Yes, Bob, I know your career. Has been explained many times. I also did my time (about 20 years) in air quality work, though at a more project-specific level most of the time and later oriented at systems more than at individual vehicles. But the vehicles were part of it.

I'm not ridiculing H2 as a transportation "fuel". It's theoretically and actually a relatively low-efficiency method of transporting electricity, but is way better than burning hydrocarbons. It's objectively lower efficiency than batteries and getting it directly from the wire, as a transport mechanism for electricity, because of the conversions involved. But its other advantages, in terms of infrastructure, are significant for commercial transport - mainly, there's no need to build electrification of the railroad ($$$$) and "recharging" is measured in minutes rather than hour(s) (even with adjustments for on-route battery charging, which is more infrastructure cost). I expect that H2 will be a winner for US conditions when it comes to railroads and long-distance trucking, because of those logistical wins rather than blinders-applied electron-transport efficiency. For private cars and similar (mostly) short-trip vehicles, though, batteries are fine, especially if some of those magic fast-chargers prove out (workable and durable solid-state batteries still seem to be the go-to tech of five years from whenever "now" is). They're still too heavy for long-distance trucks, Tesla (needed a special highway weight exemption) notwithstanding.

And yes, at one time, ARB (and EPA) did set standards that were more or less blind to the technology needed to meet them. More or less, because some degree of feasibility is needed. That doesn't seem to have been happening in recent years, as much; ARB in particular seems to get on these kicks where they try to mandate HOW we make the air healthy rather than just what HEALTHY means. Either way gets us to the same place, but trying to pick the winner up front is inevitably noisy, at least, and can slow down attainment of healthy air at worst.

Perhaps, one of these days, we'll have something to add to "Carbohydrates or Hydrocarbons; you'll burn one or the other to get around."