The air board gets an ear full from residents

Reading the coverage in the Tri-Valley Times of the Bay Area air board public meeting in Livermore last week, it was clear that those attending did not conceal their opinions.

The plan to eliminate wood burning fireplaces, hearth inserts and wood stoves was roasted by members of the public. The overly broad plan, if enacted, would require anyone selling their home to retrofit it with either an EPA approved wood burning device to close off the hearth and chimney
Property owners with rental units would have to retrofit their properties likely at a cost of a few thousand dollars. The hearing last week in Livermore was one of nine around the Bay Area that will precede the board’s decision on the plan.
The Times cover contrasted rather sharply with a report inside the Livermore Independent that rewrote a press release from the California Air Pollution Control Officers. The report noted that smog-forming emission have been reduced by 50 percent since 1990.
It compared three-year periods (2000-02, 2012-14) for counties around the state. Alameda County was in compliance 95.5 percent of the time compared to 93.8 percent in the earlier period. “Unhealthy” air days went from 0.03 to zero. Particulate days went from 7.2 percent to 0.6 percent.
So, you might logically inquire of the air board when is it good enough. The nanny government cannot wipe out all risks in life and the amount of dollars to try to achieve “perfect” air boggles the mind.

Maybe it is just my way at looking at the world, but I found the “optics” of Vice President Joe Biden visiting a Pacific Gas and Electric training center a couple of days after the state Public Utilities Commission fined PG&E a record $1.6 billion for the natural gas line explosion that leveled a San Bruno neighborhood and killed eight people. The total tab for the company is a staggering $2.2 billion.
Those headlines did not deter the vice president and his staff from their dog-and-pony show with PG&E.