Starting big push for clean truck standards

To protect the delicate ecosystems on the North Shore and the quality of life, Assemblyman Chuck Lavine and other elected officials have been encouraging the Environmental Protection Agency and the Biden Administration to improve clean truck standards.

The transportation sector is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from burning fossil fuels in cars, trucks, ships, trains, and planes. Petroleum-based fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, account for over 94 percent of transportation fuel.

In April 2023, the Biden Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled draft standards aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles starting in the 2027 model year. If put into effect, these standards would curb air pollution from HD vehicles and hasten the production and sale of zero-emission trucks and buses. Recent studies, including one conducted by the American Lung Association, highlight the significant health benefits for New Yorkers resulting from the adoption of zero-emission transportation.

“We are as concerned, if not more concerned, then other areas here in the North Shore, because there is a general fear of what is happening to our environment,” Lavine said. “That fear extends to concerns we have over the integrity of the aquifer, and that’s our sole source of drinking water, to saltwater infiltration along our estuary and shoreline. We’re worried about the purity and the quality of the air that we breathe, and we know that pollutants from non-electric, trucks and automobiles cause damage to bodies and to our lungs. We do want to protect our children and our grandchildren, and make sure that the water they drink is safe.”

According to Christine Suter, the executive director for Friends of the Bay, a nonprofit environmental organization based in the hamlet of Oyster Bay, emissions contribute to global warming and climate change, affecting water quality. Rising temperatures lead to a decrease in dissolved oxygen levels, which can result in fish kill and environmental degradation.

Recent improvements include a decrease in fecal coliform levels, attributed to the proper sewage treatment in areas like Mill Neck Creek. However, emissions indirectly increase water temperature, fueling harmful algal blooms due to excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphate from failing septic systems and fertilizer runoff. While progress has been made in nutrient reduction and water clarity, the steady rise in temperature poses a challenge to maintaining water quality.

“Every time there are gains made with water quality, you’re fighting against climate change, because when the temperature raises, there are certain reactions that start to take place in the water,” Suter explained. “There’s this inverse relationship between the temperature going up and dissolved oxygen going down. So, when that happens in the water, there’s a certain level that dissolved oxygen has to be to sustain life in the water and when it starts going down, then it starts contributing to things like fish kill, and just degradation of the environment.”

Joan Bessette, chairperson of the Glen Cove Beatification Commission was skeptical and concerned about the practicality and effectiveness of current solutions for environmental issues. She acknowledges the appeal of concepts like electric vehicles and renewable energy, but highlights the significant costs and limitations involved, particularly in battery manufacturing and carbon emissions. Bessette expressed frustration with reliance on the oil industry and the challenges of implementing widespread change. She’s worried also about the emissions associated with manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles, which often involve significant carbon output. Additionally, she mentioned the emissions generated by landfills.

“It’s a lovely concept, but it’s not practical. I don’t see how it will ever happen,” Bessette said. “It costs in money, and also costly to the environment to manufacture batteries for cars is overwhelming. If our reliance on batteries is not, you know, zero, there’s still carbon emissions involved in the manufacture and the use of these things.”

Despite her concerns with the financial and environmental cost of batteries, she is happy that Lavine is advocating for zero-emission vehicles. There are too many other politicians that are in favor of the oil industry, Bessette said.