California at it again!

[dawgdriver]

California Suit Targets 100LL
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By Russ Niles, Editor-in-Chief AVWEB



A California environmental group has served notice it will sue more than 40 suppliers of avgas in the state to force them to stop selling it. The Center for Environmental Health has given a legally-required 60 days of notice to all the major oil companies that sell 100LL and the FBOs that pump it at 25 airports to stop. "The oil and aviation industries need to know Californians will not tolerate lead pollution that threatens our health and healthy environments," Michael Green, executive director of CEH, said in a statement. "We expect the industries to take immediate action to eliminate pollution that endangers children and families who live, work and play near airports across the state." CEH cites a 2008 EPA report s that show avgas is polluting the air and in some cases groundwater around airports with piston traffic.

CEH notes that Van Nuys Airport, one of the busiest GA airports in the U.S., shows the highest level of lead pollution of more than 3,000 airports covered in the report. As we've reported and commented on extensively, the EPA is now considering its options in dealing with 100LL in response to a petition from Friends of the Earth. The CEH route is a little more direct. It alleges violations of the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act. Protesters recently staged a small rally outside Santa Monica Airport complaining about lead pollution.

[cstolaircraft]

Lets see AOPA work this one! It won't last unless CA make a better fuel and or gives our friends there a big turboprop and then paying for the operating cost!

Reuben

[EZFlap]

Here is the message I sent to the CEH through their website "contact" form. Anyone who wishes to use all or part of this in their own pro-aviation communications, is welcome.
-------------------------------------------
While I appreciate your commitment to environmental issues, please understand that the leaded aircraft fuel is FAR MORE necessary to promoting public safety than any possible increase in safety you can claim by not allowing lead in the fuel.

An engine failure in an airplane (an airplane flying over your house or over the same children and adults you are protecting) would pose a far greater risk of injury and death.

If my family was injured by an aircraft crash, and the crash was linked to improper and unsafe fuel mandated to be used in that aircraft, and your organization played a part in that mandate... guess who will be a co-defendant in the wrongful death suit? Guess who will have killed innocent people when it could have been prevented?

Your underlying intent is valid, but please understand your legal and public relations resources would be far better spent on helping develop an environmentally-friendly aircraft fuel. Only after such a fuel is available, will it be an easy and appropriate task to eliminate lead. Until a safe and reliable unleaded fuel is developed for aircraft, your efforts will be putting one group of innocent people at more risk, so that you can eliminate another risk that is less lethal.

Bill Berle
Aircraft owner
Los Angeles

[88H]

Bill:

Well said!

I have often wondered if it would be possible to fire back at the environmental groups and see if we could hit their pocketbooks with a little of their own medicine!



Good luck!! Larry

[EZFlap]

Thanks.

One of the things I've done professionally is write just this kind of stuff, playing the positioning game, saber rattling, verbal chess games in business corredspondence, etc. They key is knowing if, or what, the other guy's upside and downside is to his position. Then figuring out how to GIVE them a downside they can't defend. Right now the environmentalist movement has no downside to promoting their agenda. They have an easily defensible position ("it's your children we're working to save!"), and they try to position themselves as unassailable (who would come out against a little old lady trying to save the planet?).

There are several ways to approach this, however IMHO the pro-aviation organizations don't always pick the best approach. My idea is that they're used to being the ones on the attack... so making a clear (and unexpected) case for the tables being turned on them would get their attention. Relying on their sense of fairness towards our rights and recreation is not a good strategy, they truly don't give a crap. Although there are several other factors that could be the basis for an aviation defense, my guess is that being held accountable for death, destruction and mayhem is the most unpleasant of them.

Now the AOPA, EAA and other pro-aviation groups have plenty of lawyers and advertising people. But if they decide they want help from an out of the box type like me, I'll be glad to offer my help. And yes, there are some environmental issues where I would support the tree huggers against the industrialists just as forcefully. But aviation trumps them all to me!

[Glidergeek]

Let's see...so I fly to Arizona or Nevada buy my fuel...more punishment for California business's

[Glidergeek]

A message I sent to Center for Environmental Health. The article concerning aviation fuel is linked below.
http://www.ceh.org/index.php?option=com ... Itemid=166

As an aircraft owner here in California I'm quite interested as to where I can buy the aforementioned, "ethanol-free premium auto gas" here in California? This is an excerpt from a statement from your forthcoming law suit?
"For example, ethanol-free premium auto gas is an FAA-approved fuel available for more than 70 percent of current aircraft. The FAA has determined that aircraft using auto gas are as safe as those running on avgas".

[L-19]

You west coast guys are going to have to start hauling drums of 100LL across the border & running a fuel cartel. Bootleg 'Blue Lightning' will bring a premium!

[TundraJoe]

Oh My God, we are going to die !! Now they are after jets !

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/ ... il-toxins/

[qmdv]

I wrote them a note and said that I am tired of dumping lead on the "children" and asked if they would please take sombody to court to make Eth free auto fuel available in CA.

Tim

[Nosedragger]

When California inevitably goes Tango Uniform and is forced to pass the hat, I hope every lawmaker in every other state insists on abolishing a bunch of the silly rules they've foisted on their citizenry on behalf of the environmentalists. There should be no more "known in the state of California to cause" anything if they get a bail out. Wonderful piece of real estate, too many idiots. If they're worried about clean air, they should manage their forests and quit burning them down. California wildfires spew more Carbon Dioxide than every other car, plane, and coal fired power plant combined.

[Hafast]

http://www.eaa.org/news/2011/2011-05-11_AvGasSuit.asp

[58Skylane]

There was another protest today (10-16-2011) at the Santa Monica Airport. I tried to find todays video from the Channel 7 News, but can not find it just yet. I thought the Council Member Bill Rosendahl comments were very interesting.

This was one of L.A. Council Member Bill Rosendahl comments:

Air pollution from the airport is killing are children

Now, I would like to know what those protesters think about the hundreds, if not thousands of cars, trucks, and motorcycles running up and down the streets of Santa Monica every day 24/7. Oh....... and all those cars, trucks, and motorcycles on the I-10 and I-405, too.

Here's a video from last years protest.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=7392927

And..... I found this website (http://jetairpollution.com/)while trying to gather some facts. Interesting that they are still using a video taken back in 1995 and 1996 to help support their cause.

[akavidflyer]

Reason # 78540945704598712 that Arizona should become ocean front property.

[Super-Maule]

WE HAVE CALIFORNIA TO THANK FOR THESE NEW WORTHLESS GAS CANS WITH THE DRIZZLE SPOUTS. YOU CAN'T BUY A REAL GAS CAN ANYMORE. THESE WORTHLESS GAS CANS ARE THE ONLY THING AVAILABLE NATION-WIDE NOW. DON'T THINK THEY CAN'T OUTLAW 100LL TOO.

JAMES

[L-19]

WE HAVE CALIFORNIA TO THANK FOR THESE NEW WORTHLESS GAS CANS WITH THE DRIZZLE SPOUTS. YOU CAN'T BUY A REAL CAS CAN ANYMORE. THESE WORTHLESS GAS CANS ARE THE ONLY THING AVAILABLE NATION-WIDE NOW. DON'T THINK THEY CAN'T OUTLAW 100LL TOO.

JAMES

Just got one of those a few months ago in a 2gal version. I gotta say it works really well for filling a chainsaw. I bet they would be a PITA for a larger cans. Glad I still have my old steel 5gal ones.

[Jaerl]

Tim, that's a great idea and if you can get these guys to start protesting for unleaded E free gas I'm all for it!

I'm sure the lead content in the air at Van Nuys Airport is miniscule compared to what it was in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Seems like a lot of people lived through that era. Where's their proof that anyone is going to die from this tiny level of lead? Don't these idiots have anything better to do?

[lesuther]

First, here is an interesting paper:
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/nonroad/av ... r08020.pdf

Second, 400 to 600 tons of lead *per day* are released into the environment during recreational hunting & shooting activities.
http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/rev28-1/text/th.htm
This is as much and more than is released by GA *IN A YEAR*.

Third, the same quantity of lead is found in a single 19" CRT as burning over 140 hours of 100LL.

Fourth, no lead reductions in coal fired power plants are in place. The average US home uses 12,500 kWh annually. If our energy in the US is 52% coal-based, and if there is, on average, 6mg per kg of lead in domestic coal (http://www.epa.gov/ttnamti1/files/ambie ... omCoal.pdf), then coal power has emitted 5.8 million *tons* of lead in the past year.

GA emits 492 tons a year (see EPA link above).

That means they want to sue a sector that emits .008% of the total lead being dumped on their children.

Lets put that in perspective: If lead produced by electrical generation is represented by the size of a large refrigerator (3'x3'x6') for comparison, the size of what they are going after is represented by something smaller than an egg.

Going after the coal plants apparently wasn't going to win them friends, so.....why not a few planes?

That being said, I'd love to have mogas that is free of ethanol contamination.

[670x]

They are worried about the "Water"? I just spent 2 weeks in Long Beach. The water tastes like it comes straight out of an aquarium. They got a lot more problems than lead.

[Glidergeek]

Let's not forget Disneyland killing our tourists.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... ?track=rss