fresno elections 2008

The air-quality solution has to be incentive-based, easily instituted and clearly beneficial to not only the businesses but also the individual residents of the San Joaquin Valley through obtainable goals. One of the programs currently in effect is the "2008 Clean Green Yard Machines". This program allowed a 62% reduction in cost of an electric lawnmower. One gas mower can emit as much pollution as 40 late-model cars operating over the same period of time, while electric mowers produce no on-site emissions.

The unfortunate part of this program is that it is "sold out". It is obvious that the program is well received by the public however this type of stumbling block affects the public's enthusiasm to participate because of a lack of funding or sponsors. It is a perfect example of an incentive-based, easily instituted and clearly beneficial program which the public is clearly embracing however it is unobtainable at this point. These types of programs with collective sponsor participation from the smallest pollution generator to the largest producing generator have to be obtainable. The incentive-based programs have been proven to be more cost effective than enforcement based programs. Enforcement based programs not only require a bureaucracy to put them in place but also a bureaucracy to enforce a policy.