The same unelected enviro-ideologues at the California Air Resources Board that earlier this year were intent on shutting down California’s gas stations have come up with yet another off-the-way crazy idea as they seek to come up with the screwiest schemes to lower carbon emissions in California to comply with the state’s draconian AB 32 guidelines…
It seems like lately California, which I remind readers is in the same recession as the rest of the country (actually worse) has been drawing a lot curious looks at state government churns out dumb ideas from banning big screen televisions to looking at how the state can directly control air conditioning use in new homes. The latest remarkably dumb idea has caught the attention of none-other than America’s most widely listened-to radio talk show host – Rush Limbaugh.
So take a guess as to what he talked about earlier this week, since our state has no shortage of interesting topics to dive into? It wasn’t our budget woes, prison overcrowding or even the proposed new NFL stadium in the City of Industry.
This week, Limbaugh gave special attention to a little-noticed move by the CARB mandating that starting in 2012, all new car windows be treated with an advanced window glazing that in theory will keep cars cooler, meaning drivers will use less air conditioning — reducing our carbon emissions (by some tiny amount).
The marketing geniuses at CARB have decided to call this program, "Cool Cars."
Seriously.
I wonder if California consumers will think it "cool" that the effective "car tax increase" of $110-$250 per car? CARB says that over a dozen years drivers will recoup this by saving energy by not running their car a/c as much. Nice.
If the higher cost for cars isn’t enough reason for common-sense people to oppose this idea, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of logical concerns coming from the issue that glazing thick enough to keep heat OUT of the car might also keep something IN the car — most notably it may be the pesky out-going signals of a cell phone, garage door opener, your satellite radio, or your PDA that get cut off.
Here’s an excerpt from an article in The Detroit News:
(Garmin makes GPS devices — oh yeah, they may be negative effected as well!)
If this regulation goes into effect, one of two things is going to happen: Automakers sell one type of car in California, and another type of car in other states, which means only in-state car buyers will pay more … or automakers will just make all cars to fit the California standard, so every American will pay more.
While I think the entire proposal should be shelved, there are some who are trying (good luck) to get CARB to at least look at alternatives to their current proposal that have fewer negative impacts.
As was noted on the venerable Cars.com website:
But I can’t say I’m optimistic that CARB will come to its senses. After all, this is the same regulatory body that came up with a “Cool Paints” idea – a mandate to require reflective paint on cars for the same reason as the reflective windows. Since this would have effectively banned black cars (seriously), the CARB folks were forced to ditch the idea.
According to The Detroit News story, CARB plans to publish its “completed regulation” for the Cool Cars mandate by the end of this month, and then the public will have a 15-day comment period before this bad idea is set in stone next May.
Governor Schwarzenegger is getting ready to enter the final term of his administration. This kind of onerous regulation is hardly the kind of "legacy" he needs to create for himself. But I am not overly optimistic that he will stop this particularly ill-advised regulation from moving forward (he is currently supporting a ban on big screen televisions, so…). After all, if he can’t keep his wife from using her cell phone while driving, he can get the last word by passing a regulation that might very well keep her cell phone from working in the car at all!
Care to read comments, or make your own about today’s Daily Commentary?
Just click here to go to the FR Weblog, where this Commentary has its own blog post, and where you can read and make comments.
**There is more – click the link**
October 26th, 2009 at 12:00 am
There you go again Jon, off the rails to the far right. If this window glazing works as you advertise, I am all for it: anything to shut down cell phones while driving. I can’t tell you how often I see cars weaving all over the road because some fool is using their cell phone. And to follow your “logic” we would have no smog reducing equipment on our cars. We’d be back to the 1950’s when the smog was so bad in LA that white wall tires turned yellow. Is that what you want, Jon? Do you want to turn the clock back to the bad old days?
October 26th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Bob….liten up….commissars need love too, but who are these people?
It would be nice to meet these enviro czars in person up close for chats monthly on job losses, declining charitable giving, increase in welfare dependancy, companies leaving the state, the sheep-like voters forever more looking to greedy and sleezee politicans to solve this spirling downward morass….
It is time to ferret out this bottom feeding ilk and remove them from power
October 26th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Regulation can be helpful, but regulation can be burdensome. Not all of us could afford these regulations. There is no such thing as a free lunch even with regulation.
I guess we need to set up a regulatory free utopia auto dealership slash television retailer with branches in Bullhead City Arizona and Primm Nevada!
I know we want clean air, but we should not make it more expensive for people to buy cars that help employ thousands of people across this nation.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Perhaps it would be beneficial that the names of these enviro wizards be posted on Flash Report, so we citizens can invite them to monthly chats concerning the nightmares they are causing for Californians.
It is time for accountability, but of course, I forgot, whining and moaning are RINO and Republican cherished fund raising tatics.
Any volunteers to meet with these enviro whack jobs monthly?
Only doers need reply!!!