Left Coast Global Warming Smog

When The Terminator was announcing his global warming initiative at the June 05 United Nations World Environment Day Conference in San Francisco, EPA was rejecting a petition from California (N.Y. & Conn) to waive the oxygen content requirement for reformulated gasoline (RFG). RFG is a cleaner-burning gasoline required by the Clean Air Act to be used in certain metropolitan areas of the United States with the worst ozone air pollution. The Clean Air Act also requires RFG to contain 2 percent oxygen by weight.

EPA agreed with California's claim that an oxygen content waiver would lead to a decrease in certain vehicle emissions that contribute to the formation of smog and particulate matter, EPA concluded that the overall impact on emissions is slight. The agency found that total volatile organic compound (VOC) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions are likely to decrease with a waiver while carbon monoxide (CO) emissions are likely to increase. EPA's denial of California's petition is based on the lack of evidence proving that the emission impacts of a waiver would lead to any earlier attainment of the air quality standards for smog or particulate matter than would occur without a waiver. The administration supports efforts by Congress to remove the oxygen requirement from the RFG program and replace it with a flexible national renewable fuels program.For more information on this action and the national RFG program, visit: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/rfg_regs.htm#waiver Does this make sense to you?