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California Smog Testing Will Now Sniff Out (and Fail) Tuned ECUs

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California Smog Testing Will Now Sniff Out (and Fail) Tuned ECUs

Beginning July 19, 2021, Californian automotive enthusiasts have yet another item to add to an ever-expanding list of dos and don'ts (mostly don'ts) regarding their mandatory biennial visits to certified smog facilities. Up to this point, if your car was armed with modified programming (software) on its ECU (Engine Control Unit), and as long as you passed a smog test, no one would raise an eyebrow. Come Monday, however, if your car's ECU program isn't verified as legal by a California Air Resources Board (C.A.R.B.) Executive Order, then your car won't pass smog, regardless of its emissions output

Studebaker Still Advertises Its Defunct Company with 8,000-Tree Monument

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Studebaker Still Advertises Its Defunct Company with 8,000-Tree Monument

During that era of good times, Studebaker built a giant monument shaped with 8,000 pine trees. From the air, anyone flying overhead could see the trees spelled out “Studebaker" and it remains one of the largest living advertisements in the world. More than 80 years later, those trees are still standing and airplanes circling down to the South Bend airport will spot it plainly.?

Canada to Ban New Gas-Engined Car Sales by 2035

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Canada to Ban New Gas-Engined Car Sales by 2035

The 2035 target is part of the country's plan to achieve a net-zero emissions economy by 2050, with the federal government already offering a $5000 subsidy for purchases of EVs priced under $55,000, with the province of Quebec adding a maximum of $8000 on top of that federal subsidy. In 2020 the government of Quebec announced an identical plan to phase out the sales of gas and diesel passenger models in the province by 2035, and aims for 22% of new car sales to be zero-emission far sooner, by 2025.

When do electric vehicles become cleaner than gasoline cars? | Reuters

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Analysis: When do electric vehicles become cleaner than gasoline cars? | Reuters

I think this analysis ignores that most coal power plants are located in remote areas, often on high ridges outside of polluted air basins unlike gasoline automobiles. Moreover, natural gas power plants put far fewer traditional emissions than gasoline engines on a per mile basis. Electric cars don't have tailpipe emissions. 

I think the national obsession over climate change is unhealthy, when we should be more concerned about controlling urban emissions in air basins that significantly out of compliance. Climate change emissions have the lowest impact on the environment compared to nearly any other form of pollution.