estuary, and the airplanes trailing black strings of exhaust, the big ships at port and the locomotives and semis that pulled their loads out of town.
I remember talk of acid rain, of the Statue of Liberty being rebuilt from the inside out partly in response to the damage caused by it, of stone monuments and graveyard markers whose details were etched away, and news stories of dead forests, fish, and lakes.
When I began flying small planes in the early 90s, the smog was still prevalent, and a hindrance to navigation (and those rag tag old Cessnas I was flying were definitely contributing to the problem). I was also becoming socially aware of the prevalence of asthma, heart disease and lead poisoning among residents in close proximity to primary transit corridors, in the direct path of fallout from soot spewing big rigs – an unfortunate consequence of being in the wrong economic strata.
I just read an article this weekend describing new theories about the cause of the Great London Smog of 1954, that killed anywhere from 3,000 to 12,000 residents prematurely (in 1954!!!), and parallels to modern day filthy air quality in China’s big cities. But it’s a reminder of how far we (locally) have come in my 40+ years.
Our air quality is a clear as ever. Ships at the port shut down and are connected to new shore power connections. A soot spewing big rig actually stands out now on the freeway, because the others operate so cleanly – some due to new, strict mandates at the port, where they can idle for hours. Standing on the side of a busy, traffic clogged thoroughfare isn’t necessarily pleasant, but it’s also not noxious. Modern airplane engines are vastly cleaner (and quieter) than old, and it’s readily apparent to the eyes, ears, and nose whenever a 727 or early generation biz jet launches. Airlines are even replacing their beastly pushback tugs with emissions-free battery powered units. Acid rain? I don’t know… I definitely don’t hear about it like I used to.
How much NOx is too much? I don’t have the expertise to make that defense. The current gen dieselgate TDIs are cleaner than the (still legal) generation before them (such as our ’06 Jetta). But clearly, the new, tight NOx standards are achievable by others, so why defend VW and give them a pass? For convenience? For affordability? Because only a small number of lower income older folks with emphysema will die just a few weeks / months / years sooner? I mean, yeah, leaving the dieselgate TDIs on the road probably would have just been the smallest drop in the NOx bucket. But this court decision sure did send a crystal clear message that traveled around the world.
Is it expensive to run an industrialized society cleanly? Yep. But it’s expensive to cause people to get sick an die young, too.
So it seemed fitting at that Independence Day parade this past summer, bringing up the end of the parade of exhaust-spewing cars, were the current generation of electrics that so many of the young kids oohed and aahed over (though maybe because of their flapping gull wing doors), and as they passed, the course marshals stood back, and for a short time, the cars were gone and the streets were open to the people.
So thanks EPA, Cal EPA and CARB. I think you’ve done some good.
