New EPA Rule Could Mean 2 out of 3 Cars is Electric by 2032

by Alex Gonzalez, Utah News Connection

EV sales has tripled and the number of available models has doubled.

According

UTAH - The Environmental Protection Agency announced last month new and more stringent vehicle emission standards, which some say could significantly help reduce harmful air pollution in Utah and across the country, as well as accelerating the automobile industry's switch to electric vehicles.

While the agency's rule does not specifically require automakers to increase production of electric vehicles, the agency is saying it is most likely the way for the industry to meet the standards.

Chris Harto, senior

Adobe Stock sustainability policy analyst for Consumer Reports, said it could lead to some significant changes down the line.

"They could lead to up to two-thirds of new vehicle sales being electric vehicles by 2032," Harto projected. "However, automakers can use other technologies to comply as well, including hybrids and plug-in hybrids."

Harto pointed out they have seen a "rapid growth in consumer demand for electric vehicles," increasing around 350% in the last two years.

According to the EPA, since President Joe Biden took office, the number of

The EPA's proposed standards promise to rapidly reduce petroleum consumption by cutting the allowable amount of tailpipe emissions new cars can produce. The agency claims these steps will help avoid nearly 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions through 2055, reducing harmful health effects and deaths, especially for those who live close to thoroughfares.

Harto noted the EPA is currently taking public comment on the proposal, and a final rule can be expected by the end of this year or the beginning of next year.

"EPA will then take all of that input that it gets from the public, read it, evaluate it and go back to the drawing board and make some changes to the rules based on that feedback," Harto explained.

Harto added the final rule would then go into effect in 2027. The EPA estimated the benefits of the proposed standards would exceed costs by at least $1 trillion.

River Permits: This Glen Canyon stretch of the Colorado River is experiencing increased visitation and changes in visitor use. This free river permit system will provide visitor use information to inform decisions about future management of the area and improvements needed to address visitor needs. The Colorado River has been identified as one of the most endangered rivers in our nation due to impacts from climate change.—Michelle Kerns, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Superintendent

River Permits

Cont'd from A1 improvements needed to address visitor needs. The Colorado River has been identified as one of the most endangered rivers in our nation due to impacts from climate change."

One permit per group is required and an unlimited number of permits are available. Permits are free of charge, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week on an unlimited basis. They are available at a self-serve kiosk in the parking lot above the Lees Ferry launch ramp. Permits do not reserve campsites or place any restrictions on allowable activities within the river. Visitors must submit the white original copy of the permit at the permit kiosk and keep the yellow carbon copy on their person. Permits are not required for visitors hiking or fishing along the riverbank or for concessioner-operated float trips. However, visitors utilizing back-haul services will be required to obtain the permit.

River runners launching Colorado River trips downriver through Grand Canyon National Park are not required to have the free Lees Ferry Backcountry River Permit but must obtain a river permit from Grand Canyon National Park prior to launching.

For more information: https://www.nps.gov/grca/ planyourvisit/whitewaterrafting.htm via U.S. Highway 89 south and U.S. Highway 89A west. The park entrance is in Marble Canyon, just west of Navajo Bridge Interpretive Center. A paved road leads five miles (eight km) to the Lees Ferry area.

Lees Ferry is 42 miles (61 km) from Page, Ariz.

Services available at Lees Ferry include a National Park Service campground, dump station and public Colorado River launch ramp. There is a gas station, store, and post office at Marble Canyon, next to the park entrance. More services are found west on U.S. Highway 89A. For more information about Lees Ferry, please visit https://www.nps.gov/glca/ planyourvisit/lees-ferry. htm

—National Park Service

Turning first to planets, Mars and Venus form a pretty pair in the evening sky. They’re only 11° apart—the width of your fist held at arm’s length— but they’re very unmatched in brightness. Venus is the brightest thing in the night sky (other than the moon), but Mars is only 1/150 as bright! That still puts Mars as bright as the brighter stars. You’ll see Venus 1/3 of the way up the western sky as darkness falls, and Mars is to the upper left of Venus. Note the color contrast. Venus has been moving eastward against the background of stars for months, approaching Mars, which has been moving eastward too but at half the speed. Watch Venus continue to close the gap.

Venus is in Gemini, and on the night of June 1, it’s in line with the heads of the Twins; Pollux is on the left and Castor on the right. The three span 10°. By watching Venus go into and then out of alignment, you can easily monitor its nightly motion.

The unusual event of the week is the passage of Mars in front of the bright star cluster M44, familiarly

May 29 - June 4

by John Mosley

known as the Beehive (appropriate for Utah), in the constellation Cancer. M44 is bright enough to have been known since ancient times; it was described as “a little mist” in 260 B.C. In 1609, Galileo discovered its true nature when he saw it as a cluster of more than 40 stars; we suspect there are at least 1,000. They’re a relatively close (for a star cluster) 577 light years from earth, and the stars are a youthful 600-750 million years old. Google can tell you more.

That said, Mars cuts across, or transits, the northern edge of the cluster on the nights of the 1st and 2nd. The cluster is easily visible to the unaided eye if the sky is dark but binoculars are much better and a spotting telescope is best. Track Mars as it approaches, transits, and then leaves the Beehive Cluster behind, all in a few days.

Saturn is well up in the morning. An hour before sunrise, it’s due southeast (azimuth = 90°) and precisely 1/3 of the way up the sky. Saturn isn’t overwhelmingly bright, but it’s by far the brightest star-like thing in the constellation Aquarius, so you’ll have no trouble picking it out. The similarly bright star below and to the right of it is Fomalhaut in Pisces Austrinus.

Also an hour before sunrise, Jupiter is visible with difficulty, despite its brightness, because it is so low (altitude = 10°) in the east. It’ll be higher this summer. On the 29th, Mercury is as far from the sun as it gets (“greatest western elongation” to use the technical term) in the morning sky, but it will be difficult to see as was explained with a graphic in my Sky Report for April 10-16. (They’re archived at https://stellarvistaobservatory.org/category/ sky-reports/.) Wait for its September evening appearance.

John Mosley was Program Supervisor of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles for 27 years and is the author of “Stargazing for Beginners” and “Stargazing with Binoculars and Telescopes.” He and his wife live in St. George, where he continues to stargaze from his retirement home while serving on the advisory committee for Stellar Vista Observatory.