Do you remember way back in November when we were teetering on the edge of running out of diesel fuel? Thankfully, reduced demand and some temporary increases from our remaining refineries pushed off that crisis for a while. But it was an important reminder that the nation’s supply chain still runs almost entirely on diesel and if we run out, no products will be moving anywhere for a while. Out in California this month they’re looking at a different but related crisis. Instead of a shortage of fuel, the state will be looking at a shortage of trucks. All tractor-trailers and buses made before 2010 are now banned from the state’s highways. That adds up to an estimated 200,000 vehicles, including more than 70,000 tractor-trailers. And you probably don’t need me to tell you why. It’s because of climate change, of course.
The final rule in a set of regulations adopted 15 years ago takes effect this week, banning some 70,000 big rigs from California roads.
A set of clean air regulations implemented by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in 2008, and later signed into law as Senate Bill 1.
“Diesel exhaust is responsible for 70% of the cancer risk from airborne toxics,” CARB states on its site. “Therefore, by January 1, 2023, nearly all trucks and buses will be required to have 2010 or newer model year engines to reduce particulate matter (PM) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions.”
The state is generously allowing older big rigs to remain in service if their engines have been replaced with ones manufactured after 2010. Of course, new engines for those rigs cost up to $25,000 and represent the lion’s share of the cost of the rig to begin with. This likely won’t put many trucking companies out of business, but it will definitely drive up their costs significantly. And those increases will be passed on to recipients, leading the price of pretty much everything to go up… again.
The foolishness of this rule is exacerbated by the fact that you can upgrade the pollution controls on older vehicles with readily available kits that will reduce emissions by as much as 60%. Yes, that will impose some costs on the trucking companies, but it’s still vastly cheaper than having to buy a new truck or even have a new engine installed.
Taking that many trucks off the road when stores are already running short of many things and struggling to keep the shelves full is simply insane. And this was a completely self-inflicted wound. Everyone in California knew this date was approaching and the legislature could have easily brought the law back up for revision and pushed the date back until the rest of our supply chain issues have been stabilized.
But they instead decided to keep on bowing and scraping before the altar of the Climate God. Because who needs food or medical supplies as long as you’re striking a blow against fossil fuels, right? California’s persistent droughts are currently turning into torrential floods and mudslides. You’d think they might have a few other things on their plate more pressing than this.
If any of the remaining trucking companies are smart they will move out of California. And when people from the Golden State call to place orders, they can simply tell them to speak to their legislators about it. Californians have repeatedly proven that they’re willing to put up with all manner of ridiculously expensive nonsense from their Democratic leaders. But if they go back to finding empty shelves at the grocery stores again, that may finally be a bridge too far even for them.
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