We Aren’t That Desperate

Who hasn’t stood at a street corner and recoiled from the noxious, hot, sooty, exhaust spewing from a diesel bus or truck? As bad as that is, the exhaust of standby diesel-fueled electric power generators is worse. These smelly, noisy machines are typically used by large businesses as emergency power backups--in earthquakes, for instance. They have virtually no pollution controls and pose a health risk.

Under normal circumstances these generators might almost never be used. But Gov. Gray Davis is considering issuing an executive order to pay owners of these backup generators to run them constantly during Stage 3 power alerts, the highest alert before rolling blackouts. This is an agonizing choice, but the health risk--these generators pour out nitrogen dioxide, a chief smog ingredient--tips the balance against them. A Davis spokesman says the generators, an estimated 17,200 of them statewide, would be run only as a last resort. But if the aim was to avert blackouts, they could be running for hours at a time. As The Times’ Gary Polakovic reported Thursday, the generators are concentrated in areas, including Los Angeles, that already have severe air quality problems.

Environmentalists are protesting, saying it would be better and more practical to pay companies to conserve power. The governor also has a plan to cut 20% from the bills of homeowners and businesses that reduce power use by 20%. That program, if pursued aggressively and in combination with other incentives now being offered, would probably save as much power as the diesel generators could make. To use these units in an attempt to stave off blackouts is too desperate and could cause more harm than it prevents.