I've written in this space before that a transportation transition from internal combustion engines to alternative fuels: electricity, hydrogen, and more, is inevitable. But unlike the promises of politicians, advocacy groups and fanboys, the transition would take longer and cost more than they are willing to admit.
The Biden administration seems to know this is true and to get around it, they are looking at regulation as a way to speed up the process, no matter what. According to The New York Times, new EPA air pollution regulations are coming that will mandate a shift to electrics by 2032:
Michael S. Regan, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, is expected to announce the proposed limits on tailpipe emissions on Wednesday in Washington. It was originally set for Detroit, but the agency cited scheduling conflicts in moving the location. The requirements would be intended to ensure that electric cars represent between 54 and 60 percent of all new cars sold in the United States by 2030, with that figure rising to 64 to 67 percent of new car sales by 2032, according to the people familiar with the details, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information had not been made public.
Rapidly speeding up the adoption of electric vehicles in the United States would require other significant changes, including the construction of millions of new electric vehicle charging stations, an overhaul of electric grids to accommodate the power needs of those chargers and securing supplies of minerals and other materials needed for batteries.
That's nice. It implies that magical thinking is alive and thriving inside the EPA, and in the increasingly election-focused Biden administration as a whole.
Setting aside the enormous amounts of money that would have to be spent on infrastructure supporting that many electric cars, nevermind sourcing the materials that go into electric car batteries, there's the threat to the auto industry itself…primarily through job losses in Biden's favorite constituency, labor unions:
“We've dealt with the loss of jobs before through technology, but when you talk about the speed of this, it's hard to fathom that we won't lose jobs,” Mark DePaoli, a leader of United Auto Workers Local 600, said in a recent interview at the union headquarters near the Ford Rouge manufacturing plant in Dearborn, Mich.
The administration promises the green future will replace every one of those jobs – and more. When that happens, and whether it coincides with the dislocations, is anyone's guess.
But these seem to be the sort of social, economic and political questions an administration would ask – and have concrete answers for – long before it announces a huge regulatory initiative.
But careful planning, and even more careful messaging, are among the first things to disappear when a national election campaign is looming. And for Mr. Biden, one issue is smoothing ruffled environmentalist feathers after his administration bowed to near-term and medium-term reality and agreed to allow expanded oil exploration in Alaska. As with any proposed regulation there will be a comment period before a final rule is adopted. Those comments should be lit.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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Remember when Biden stopped the XL Pipeline and claimed those workers who were robbed of their jobs could simply switch to green jobs. How did that work out?
“Biden’s Green Utoipia”….. that is a laugh in itself. And I don’t mean someone is trying to faine scarcasim….. someone(s) actually believe this stuff. And, I don’t know why. Anyone with a high school diploma should see that the “utopia” is really Biden’s “turd hunt” (please pardon my french). Oh, but I missed the point that those gaining public high school educations are being “re-educated” Do you remember that term? After what I have seen in the last 7 years, I cannot even predict how far down the slope we will slide, before some won pulls the ripcord, as we at least slow this thing down. Just trying to keep things in perspective.
Oh, sorry Sanps,
Yes, I do remember it vividly. That was another in a long line of “great turd hunts” that Joe has been the lead dog in. I do not wish to be profain, just calling the way I see it. Thanks for your observation.
“The administration promises the green future will replace every one of those jobs – and more. When that happens, and whether it coincides with the dislocations, is anyone’s guess.
It’ double speak. The jobs will be replaced….with AI and Robotics and no need for the Useful Idiot unions that backed Biden.
We need to realize that although Biden has approved the 800 mile pipeline in Alaska, he or the next President can nix it anytime with an EO just as happened with the XL pipeline.
Not needed for CA: No Energy=No EVs
Every time this insane administration brings out another insane regulation or Executive Order, it becomes more apparent that NOBODY in DC has any idea about real science.
In a Congressional hearing the other day, several EPA reps were asked what % of the atmosphere was CO2? NONE OF THEM KNEW. Guesses ranged from 5% to 7%. The actual answer is: .04%. Some killer gas, right? And BTW, if it drops to .02%, ALL. LIFE. ENDS!!
think on that….
This whole “Green New Deal” is a hoax and scam pushed on the American people supported by quasi scientists who miraculously come up with studies that fit their biased agenda. Every one of these climate change “studies”, when investigated are found lacking in facts like the U.N.- IPCC- Michael Mann climate study and computer model which has failed every statistical interpretation as it was done to achieve a specified outcome of global warming. They cherry-picked data and ignored whole generations of temperature date such as the “Medieval Warming Period”, which that alone destroys their whole premise of the earth warming uncontrollable. Do you realize what impact that all of this trillions and trillions of dollars that is misused in this has cost our civilization in prosperity, medical research, building of low income housing, destroying our manufacturing base which has killed jobs. All of the inconvenience, safety and cost that this one misguided agency has wrought on our society, making cheap and reliable transportation harder to accommodate, while allowing the wealthy charlatans to wallow in billions by forcing their made-up environmental fears on us. These people are just highly paid agenda driven bureaucrats, unelected by anybody, making unchallenged and ignorant decisions, and mandating/forcing them on us to tell us how we have to heat and cool our homes, what we can and cannot drive, what we can and cannot use to cook our meals on, how we can wash our dishes and what machine we can or cannot use plus now even what washing machine we have to use and what hot water tank we can and cannot use. I have had it. I am tired of being victimized by idiots that think they know more than their elders that have been on this earth long enough to see that this “Climate Change” is going to end the earth in 12 to 50 years, which is totally ignorant because this climate has changed over centuries with no problems other that wearing a coat or wearing summer clothes or moving to a cooler or warmer climate. This costly garbage needs to end and end now! Thank You.