another looming loss for Trump?

California unanimously votes to keep current emissions regs: another looming loss for Trump?

My bet is that the federal government sets one set of standards for emissions for states that don't follow California emissions, while California emission states will follow different requirements.

I don't think this the end of the world for automakers. It wasn't that long ago that certain cars had California emissions equipment while other states did not it. Positive crankcase valves were required in California and New York several years before other states. CARB requirements in 1990s meant certain engines couldn't be sold in California and other emissions states like New York. People in those states still could buy a wide variety of better emission controlled cars. Automakers can sell their more profitable, larger engine vehicles in non-emission states, while their stronger emission controlled vehicles in California, New York and the dozen of other states that California emissions.

This actually makes quite a bit of sense, as most of the non-emission standard states have a lesser pollution problem, especially when it comes to things like smog. Many of the more rural states have lower populations, so their climate impact of having more polluting vehicles in non-California emission states will be lower compared to the California emission states.

March 28, 2017 Evening

Good evening! Light rain and 46 degrees in the City of Albany. Calm wind. I guess I’m glad I brought my umbrella. I could actually use it downtown walking across the street to the bus shelter because it wasn’t whipping around too hard. 

Tonight will have showers likely, mainly before midnight. Cloudy, with a low of 38 degrees at 6am. Six degrees above normal. Calm wind becoming north 5 to 8 mph in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2016, it got down to 34 degrees under partly cloudy skies. The record low of zero occurred back in 1923.

I should be home in time for the PBS Newshour to be over, so I should be able to watch the version I taped while I eat my dinner. I don’t know what to say about the president trashing all our country’s climate control efforts but I guess we are all victims of history. That year 2050 when I retire will be here before you know it. And if we keep dumping increasingly large amounts of carbon into the air, it’s only going to increase human misery. 

I mean I like all the things that cheap fossil fuels bring to us, but it’s stupid to be so foolish. We got to do something, at least go after the low hanging fruit. Even if carbon dioxide wasn’t poisoning our planet, like every drag on a cigarette does to our health, coal is a dirty nasty fuel that poisons our air and creates an incredible amount of solid waste. It’s stupid to double down on such technology especially because there is such a glut of natural gas and more and more renewables are coming online every day. 

Waxing Crescent Moon tonight with 8% illuminated. The moon will set around 9:50 pm. The First Quarter Moon is next Monday with mostly cloudy skies expected. The Full β€œPink” Moon is in 2 weeks. The sun will rise at 6:42 am with the first light at 6:13 am, which is one minute and 45 seconds earlier than yesterday. Tonight will have 11 hours and 23 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy, with a high of 49 degrees at 3pm. One degree below normal. Northwest wind 9 to 16 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies and a high of 46 degrees. The record high of 85 was set in 1946. 5.6 inches of snow fell back in 1984.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend and a bit cold for early April. Saturday, mostly cloudy, with a high near 45. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 48. Typical average high for the weekend is 52 degrees. I guess no turning off the heat yet. That day will come and it will be like throwing a switch I’m sure. We will have forty degree weather than 80 degrees the next day. That’s spring time in Albany. 

In four weeks on April 25 the sun will be setting at 7:49 pm, which is 31 minutes and 56 seconds later then today. In 2016 on that day, we had cloudy skies and temperatures between 59 and 45 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 63 and 41 degrees. The record high of 89 degrees was set back in 2009.

Looking ahead, Tax Day is in 3 weeks, Arbor Day is in 1 months, Average High is 70 is in 7 weeks, Independence Day is in 14 weeks, Election Day 2018 is in 84 weeks and Election Day 2020 is in 188 weeks.

Rainy March Afternoon

Just another rainy afternoon.

Rain Blowing By

It could be snow, so I guess I can’t complain.

 Rainy afternoon

And I could be camping, but I’m not.

 Festive in the Rain

Which is good, as I’ve spent a lot of rainy evenings in the woods.

Rain Falls on Helldiver Pond

But I’ll be glad when summer is here.

Trump Takes Aim At A Centerpiece Of Obama’s Environmental Legacy

Trump Takes Aim At A Centerpiece Of Obama’s Environmental Legacy

"President Trump will sign sweeping executive orders Tuesday that take aim at a number of his predecessor's climate policies.

The wide-ranging orders and accompanying memorandums will seek to undo the centerpiece of former President Obama's environmental legacy and national efforts to address climate change.

It could also jeopardize America's current role in international efforts to confront climate change.

A senior White House official says the goal is to make the U.S. energy-independent and to get the Environmental Protection Agency back to its core mission of maintaining clean air and water."

March 28, 2017 9 AM Update

Forty four on our way up to fifty. To the east you can see the sun peaking through the clouds but rain is expected later. In some ways kind of depressing, but the weather will change, starting tomorrow. More sun come Wednesday, and now the weekend is looking progressively nicer. Maybe a bit too much sun though for good trout fishing come Sunday. Water levels might be too high too. But maybe come the following week, I can get out fishing.

And, yes I brought my umbrella. Not that I expect it to rain by afternoon, based on the latest forecasts. That said, usually when I’m downtown, the umbrella is pretty useless in the afternoon. But the latest model suggest that we might not get much rain come afternoon. I guess we will see. Hopefully I won’t leave my umbrella on the bus, as I left my laptop backpack at work, as I didn’t need my laptop last night.

Had a great big oil spill in my apartment this morning.Β I was making waffles and I dropped the Pyrex glass measuring cup, and went to grab it to avoid shattering on the floor. The measuring cup fell on the floor, but it didn’t break,Β Β but I knocked over the bottle of vegetable in the process. Vegetable oil, like all oil is difficult to clean up — and I probably only spilled less then a cup before I caught the bottle. Fortunately, because I skipped lunch yesterday, I didn’t have to pack lunch today.

That said, the waffles came out pretty good,Β this time leaving the blueberries for on the top. I don’t have fresh ones this week, because I didn’t get to the grocery store that had them on sale. I like fresh fruit better, but then I have to worry about them going bad, and usually fresh fruit comes in more packaging then frozen ones. I did the whole wheat ones today. I have a box of the regular waffle mix, but I doubt I will buy anything but whole wheat or corn waffle mix going forward, as I don’t like the regular white flour waffle mix that much.

The sun will set at 7:17 pm with dusk around 7:46 pm, which is one minute and 8 seconds later than yesterday. Today will have 12 hours and 35 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 53 seconds over yesterday. Rain showers and 50 degrees later.

Tonight will have showers likely, mainly before 11pm. Patchy fog before 11pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low of 37 degrees at 5am. Six degrees above normal. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2016, it got down to 34 degrees under partly cloudy skies. The record low of zero occurred back in 1923.

I tell you I’m looking forward to getting out camping on the weekends soon.Β I hate been stuck at home so much, and I really hate my dusty, dirty generally awful apartment in the suburbs. It’s great for commuting to work, but I’ve spent too Β much time there this winter. I did clean my tub and kitchen up a bit last night, and I probably should vacuum again upstairs tonight.

I also got reading about off-grid refrigeratorsΒ and the latest in 12 volt refrigerationΒ technology.Β Surprisingly enough, there is a lot of highly efficient refrigerators available today, not just the Sunfrost models that once were the gold standard for off-grid people. A lot of semi truck drivers use 12 volt mini-refrigerators to keep their food cold. Refrigerator technology has really improved in recent years — even if you have an 120 volt system powered by central grid, replacing that 10 year old refrigerator will pay you back in a few years.

Looking ahead, there are 3 weeks until Tax Day when the sun will be setting at 7:41 pm with dusk at 8:11 pm. On that day in 2016, we had partly cloudy skies and temperatures between 78 and 40 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 60 degrees. We hit a record high of 90 back in 1976. I am hoping by then I will be able to get the park after work and be enjoying some nice fresh air while either reading a book or working on my laptop.

I still think I have to pay my big ol’ state tax bill by the April 15th, even though it’s a Saturday. I think the state is withdrawing $300 from my account.