Latest news with #Wiles'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Reader Q&A: What's up with Arizona's special gasoline blends and are they worth the cost?
This is part of a monthly series answering readers' climate-related questions and highlighting Arizona's unsung climate leaders. The stories aim to help connect and inspire Arizonans who care about protecting a livable climate and may be struggling to find hope in that effort. You can ask a question or nominate an unsung Arizona climate leader by filling out this form at or by emailing climate reporter Joan Meiners at The price of gasoline is a frequent hot topic of conversation around the water cooler, er, gas pump. It also comes up like clockwork every four years during the run-up to the presidential election when it is, incorrectly, used to blame or praise candidates for their economic approach (turns out gasoline prices have very little to do with short-term domestic policies and are largely out of any sitting president's control, according to energy analysts). In Arizona, gasoline tends to be a bit more expensive than the national average, as my colleague Russ Wiles reported recently in advance of Memorial Day weekend travel. One reason could be that a state law requires the summertime use of a special blend designed to help control ozone and other air pollutants that peak during hot months in metro Phoenix, which consistently ranks among the regions with the worst air quality in the country. After Wiles' story was published, he received questions from readers about whether that requirement is still in place and, if so, whether it's worth the added cost. More: What to expect with Arizona gas prices as Memorial Day, summer travel season nears "Russ, unfortunately, you didn't mention the exotic blend of gasoline only Arizona is required to use to supposedly lower the ozone levels, which costs tons more than similar blends that could supposedly have the same effect on pollution and are cheaper," one reader wrote. "You didn't mention the special blend that is required by the consent order locally signed," another reader pointed out. "Is it no longer in effect?" Arizona's cleaner-burning gasoline blend was not the focus of Wiles' story last month. But since burning fossil fuels like gasoline for transportation is a top contributor to the emission of greenhouse gases causing the climate to warm and destabilize, and because ozone is an indirect part of that larger equation, it is the focus of this story — part of our monthly series answering reader's climate-related questions or highlighting a local climate leader. (Submit your question here: AZ climate leader: These 'great old broads' are serious about science, wolves and reversing climate change The most basic difference with cleaner-burning gasoline is the addition of oxygen-containing compounds, or oxygenates, that help gasoline burn more completely in fuel tanks and not evaporate from vehicles. This makes for better fuel efficiency (with some minor mpg tradeoffs) while minimizing toxins that end up in the air. CBG blends also reduce the amount of benzene, a known human carcinogen, by half and the amount of sulfur, which facilitates better emissions controls on vehicles, by up to 80%. And they typically cut back on the use of other smog-forming hydrocarbons once thought to improve vehicle performance. Extensive testing with millions of miles driven on CBG blends since 1996, however, has shown no negative effects on vehicles or in other types of gasoline-burning engines. The fuel types can be used interchangeably without any modifications. The estimated effect is a 15% reduction in smog for a 5- to 15-cent per gallon cost increase. (These stats are for California, which has a slightly different blend. Arizona officials declined to comment for The Arizona Republic on how the local CBG blend differs or might affect prices.) It's tough to translate that added cost at the pump into health care savings related to air pollution's links to higher incidences of asthma, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke and more. But since children can be especially vulnerable to air pollutants, the value of reducing them now can pay dividends for society further into the future, with incoming generations that are able to be more productive in the workforce and less reliant on the health care system. More: Reader Q&A: How can I protect my kids from climate pollution and advocate for clean air? Jeremy Martin, a chemist who directs fuels policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists' Clean Transportation Program, said it's important to look at vehicles and fuels as an interconnected system shifting with gasoline markets and vehicle efficiency improvements, and also with societal health outcomes and concerns. "One important piece of context is that federal fuel regulations have been changing as well," Martin said. "Vehicle regulations and fuel regulations go hand in hand, and together they result in reduced air pollution and reduced health impacts from that pollution." The American Lung Association reported in 2025 that Arizona ranked fourth in the number of unhealthy ozone days and that 84% of Arizonans live in communities with unhealthy air. Another AZ climate leader: Rhonda Bannard believes women are the changemakers for climate action and Mother Earth Arizona's struggle with unhealthy air goes back decades, and so does its history of trying to contain it using cleaner-burning gasoline, one of several tools in the air quality arsenal. It all started in 1997, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency extended its reformulated gasoline program to the Phoenix area to bring it into compliance with air quality regulations established by the Clean Air Act. Then-Gov. Fife Symington supported this solution and asked in January 1997 that the EPA require refiners to supply local retailers with the reformulated gasoline blend by June. But in September of that year, Symington resigned from office over bank fraud convictions that were eventually overturned. His successor, Gov. Jane Dee Hull, requested an exemption from the EPA program just one week later. Although Phoenix was still considered a "serious ozone non-attainment area," the EPA granted this removal as of June 1998, one year after it had started, because Arizona had developed its own clean fuel program to reduce emissions of particulates and volatile organic compounds that contribute to ozone formation. The specifics of that state program have shifted and been revised over the years, with some efforts to increase its benefits for air quality and other introduced legislation, including in the current legislative session, aimed at expanding what types of fuel can be considered clean enough or loosening regulations. Vince Wolpert, who manages CBG compliance for the Arizona Department of Agriculture, said the current supply is sourced from refineries in California, New Mexico and Texas and brought into the state primarily by two pipelines, one from California and the other from New Mexico. "As for how the Department of Agriculture became involved, the Office of Weights and Measures already regulated fuel quality and quantity," Wolpert said. "Therefore, the state legislature tasked our agency as the enforcement agency for the CBG program." Read our climate series: The latest from Joan Meiners at azcentral: climate coverage from Arizona and the Southwest Beyond the cost-saving benefits of slowing destructive atmospheric warming by reducing tailpipe emissions that increase greenhouse gas concentrations and worsen storms, the climate issue becomes involved in gasoline pricing when demand for CBG intersects with Arizona's growing electric vehicle industry. "Of course, our best bet would be to invest more in transit and electric vehicles to make a difference for our air," said Sandy Bahr, director of the Grand Canyon chapter of the Sierra Club. Since 2022, Arizona has become an "EV battery manufacturing powerhouse," with several large new facilities incentivized by clean energy tax credits tied to former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. Hundreds of millions of investment dollars and thousands of jobs have flowed to the state as a result. But the Trump administration's budget proposal currently under consideration by the U.S. Senate would repeal most of those funds, as well as a program offering average Americans up to $7,500 back on electric vehicle purchases. Advocates say this would devastate Arizona's clean energy economy and have hazardous consequences for energy access, air quality and health. Some analysts further predict that a slowing of the American electric vehicle industry — one that forces more people into internal combustion vehicles despite globally increasing market demand for EVs — could put more pressure on gasoline supply chains, causing a greater increase in prices at the pump than any version of a cleaner-burning fuel program. Joan Meiners is the climate news and storytelling reporter at The Arizona Republic and Her award-winning work has also appeared in Discover Magazine, National Geographic, ProPublica and the Washington Post Magazine. Before becoming a journalist, she completed a doctorate in ecology. Follow Joan on Twitter at @beecycles, on Bluesky @ or email her at This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Do Arizona's fuel blends help air quality or reduce greenhouses gases?
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Reader Q&A: What's up with Arizona's special gasoline blends and are they worth the cost?
This is part of a monthly series answering readers' climate-related questions and highlighting Arizona's unsung climate leaders. The stories aim to help connect and inspire Arizonans who care about protecting a livable climate and may be struggling to find hope in that effort. You can ask a question or nominate an unsung Arizona climate leader by filling out this form at or by emailing climate reporter Joan Meiners at The price of gasoline is a frequent hot topic of conversation around the water cooler, er, gas pump. It also comes up like clockwork every four years during the run-up to the presidential election when it is, incorrectly, used to blame or praise candidates for their economic approach (turns out gasoline prices have very little to do with short-term domestic policies and are largely out of any sitting president's control, according to energy analysts). In Arizona, gasoline tends to be a bit more expensive than the national average, as my colleague Russ Wiles reported recently in advance of Memorial Day weekend travel. One reason could be that a state law requires the summertime use of a special blend designed to help control ozone and other air pollutants that peak during hot months in metro Phoenix, which consistently ranks among the regions with the worst air quality in the country. After Wiles' story was published, he received questions from readers about whether that requirement is still in place and, if so, whether it's worth the added cost. More: What to expect with Arizona gas prices as Memorial Day, summer travel season nears "Russ, unfortunately, you didn't mention the exotic blend of gasoline only Arizona is required to use to supposedly lower the ozone levels, which costs tons more than similar blends that could supposedly have the same effect on pollution and are cheaper," one reader wrote. "You didn't mention the special blend that is required by the consent order locally signed," another reader pointed out. "Is it no longer in effect?" Arizona's cleaner-burning gasoline blend was not the focus of Wiles' story last month. But since burning fossil fuels like gasoline for transportation is a top contributor to the emission of greenhouse gases causing the climate to warm and destabilize, and because ozone is an indirect part of that larger equation, it is the focus of this story — part of our monthly series answering reader's climate-related questions or highlighting a local climate leader. (Submit your question here: AZ climate leader: These 'great old broads' are serious about science, wolves and reversing climate change The most basic difference with cleaner-burning gasoline is the addition of oxygen-containing compounds, or oxygenates, that help gasoline burn more completely in fuel tanks and not evaporate from vehicles. This makes for better fuel efficiency (with some minor mpg tradeoffs) while minimizing toxins that end up in the air. CBG blends also reduce the amount of benzene, a known human carcinogen, by half and the amount of sulfur, which facilitates better emissions controls on vehicles, by up to 80%. And they typically cut back on the use of other smog-forming hydrocarbons once thought to improve vehicle performance. Extensive testing with millions of miles driven on CBG blends since 1996, however, has shown no negative effects on vehicles or in other types of gasoline-burning engines. The fuel types can be used interchangeably without any modifications. The estimated effect is a 15% reduction in smog for a 5- to 15-cent per gallon cost increase. (These stats are for California, which has a slightly different blend. Arizona officials declined to comment for The Arizona Republic on how the local CBG blend differs or might affect prices.) It's tough to translate that added cost at the pump into health care savings related to air pollution's links to higher incidences of asthma, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke and more. But since children can be especially vulnerable to air pollutants, the value of reducing them now can pay dividends for society further into the future, with incoming generations that are able to be more productive in the workforce and less reliant on the health care system. More: Reader Q&A: How can I protect my kids from climate pollution and advocate for clean air? Jeremy Martin, a chemist who directs fuels policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists' Clean Transportation Program, said it's important to look at vehicles and fuels as an interconnected system shifting with gasoline markets and vehicle efficiency improvements, and also with societal health outcomes and concerns. "One important piece of context is that federal fuel regulations have been changing as well," Martin said. "Vehicle regulations and fuel regulations go hand in hand, and together they result in reduced air pollution and reduced health impacts from that pollution." The American Lung Association reported in 2025 that Arizona ranked fourth in the number of unhealthy ozone days and that 84% of Arizonans live in communities with unhealthy air. Another AZ climate leader: Rhonda Bannard believes women are the changemakers for climate action and Mother Earth Arizona's struggle with unhealthy air goes back decades, and so does its history of trying to contain it using cleaner-burning gasoline, one of several tools in the air quality arsenal. It all started in 1997, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency extended its reformulated gasoline program to the Phoenix area to bring it into compliance with air quality regulations established by the Clean Air Act. Then-Gov. Fife Symington supported this solution and asked in January 1997 that the EPA require refiners to supply local retailers with the reformulated gasoline blend by June. But in September of that year, Symington resigned from office over bank fraud convictions that were eventually overturned. His successor, Gov. Jane Dee Hull, requested an exemption from the EPA program just one week later. Although Phoenix was still considered a "serious ozone non-attainment area," the EPA granted this removal as of June 1998, one year after it had started, because Arizona had developed its own clean fuel program to reduce emissions of particulates and volatile organic compounds that contribute to ozone formation. The specifics of that state program have shifted and been revised over the years, with some efforts to increase its benefits for air quality and other introduced legislation, including in the current legislative session, aimed at expanding what types of fuel can be considered clean enough or loosening regulations. Vince Wolpert, who manages CBG compliance for the Arizona Department of Agriculture, said the current supply is sourced from refineries in California, New Mexico and Texas and brought into the state primarily by two pipelines, one from California and the other from New Mexico. "As for how the Department of Agriculture became involved, the Office of Weights and Measures already regulated fuel quality and quantity," Wolpert said. "Therefore, the state legislature tasked our agency as the enforcement agency for the CBG program." Read our climate series: The latest from Joan Meiners at azcentral: climate coverage from Arizona and the Southwest Beyond the cost-saving benefits of slowing destructive atmospheric warming by reducing tailpipe emissions that increase greenhouse gas concentrations and worsen storms, the climate issue becomes involved in gasoline pricing when demand for CBG intersects with Arizona's growing electric vehicle industry. "Of course, our best bet would be to invest more in transit and electric vehicles to make a difference for our air," said Sandy Bahr, director of the Grand Canyon chapter of the Sierra Club. Since 2022, Arizona has become an "EV battery manufacturing powerhouse," with several large new facilities incentivized by clean energy tax credits tied to former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. Hundreds of millions of investment dollars and thousands of jobs have flowed to the state as a result. But the Trump administration's budget proposal currently under consideration by the U.S. Senate would repeal most of those funds, as well as a program offering average Americans up to $7,500 back on electric vehicle purchases. Advocates say this would devastate Arizona's clean energy economy and have hazardous consequences for energy access, air quality and health. Some analysts further predict that a slowing of the American electric vehicle industry — one that forces more people into internal combustion vehicles despite globally increasing market demand for EVs — could put more pressure on gasoline supply chains, causing a greater increase in prices at the pump than any version of a cleaner-burning fuel program. Joan Meiners is the climate news and storytelling reporter at The Arizona Republic and Her award-winning work has also appeared in Discover Magazine, National Geographic, ProPublica and the Washington Post Magazine. Before becoming a journalist, she completed a doctorate in ecology. Follow Joan on Twitter at @beecycles, on Bluesky @ or email her at This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Do Arizona's fuel blends help air quality or reduce greenhouses gases?
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
US govt investigating messages impersonating Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles
The government is investigating after elected officials, business executives, and other prominent figures in recent weeks received messages from someone impersonating Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump's chief of staff. A White House official confirmed the investigation Friday and said the White House takes cybersecurity of its staff seriously. The official was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that senators, governors, business leaders and others began receiving text messages and phone calls from someone who seemed to have gained access to the contacts in Wiles' personal cellphone. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles' number, the newspaper reported. Also Read | Trump administration orders extra vetting of all Harvard-bound visa applicants Some of those who received calls heard a voice that sounded like Wiles, which may have been generated by artificial intelligence, according to the report. Some received text messages that they initially thought were official White House requests, but some people reported the messages did not sound like Wiles. The FBI warned in a public service announcement this month of a "malicious text and voice messaging campaign' in which unidentified 'malicious actors' have been impersonating senior U.S. government officials. The scheme, according to the FBI, has relied on text messages and AI-generated voice messages that purport to come from a senior U.S. official and that aim to dupe other government officials as well as the victim's associates and contacts. Also Read | Deportation risk for 5,00,000 immigrants as SC clears way for Trump to end their parole "Safeguarding our administration officials' ability to securely communicate to accomplish the president's mission is a top priority,' FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement Friday. It is unclear how someone gained access to Wiles' phone, but the intrusion is the latest security breach for Trump staffers. Last year, Iran hacked into Trump's campaign and sensitive internal documents were stolen and distributed, including a dossier on Vice President JD Vance, created before he was selected as Trump's running mate. Wiles, who served as a co-manager of Trump's campaign before taking on the lynchpin role in his new administration, has amassed a powerful network of contacts.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
White House investigating how Trump's chief of staff's phone was hacked
The White House is investigating after one or more people reportedly accessed the contacts from the personal phone of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and used the information to contact other top officials and impersonate her. Wiles reportedly told people that her phone was hacked. The Wall Street Journal first reported the hack of Wiles' phone. CBS News also confirmed the reporting. The hacker or hackers are said to have accessed Wiles' phone contacts, including the phone numbers of other top U.S. officials and influential individuals. The WSJ reports that those who received phone calls impersonating Wiles used AI to impersonate her voice and sent text messages from a number not associated with Wiles. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly would not say, when asked by TechCrunch, if authorities had determined if a cloud account associated with Wiles' personal device was compromised, or if Wiles' phone was targeted by a more advanced cyberattack, such as one that involves the use of government-grade spyware. In response, the White House said it "takes the cybersecurity of all staff very seriously, and this matter continues to be investigated." This is the second time Wiles has been targeted by hackers. In 2024, The Washington Post reported that Iranian hackers had attempted to compromise Wiles' personal email account. The Journal said Friday, citing sources, the hackers were in fact successful in breaking into her email and obtained a dossier on Vice President JD Vance, then Trump's running mate. This is the latest cybersecurity incident to beset the Trump administration in the months since taking office. In March, former White House top national security adviser Michael Waltz mistakenly added a journalist to a Signal group of top White House officials, including Vance and Wiles, which included discussions of a planned military air-strike in Yemen. Reports later revealed that the government officials were using a Signal clone app called TeleMessage, which was designed to keep a copy of messages for government archiving. TeleMessage was subsequently hacked on at least two occasions, revealing the contents of its users' private messages. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
3 days ago
- Politics
FBI investigating attempts to impersonate White House chief of staff Susie Wiles
The FBI is investigating mysterious texts and calls from someone reaching out to governors, members of Congress and others who has claimed to be White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, sources familiar with the matter said. The calls and texts appear to use Wiles' voice but are believed to be from an imposter who will on occasion ask for money, the sources said. Wiles is seen as one of President Donald Trump's closest advisers and managed his 2024 presidential campaign, and she has access to many top officials in Republican circles. It is unclear who and how many people have received messages from the imposter. "The White House takes the cybersecurity of all staff very seriously, and this matter continues to be investigated," a White House official said when asked about the matter. The story was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. "The FBI takes all threats against the President, his staff, and our cybersecurity with the utmost seriousness; safeguarding our administration officials' ability to securely communicate to accomplish the President's mission is a top priority," FBI Director Kash Patel told ABC News in a statement. Earlier this month, the House sergeant at arms sent a notice to members and staff about phishing emails and ways to protect themselves from scams, according to multiple sources who received the notice. The FBI and White House did not indicate who could be behind the impersonation, and it is unclear how the person was able to access Wiles' phone contacts. The incident follows Trump's campaign, led by Wiles, being the target of a phishing campaign by Iran last summer, during the 2024 election campaign season, and Iranians were able to access internal campaign materials.
