Comment Log Display

Chair and Board,
Paul Dyson, past President, Rail Passenger Association of
California, a volunteer group of advocates for modern passenger
rail, and a resident of Burbank, CA
Madam Chair and Board, global warming and all its consequences are
here and acknowledged by the scientific community, and this
organization cannot exempt itself from the broad consequences of
its actions. Over the past few years CARB has funded the
acquisition of new diesel locomotives for passenger train service
in California, and at the same time required the destruction of
existing, serviceable locomotives to qualify for funding. These
older locomotives had many years of service life remaining but were
indeed heavy polluters.  Please understand two things. That the
replacement of these large pieces of machinery, weighing over one
hundred and forty tons, requires the mining of large quantities of
iron ore, coal, bauxite and copper ore, not to mention oil to make
plastics, to build these, plus all the added fuel from
transportation and processing.  The alternative, retrofitting with
advanced filtration systems for example, seems to have been
discounted, in spite of the fact that the carbon footprint of in
situ recycling is a tiny fraction of new manufacture.  
This Board cannot live in a silo. Please don't tell me that this is
not in your remit, and that you are only responsible for air
quality. Global warming is everyone's problem. First, you should
pledge to refuse funding for any more new diesel locomotives. 
There is no excuse whatsoever for building new when they will
become obsolete in a few years. Second, to transition us to new
electric powered trains, you should promote the recycling of
existing locomotives, suitably upgraded with clean exhaust systems.
 
CARB should not any longer export our pollution, nor should you
ignore the carbon footprint that results from your policies.

Thank you.