By ignoring wildfire emissions, is CARB painting too rosy a picture about statewide GHG reductions?

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) just released its greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory data report for 2019. CARB said the data shows that GHG reductions in the state are being reduced significantly more than the reductions that have been targeted by law.

However, buried within the press release and the report is information on another source of GHG whose numbers are not included in the inventory of reductions that CARB is praising.

Wildfire emissions.

Photo Credit: California Air Resources Board

CARB's latest data shows that GHG emissions statewide, exclusive of wildfires, went from 425 million metric tonnes in 2018 to 418 million metric tonnes in 2019. 

However, what CARB doesn't report is the increase in wildfire GHG emissions. Although wildfire CO2 emissions declined from 2018 to 2019 from 39.1 to 4.8 million metric tonnes CO2, in 2020 they increased to 106.7 million metric tonnes. And that latter number may be approached in 2021 as well considering the number of wildfires that have happened and are happening at this very moment throughout the state - and the normal wildfire season hasn't even officially started yet.

CA Wildfire Emissions, by Year - CARB

CARB and others have tried to dismiss concerns over wildfire CO2 emissions by referring to them as part of the natural carbon cycle. But the fact remains -  CO2 is CO2. The world and the physical climate change processes that result in the increasing temperatures of global warming do not care from where the CO2 comes. 

One can brag all one wants about reducing GHG emissions from transportation and industrial sources, but, the ship is still going to sink if you only bail out part of the water that is filling your boat.

What do you think? Please leave your comments below.

Will the world run out of Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries in 4 years?

Electric vehicles are seen as a key to reducing global CO2 emissions to positively impact adverse climate change effects from fossil fuels. Recent studies have shown that over an assumed vehicle lifetime, electric vehicles do have a smaller, cradle-to-grave overall environmental impact than traditional gasoline fueled vehicles. (Some of the assumptions used for vehicle life expectancy may be questionable - there isn't a lot of history of EVs operating for 100,000+ miles, for example - but, that's a discussion for another story!)

Photo Credit: Oleg Alexandrov, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tesla_Motors_Model_S_base.JPG

Bank of America financial analysts have just predicted that based on current and future sales predictions, as well as government mandates to reduce and/or possibly ban the sale of new fossil fueled fired vehicles, a worldwide EV battery shortage will occur as soon as 2025.

That's 4 years from now. What happens then? If you're driving a 10 year old EV and need to replace your battery (or buy/lease a new EV), how do you do it? Where will you go?

EVs have notoriously high upfront costs (which studies show are mitigated over an EV's lifetime after factoring in government tax incentives and general maintenance costs), but, there is this little Capitalism principal called the Law of Supply and Demand that is going to come into play here if this happens.

If people are being steered toward buying EVs because new fossil fueled cars are being frowned upon (if not banned), and, if the most important "part" of an EV (the battery!) is in short supply, guess what will happen?

The price of EVs will skyrocket.

Something to think about...your civil comments and thoughts may be made below.

Some recent items of interest

We here at California Environmental News have been so busy posting on social media, that we have forgotten all about our original site here at Blogger!

Below are some links to some recent stories that are of interest:

California Will Start Testing for ECU Tunes During Smog Checks Starting Next Week

Tuners beware! California has emission control rules for a reason and you aren't exempt just because you make your cars cooler than they were when you bought them.

Photo Credit: From Road and Track article via Ford YouTube

CARB settles with Albertsons grocery chain for $5.1 million for violations of the Refrigerant Management Program

$2.55 million to fund installation of school filtration system in L.A. area and to support a community-based project in Placer County

Remember the old Albertson's TV commercials, where the department managers would sing, "It's Joe Albertson's supermarket but the refrigeration department is mine (CARB's)!"

California oil regulators deny new fracking permits

California denied 21 oil drilling permits that would utilize fracking for AERA Energy in two of its oil fields. It is the latest development in the state's move toward banning fracking in the state.

A California Oilfield

Photo credit: Antandrus at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Agricultural burning to nearly end in the San Joaquin Valley by 2025

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced yesterday that the practice of burning agricultural waste in the San Joaquin Valley will be reduced to near zero levels by 2025. CARB said it had partnered with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (the District), farmers, and local communities in negotiating an end to a practice that has been occurring in the Valley for over 160 years.

Photo Credit: San Joaquin Valley APCD

The District has been able to reduce the amount of this burning by nearly 80% since 2013 in an effort to meet federal and state emission limits regarding PM2.5. The action announced yesterday builds upon the District's 2015 phase-down plan, which expired  on December 31, 2020, but had been extended until yesterday.

Current CARB Board member and former state Senator Dean Florez said, “California has accounted for over one-tenth of the value of the U.S. agricultural output - unfortunately part of that statistic is a practice that has been in existence since 1859, the Ag Burn. This dirty practice, utilized yearly for over 160 years, has caused increased ozone pollution, increased asthma rates, and severe health impairments. I began the process of ending agricultural burning 17 years ago with Senate Bill 703, which gave the California Air Board the ability to terminate this feudal practice through its negotiation power.” 

“Today is the day that ag burns will become a thing of the past. Working with health advocates, farmers and regulators, a declining cap starting from a 36 month countdown to a complete phaseout was produced, which is historic and brings finality to a one-cent match solution that has endangered Californian’s lungs for over a century.”

For further information:

CARB Partners with local air quality officials, farmers and communities to nearly eliminate agricultural burning in San Joaquin Valley by 2025