I cannot believe you reported on Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order banning the sale of new combustion-powered passenger vehicles without so much as a hint of the disastrous consequences it might bring (California Dreamin’, January 2021).
You mention in passing that this ukase came during this season’s wildfires without pointing out that some of our biggest fires have been sparked by electrical grids that are poorly-maintained despite high and climbing electricity bills. Nor did you see fit to raise the fact that in the fire areas, they now turn off the power grid entirely. This psychotic push for electric vehicles is thus concurrent with the state’s inability to provide electricity.
It would have been nice if you had mentioned that it is not possible to get our electricity from the sun, wind, and sea in a way that is both constant and inexpensive. The only way these technologies can even begin to be considered is with backup generating capabilities that are fossil-fueled, making this a transition from what is cheap and reliable to that which is expensive and spotty at best.
It would have been nice if you had pointed out that new fossil-fueled automobiles in the U.S. are very clean.
It would have been nice if you had pointed out that Governor Newsom is among those who are pushing to add millions and millions of new residents to California, with zero regard to any of the environmental or infrastructure impacts that accompany such explosive and unregulated growth.
The only way this one could pretend it is not insane to replace market forces with fascistic government diktat is if somehow the result would be that California would eliminate enough vehicle emissions to offset the truly colossal air pollution
caused by the fires. However, the issue isn’t the environment but rather government control, so the actual outcome doesn’t matter.
Finally, the general tone of your article is that somehow the transition to electric vehicles will result in a cleaner planet. This is utterly wrong. The environmental cost of so-called green
energies turns out to be massive both in quantity and quality. Some of the minerals used in renewable
energies are harvested using child slave labor and are pollution-intensive at the source. Virtually all so-called clean
energies require a lot of fossil fuels in their creation, and to date, there is no efficient way to recycle old solar panels, wind turbine parts, etc. These so-called clean
energy components are creating a future ecological disaster. Most so-called clean
energies are simply those that displace the pollution and other costs so that they are temporarily out of sight of the average person, which allows them to feel as though they are helping the planet.
Another terrifying aspect of so-called clean
energies is their deadly effects on wildlife, especially birds. Wind turbines slaughter untold thousands of birds — including some endangered species — and solar ovens literally cook the birds in mid-air.
I expect better from Car and Driver.
Greg Raven, Apple Valley, CA
