Californians recently received a harsh lesson in the failures of big government—as if they needed one. First, the California Air Resources Board voted to require all new cars and light trucks sold after 2035 to be “zero-emission” vehicles. Effectively that means Californians will be forced to buy electric vehicles. Russ Mitchell reported in the LA Times:
Citing an urgent need to address climate change while cutting back on air pollution, the California Air Resources Board voted Thursday to require all new cars and light trucks sold by 2035 to be what it calls zero-emission vehicles.
Lauren Sanchez, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s climate advisor, called it “a huge day not only for California but the entire world.”
The mission, she said: “Move the state away from oil.”
In California, in 2020 there were over 30 million registered vehicles on the road. In February of 2022, of California’s registered vehicles, only one million were electric. That’s only a little over 3%.
Keep that in mind for this next part of the story. With 30 million vehicles operating, and only 3% of them classified as zero-emission vehicles, the state asked residents not to charge their electric vehicles because they were afraid it would overwhelm the state’s power grid. Can you imagine being forced to buy an electric car, and then not being able to charge it? That could be the reality for Californians in 2035 if they don’t course correct. Alyssa Guzman and Stacy Liberatore report for The Daily Mail:
The California Independent System Operator (ISO) has called for residents across the state to ‘reduce’ energy usage between 4 and 9pm ‘when the system is the most stressed because demand for electricity remains high.’
Starting on Wednesday and running until Tuesday, residents are being asked to not charge their electric vehicles between those hours, set their thermostats at 78 degrees or higher, avoid using large appliances, and turn off unnecessary lights.
‘Lowering electricity use during that time will ease [the] strain on the system, and prevent more drastic measures, including rotating power outages,’ the bulletin said.
Action Line: How much wind and solar capacity will California need to add in order to reliably charge all the electric vehicles it wants on the roads after 2035? It’s hard to imagine how one of America’s most beautiful states will look with its fields covered in solar panels and every hill and mountain crowned with wind turbines. Californians are getting sick of the games their politicians are playing with their lives. No wonder California is one of Your Survival Guy’s Escape States. If you need to find a better America, start your search with my Super States. Then, click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, and let’s weather this storm together.
