To the editor: Our legislators will soon be asked by the California Air Resources Board to consider new limits on the amount of carbon in gasoline. To do that, naturally, they asked CARB whether its earlier estimate that this could increase the price of gas by about 47 cents a gallon was still accurate. (“As Newsom urges refinery controls, California regulators consider hike in gas prices,” Oct. 10)
This is particularly important, since other analysts have said the cost increase per gallon of gas could be considerably higher.
CARB’s head Steven Cliff replied that the board is not equipped to analyze the effect of this change on retail gasoline prices. Instead, he said, it could look only at the economic impacts, including growth, job creation and public health — and on that basis, the board determined that the change is a net positive for Californians.
Can someone please tell me how it is possible to quantify the net economic benefits of a rule change when one of the most important variables is either unknown or hidden from view?
Gordon J. Louttit, Manhattan Beach
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To the editor: Your article on the potential gas price increase that could result from California’s low carbon fuel standard overlooked the proven role ethanol can play.
California is the only state in the nation that caps the amount of low-cost ethanol allowed in gasoline at just 10%. Thousands of gas stations in other states sell gasoline containing 15% ethanol (called E15), often at a 15- to 30-cent-per-gallon discount to regular gas.
Indeed, a recent study by researchers from UC Berkeley and the U.S. Naval Academy found that allowing E15 could reduce gas prices by 20 cents per gallon in California, amounting to annual savings of $2.7 billion statewide.
Meanwhile, CARB’s own studies found E15 could provide significant environmental benefits by cutting emissions of the tailpipe pollutants that cause air quality and human health problems.
A bill (ABX2-9) to speed the approval of lower-cost E15 in California passed unanimously out of the state Assembly on Oct. 1 in a special session. But, in a head-scratching move, the Senate refused to consider the bill. California drivers, who pay the highest gas prices in the country, deserve better. Allowing E15 is an easy fix that can help save money and clear the air.
Geoff Cooper, Ellisville, Mo.
The writer is president and chief executive of the Renewable Fuels Assn., a trade group advocating for the ethanol industry.