"Cool Cars" - coming soon to California - Part 2

With "Cool Cars" window glazing 15-day comment period completed and the California Air Resources Board (ARB) staff now finalizing proposed regulations for car window glazing (http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/cool-cars/cool-cars.htm), this a good time to overview briefly the ARB regulatory process. The ealier "Cool Cars" post is here.

The regulatory process is the intersection of science, goals, industry, government and us - the public. Ultimately, what interests me are questions like:

- Why is California considered a leader in energy, automobile emissions, reducing GHG?

- What can we do insure this continues?

- Is the science being used to achieve maximum effect?

As always, the 'devil is in the details.' ARB's regulatory process seems straight foward. Roughly, after initial notice the ARB has 1 year to complete a 45-day comment period (plus public hearing), then modify the proposed regulation and finally allow a 15-day comment period before preparing final regulations. All of these are transparent process which allow public participation and comments.

Cool Cars is now at this final stage, preparing final regulations, in a timeline that officially began in May 2009, but was actually informally in public discussion before that. Cool Cars is one the ARB's Early Actions, under AB32.

To actually come into effect, a California regulation must go through two more steps. The California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) has 30 days to check the rule. The California Secretary of State then prints the regulation in Code of Regulations and the rule goes into effect 1 year later. All of this is governed by the California Procedures Act. (More info here:

-http://www.arb.ca.gov/regact/2009/coolcars09/coolcars09.htm -http://www.arb.ca.gov/regact/how-to-participate.pdf)

The ARB group studying "Cool Cars" is headed by Dr. Marijke Bekken, who has been helpful in answering questions and pointing me in the right direction.

Of course, the primary responsibility of ARB is to regulate. But I can not help puzzle over what roles the following play:

• teach (or inform) us of the latest science and options
• focus our attention on problems requiring a solution
• provide a more independent complement to legislative process, i.e. political

Overview of the regulatory agency process and how to participate:

http://www.arb.ca.gov/html/decisions.htm

http://www.arb.ca.gov/regact/how-to-participate.pdf

"Cool Cars" - coming soon to California

California cars are a step closer to running 'cooler' (and use less fuel) with plans to have automobile windows transmit less then 40% of the sun's energy (including visible, UV and infrared), thereby reducing interior temperatures on hot, sunny days and the air conditioning load. [By law, automobile windshields must transmit 70% or more of visible light.]

The California Air Resources Board (CARB, a division of California EPA) estimates this measure will remove almost 1 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2020. The measure (09-41) approved last June 25, 2009 is now in a 15-day comment period on the draft regulation (i.e. the proposed law) which is expected to be phased-in with 2012 cars and fully functional by 2016.

With solar energy of roughly 600 watts falling on each square meter, we all know how hot the interior of a parked car be. The measure should reduce the temperature by more than 10 degrees (Fahrenheit) 2016 model year cars.

Under AB32, CARB is responsible for determining policies to achieve AB32 (reducing GHG to 1990 levels by 2020). A list of CARB's plans, by economic sector, is here; "Cool Cars" is under Transportation.

CARB issued a Scoping Plan in December 2008 and in addition identified numerous "discrete early action greenhouse gas reduction measures” - the lowest hanging fruit (more details). An example of "discrete early action" is ruling on do-it-yourself mobile air conditioning fluids, which took effect this past January 1.

What's not in "Cool Cars"?

Regulations, as I am learning, seem a bit like old-fashioned pin-ball machines. Ideas come and go, dates change and the actual path, like the pinball, can not be predicted.

The measure started as "Cool Paints", meaning the use of special paint coatings to increase the reflection of solar energy. Perhaps we'll see that in the future. For now, you can still buy a black car.


How to Participate http://www.arb.ca.gov/html/decisions.htm

Current Draft of Cool Cars
draft regulation

FAQs
http://www.arb.ca.gov/html/coolcarsfaq.pdf

ARB|CC|Cool-Cars

http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/cool-cars/cool-cars.htm

Other thoughts on regulations
http://envsissue.blogspot.com/2009/11/californias-cool-cars.html