Gallon for gallon — or, given the size of lawnmower tanks, quart for quart — the 2006 lawn mower engines contribute 93 times more smog-forming emissions than 2006 cars, according to the California Air Resources Board. In California, lawn mowers provided more than 2 percent of the smog-forming pollution from all engines.
But as soon as air pollution regulators suggested adding a golf-ball-size catalytic converter to the lawn mower, they found themselves in one of their fiercest political battles of the past decade.
On one side, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and state regulators in California. On the other, the largest lawn and garden equipment maker in the country and a powerful Republican senator. And in the middle, the six million or so lawn mowers shipped to retailers every year.
For older regulators, it is a replay of Detroit’s initial resistance to those who wanted clean up car exhaust by installing catalytic converters, which pull smog-forming chemicals and carbon monoxide out of the exhaust.
“I think it’s very analogous to what happened in the 70’s,” said Robert Cross, chief of the California air agency’s Mobile Source Control Division. “The arguments are all the same.”
Amazing NASA Earth Images
Zyprexa for the Phone Companies
Ben McConnell states the obvious with respect to the yellow pages and monopoly telcos:
insanity:
unsoundness of mind or lack of understanding as prevents one from having the mental capacity required by law to enter into a particular relationship, status, or transaction or as removes one from criminal or civil responsibility
Which leads me to the phone companies.
Here’s an update to last week’s post about AT&T’s practice of leaving unwanted 8-pound phone directories scattered in doorways around the nation…
SMF Switches to Free WiFi
The airport has an interesting history with Wi-Fi that I’ve been writing occasionally about since 2003: It’s a fairly small airport, not atypical for state and province capitals that tend to be located in politically expedient places that aren’t often also bustling metropolises compared to the big towns that developed in their political unit. (Olympia? Albany? Austin?)
Sacramento originally contracted with Airport Network Solutions, which said back in 2003 that it would cost $110,000 to add service. I noted in Aug. 2003 that without aggregation and resale they’d never recoup even the modest cost based on their assumptions of users and what they were charging for a day pass ($6.95). The airport apparently bore the cost of installation repaid out of fees rather than requiring its contractor to eat Capx, which is quite odd.
This is Madison’s fate as well. The economics will make it free over time – assuming we have wifi at the airport – some day.
10 Best Jobs
MONEY Magazine and Salary.com researched hundreds of jobs, considering their growth, pay, stress-levels and other factors. These careers ranked highest
How Successful People Remain Successful
When James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras wrote their hugely popular 1994 book, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, they began by stating clearly that they did not mean to write about visionary leaders. Their goal was to find visionary companies — the crown jewels of their industries — and discover what made them extraordinary. Then questions arose about the extent to which the principles of Built to Last might apply to individuals. That sparked another investigation that has now led to a follow-up book, Success Built to Last, which will be published by Wharton School Publishing later this year.
Earth Dinner
To the extent that’s possible, try to find foods that are locally produced, seasonal, fresh and flavorful! If they are organically grown—that’s even better! If it’s not local, that’s okay. It’s a chance to celebrate the farmers from other regions or countries. If your having a potluck dinner, remember to ask your guests to do their best to find out about the origins of food they bring to share and how it was grown.
via Kristian Knutsen.
Oil Price History
35 Years of crude prices, via the Wall Street Journal and Barry Ritholtz.
Corporate “Risk Taking” and the Ford Mustang
So what happened to Theodore? Promoted, given new projects, made a product spokesman like GM’s Bob Lutz? Theodore was, as they say, “eased out.” Making great cars, even making great cars that make money, are not qualifications for longevity in Ford’s corporate community. Break the rules and you’re out the door.
The Ghost of Tax Day Future
Closing the spending gap shown us by the Ghost of Tax Day Future with tax increases would eventually require all taxes on average to increase by more than 50%. Such a tax increase is not simply a larger check made out to “U.S. Treasury.” Economic research suggests that larger governments are associated, all else equal, with slower economic growth because of the tax and regulatory burdens associated with a larger state. Using the estimate of Eric Engen of the Federal Reserve Board and Jonathan Skinner of Dartmouth College, meeting our entitlement spending wave through tax increases would ultimately depress our annual rate of economic growth by about a full percentage point.
That such tax increases would build up over many years does not dull the observation that tax increases of this magnitude would carry serious consequences for our future living standards. Their sheer size would restrain incentives for innovation and flexibility, and the entrepreneurship and productivity growth that have characterized relatively strong U.S. economic performance. Indeed, the “tax increase” shadow could ultimately crowd out about as much of the rate of growth as the productivity growth boom of the past decade has contributed.