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GUEST: Allen Schaeffer, Executive Director of Diesel Technology Forum

On September 1st, the Environmental Protection Agency mandated the introduction of ultra low sulfur clean diesel in California. In mid-October, the mandate on clean diesel will make its nationwide debut. In this important environmental trend, California is once again leading the way. Nearly all of the state’s commercial trucks and buses run on diesel engines. With clean diesel, the sulfuric content that is the source of soot emissions will be reduced by 97 percent. Soot emissions themselves will be reduced by 90 percent in new vehicles and by at least 10 percent in older vehicles. California is also working to clean diesel pollution at Los Angeles and Long Beach seaports. A proposed five year plan would encourage trucks and ships to use cleaner fuel to reduce diesel particulates. The city-owned ports are a major source of air pollution in Southern California. Meanwhile, retail pumps reported a smooth transition to the September 1st deadline on ultra low sulfur diesel. The Oil Price Information Service, a third-party research firm that tracks prices daily, has noted that the transition did not resulted in higher prices at the pump.

For more information, visit www.dieselforum.org.