The Super Pollutant Reduction Act

Dairy farmers all over California are now worried about the new climate change law passed by the government called the “Super Pollutant Reduction Act”. This act was signed by Governor Jerry Brown. This will cause many dairies to shut down or change the ways they are run, to help lower the amount of methane in the state.

“I think when you live in a place in california that have all of the factors that lead to poor air quality, particulate matter, then you have the ozone effect, when you have a temperature of 97 degrees and above,carbon monoxide from cars, and UV sunlight from the sun you can see how important this new law truly is,” says Environmental Science and Biology teacher Brian Hofsteen.

This law also states that the State Air Resources Board has to pass through California Department of Food and Agriculture about the regulations to reduce methane emissions from livestock operations here in California. This won’t actually go into place till around the year 2024.

We are expecting to have a 40 percent decrease in black carbon emissions, a 40% percent reduction in methane, and a 40% reduction in F-gases by the year 2030. It won’t be till Jan 1, 2018 when the The State Air Resources will actually take the new law into place and to determine how to make this possible.

Since the bill has passed it has caused dairy operations to think of new ways to convince the government to keep their dairies in California, these dairy companies have stated that they have records proving that their dairy’s have reduced greenhouse gas emissions and have significantly reduced the carbon footprint through the innovative use of “new technologies.”

“We have heavily polluted areas, kinda thermal areas where the air just stays there like our valley and Los Angeles for example we have inversions that any law is beneficial especially this law in California,” says Hofsteen.

Since this law was passed, 53 dairies across the state of California have had to close down.
 

Climate change is quickly turning our world upside down. It is moving at a pace us humans are not able to fix, and many plants and animals are not able to adjust to the dramatic change in weather patterns along with poor air quality. This law could influence many other states and countries to follow this same path, and give a healthier lifestyle for our future generations.