Andrea De Zubiria - April 7, 2024 - Earth Day Fresno 2024 offers bike repairs, test drives of EVs and more.

 Earth Day Fresno 2024 offers bike repairs, test drives of EVs and more 

BY ANDREA DE ZUBIRIA SPECIAL TO THE FRESNO BEE APRIL 07, 2024

Where can you spend a spring day in the San Joaquin Valley getting your bike fixed, trying out an electric vehicle and enjoying outdoor music while eating something good and good for you? All this and more will be found at Earth Day Fresno on Saturday, April 13 at Fresno City College. 

The events will take place on the West Lawn by the Old Administration Building from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

This year’s free festival is hosted by the Central Valley Young Environmental Advocates, the Environmental Collaborative of Central California and the Fresno City College Math, Science and Engineering Division. 

If you want to know what local groups and government agencies are doing to address problems like plastic pollution, childhood asthma, climate change and the need to protect and improve natural habitats, Earth Day Fresno is a great place to learn and get involved. 

Check out exhibitors like Ash Tree Green Burial, Central Valley Young Environmental Advocates, Grid Alternatives, Valley Clean Air Now, Valley STEM and more. 

Looking for kid fun? They’ll enjoy making Chinese jump ropes, going on a scavenger hunt, face painting and other fun activities in the Kids’ Zone. Everyone can join in the African Drum Circle. 

It’s always nice to shop for a cause. The Citizens’ Climate Lobby Fresno yard sale will offer bargains on gently used housewares, tools, clothes and more. Your purchases will help send students to leadership training and to meet with Valley members of Congress in Washington, D.C. this June. The group advocates for effective bipartisan policies to address climate change. 

The fundraiser sale at Vegan Fresno Meet-Up will benefit the popular BuaTong Thai Vegan Restaurant that had to shut down due to a kitchen fire. 

If you ride your bike to the festival, it’s convenient to leave it with the Fresno County Bicycle Coalition’s “bicycle valet.” They’ll give you hands-on help with repairs, too. 

If you want to try out one of the clean air vehicles provided by local dealerships, you might want to get there early. Space is limited for the ride-and-drive event. 

This is the second year that Earth Day Fresno will be held at City College. Besides being a great location with its historic buildings and shade from mature trees, it is fitting that this event is on a college campus. In 1970, the first Earth Day was created by Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin to bring attention to the surprising lack of protections that our country had for the water, soil and air that we all rely on for our survival. April 22 was chosen for the official date of Earth Day, in part because the focus was on activating and informing college students. At that time, April 22 would not interfere with college exams, holidays or spring break. 

In the wake of a massive oil spill off the Santa Barbara coast in 1969 (due to waived safety measures) and the growing awareness of other environmental hazards, 20 million Americans took to the streets and college campuses in protest that first Earth Day. 

In response, then-Republican President Richard Nixon approved the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in December 1970. This resulted in the Clean Drinking Water Act and the Clean Air Act — the current laws that keep companies from doing things like allowing runoff of toxic chemicals into streams or sending plumes of carcinogenic smoke into the air. 

These days an estimated 1 billion people participate in Earth Week events that are both celebratory and serious, all over the world, in order to highlight environmental issues. Come out April 13 to Fresno City College and support all the local volunteers and vendors at Earth Day Fresno. 

Andrea De Zubiria, PT, is a health care provider and volunteers with Citizens’ Climate Lobby Fresno and The League of Women Voters of Fresno County.

Read more at: https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/readers-opinion/article287426730.html#storylink=cpy

Ken Wall - 1/10/2024 - California’s road to electric vehicles has bumps, but it is the right direction.

 https://www.fresnobee.com/article284073733.html

California’s road to electric vehicles has bumps, but it is the right direction | 

Opinion BY KEN WALL SPECIAL TO THE FRESNO BEE JANUARY 10, 2024 10:17 AM

The transition in California from gas cars to electric vehicles is necessary, and needs to happen quickly.

 This is the thrust of Gov. Newsom’s executive order requiring that no new gas-powered cars are to be sold in California by 2035.

 So far, nine other states have passed similar measures; five more have draft regulations pending. But, in his recent opinion piece (Fresno Bee 12/4/23), Assemblymember Devon Mathis (whose district includes a part of Fresno County) says the order was issued without a “road map,” and that it will be costly. He seems to be especially concerned about China’s current control of several rare earth elements common in today’s car batteries. 

Importantly, Mathis does not say that the transition to electric vehicles is unnecessary, only that the executive order requires the state to move too quickly. He apparently understands that continuing to burn fossil fuels will worsen the climate chaos we are already seeing today, and that the resulting damage will be costly. 

Scientists continue to tell us that adding carbon to the atmosphere will cause more destructive future weather events, harm oceans, worsen air quality, and will result in more intense wildfires. Scientists are speaking more forcefully that we need to immediately reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases to lessen the severity of these impacts. 

According to the California Energy Commission, the transportation sector is responsible for about 50% of the state’s CO2 emissions, and 80% of the smog emissions. Clearly, converting from internal combustion vehicles to EVs would greatly reduce these emissions. 

I certainly agree with Mathis that the state government needs to ensure that disadvantaged San Joaquin Valley residents are not unfairly burdened with the cost of conversion (used gas powered cars will still be allowed in 2035). They are already disproportionately bearing the burden of our hideously poor air quality, and they do not need to unnecessarily shoulder more costs. 

Mathis points out that the electric vehicle infrastructure is presently inadequate to support the necessary increase in the number of EVs. We can agree on that point as well, although efforts at the state level are well underway. From the energy commission: “Executive Order B-48-18 had set a goal of having 250,000 chargers (including 10,000 direct current fast chargers) by 2025. As of mid-2023, California has installed more than 91,000 public and shared chargers, including nearly 10,000 direct current fast chargers.” 

I agree that over-reliance on China, or any other country, for rare metals necessary to produce car batteries (and other products needed for clean energy generation) is not a good idea. However, the cost of batteries has consistently fallen, and quality has increased, as technical improvements have been numerous and frequent (RMI Spark Newsletter 12/21/23). This seems to suggest that China has not materially withheld battery component supply from the marketplace.

 Additionally, the EU and the U.S. are rapidly developing their own production capacities, so the China risk is diminishing, and it appears not to have obstructed . American EV production so far. According to the Electrek website (10/12/23), more than 313,000 EVs were sold in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2023, a nearly 50% increase from the third quarter of 2022. 

In fact, Electrek says that EV sales have expanded for 13 straight quarters, and sales in the third quarter represent about 8% of total U.S. new car sales. Prices, while still too high for most people, have fallen over 20% since last year. 

In summary, California has the need to transition from internal combustion vehicles to electric vehicles. And efforts are underway to keep the growth of EV sales moving forward, to ensure that EV infrastructure is sufficient and that everyone can participate in the transition. 

State office holders have a special opportunity and obligation to support the governor’s executive order. This means passing needed legislation through the Legislature that improves EV infrastructure in California and ensures that the necessary transition is accomplished quickly and equitably. 

Progress has been substantial, but more is needed. 

Ken Wall is a retired banker and bank regulator in Fresno and is a local environmental advocate.

Read more at: https://www.fresnobee.com/article284073733.html#storylink=cpy