Re: Fixed links
Author: $
Date: 01-28-2023 - 20:11

Jeff, The post wasn’t pointed toward Democrat or Republican… but these two nut cases are making millions upon millions of dollars traveling the world claiming the “sky is falling”. None of this affects “them”. Their lives will never change but you and me must fall in line and comply with their demands or the planet as we know it will end…

Yes Nancy, (Or, is it Mouse? It can be hard to tell sometimes?) it's all part of the great vast by Al Gore and John Kerry, right? Sounds like you have a problem with the science and the health standards, these rules were based on? How many RR folks do you actually know? How many are mentors and/or colleagues with cases of emphysema from years of sucking in diesel particulates?

I rememember when I started working at the Taylor Roundhouse in 1969, back when we didn't shut down any of the units, and you had several hundred units idling constantly, putting huge amounts of nitrous oxides into the air. The fog would come up the LA River at night and form nitric acid so thick we had to cover our cars to keep the paint from being etched off. You could feel the skin on your face "burning" from the free "peel" you were getting from the air you were actually breathing.

The biggest effect I remember from the 1973 oil crisis was that after shutting down the engines is how much cleaner the air got at Taylor.

As to the history, SMOG controls were a cause originally championed and lead by Republican Women's Clubs in the San Gabriel Valley.

As to EGR's, I rebuilt my VW bus i aend plugged the egr, and back then had to take a smog test with a tailpipe reading. My rebuilt engine with clean oil, new rings, and a new istributor passed easily with the blow by plugged and the hose dutifully in place. They never even pulled the hose to see if it was plugged. Early automobile controls were largely symbolism, until the late 70's. And, diesel emissions, which are much more harmful were not controlled at all, until EPA was sued, and lost the case in 1994 (Soto vs EPA).

As to my later work on technologies to reduce health impacting diesel emissions. I worked on a technical committe that reviewed proposals for a grant program that funded demonstrations of new higher Tier AQ technologies. And, as far back as the mid nineties, part of the requirements for recieving money for heavy duty diesel converions (trucks, buses, construction equipment, and choo-choo's) all included a provision to scrap out the original prime mover, in the cases of replacement. State Carl Moyer act funds through Air Districts and the ARB used for these types of funds also had the same requirements. These same requirements all went into George Bush's update of the Clean Air Act.

I was one of the folks who did work on updates of locomotive emissions inventories, and ages of the locomotive fleets, and the rate of locomotive rebuilds, and the rate new replacement purchases. The marginal emission contributions for pre 1969 (already "historic") steam and diesel locomotives was already a tiny fraction of fleet totals, by the early 90's, and they were exempted.