Clean It Up, Water Scooters

As California has battled to clean its air over the years, one industry after another has tiresomely claimed that each new set of air pollution controls would bring about economic doom. The needed devices could never be invented in time to meet the California Air Resources Control Board’s deadlines, they said. In the automotive area, the changes would drive up the costs of vehicles to the point of buyer rebellion, they argued, and the result would be powerless, ragged-running engines.

But in spite of all the doomsaying, the deadlines and standards somehow were met. Today, the air is immensely cleaner and automobiles and trucks run more smoothly and efficiently than ever.

Still, the board heard the same old arguments this past week as it prepared to set air quality standards and implementation deadlines for the marine industry, covering future production of outboard motors and personal watercraft such as the Jet Ski.

The action would decimate an $11-billion industry and throw thousands of people out of work, industry officials complained. Fortunately, the air board listened to its own experts--and one motor manufacturer--who said the cost would be minimal over time and would be offset by the more efficient operation of the new motors.

The board, to its credit, then voted 8 to 0 in favor of new controls over the marine engines, to be implemented between 2001 and 2008. It also imposed the first pollution controls on motorcycles.

The action certainly should not have surprised the boating industry. It was only a matter of time given the enormous growth in boating, particularly the popularity in recent years of the personal watercraft, which are egregious polluters. In seven hours of operation, one of these growling water scooters can emit more smog-producing pollutants than a new auto driven 100,000 miles. And their primitive two-stroke outboard engines spill nearly a third of their fuel and oil into the water.

Cleaning up California’s air is a job for all Californians, and especially every industry that contributes to the problem. The special pleaders should understand that the end result will be not just cleaner air and better health but also a better business climate for everyone.