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“No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. So, governments’ programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.” Ronald Reagan, 1964
Hertz Auto rental is desperately trying to unload its fleet of Electric Vehicles (EV) automobiles. It seems like they are not popular with travelers, who prefer a vehicle they can easily find fuel for. Especially in areas far from their home, where most auto rentals are made.
Ford Motor Company recently announced they are scaling back on the production of electric autos (EVS). It seems that the market for them is not as great as predicted. As a matter of fact, only 9% of new car sales last year were electric vehicles.
Just last month the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a program of the federal government, announced new regulations intended to insure that in just eight years 70% of all new car sales will be electric vehicles. The EPA will not allow the market to influence its decisions.
Our pickup trucks are not immune to the delicate guidance of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The new rules will mandate that at least half of pickups manufactured by model year 2027 will be electric powered.
The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is living proof of President Reagan’s assertion quoted above. Created in 1970 by President Richard Nixon, the EPA combined functions from three Federal Agencies to administer the Clean Air Act of 1970.
Initially the EPA enforced laws passed by Congress and signed by the President. Included were the Clean Air Act of 1970, the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act of 1972 and the Clean Water Act of 1972. Since then, the EPA has increased its power through additional acts of Congress and by increasing the release of Administrative Rules.
The same Environmental Protection Agency has also released tailpipe standards for buses and semi-trucks. To be met, these new regulation standards will, in effect, require up to 25% of buses and semi-trucks to have zero emissions by the year 2030, just six years from now. Only electric vehicles can achieve this standard.
There is a question as to the availability of batteries. Where will we get them, or even the materials to produce them? There is the question of how far a bus or semi-truck can run on a charge. Where will they find an available charging station? Then it will require several hours to recharge these batteries. These batteries will of necessity be much larger and heavier than an automobile electric battery.
Has anyone considered that the weight of the battery will displace some of the capacity of the cargo a truck will be able to carry? Recharging will be a problem. Even if there will be a sufficient number of charging stations, the time required for a charge will far exceed the time required to fill the fuel tanks of our present fleet.
We are discovering electric automobiles are heavier, require more expensive suspension systems and wear out tires sooner These problems will show up on electric busses and semi-trucks. Electric automobile insurance rates are higher than for conventional gasoline autos. We can expect the same results for an electric bus and truck fleet.
The real elephant in the room is being studiously ignored by the federal agencies. No one has considered, or even discussed publicly, the problem of funding our road system. Currently this is being funded with a use tax, in the form of a tax on each gallon of fuel. Both the federal government and all state government road programs are being funded primarily by the gasoline and diesel tax.
No one seems to be considering how to fund our massive road system when we eliminate the use of gasoline and diesel for transportation. No one is talking about this very real issue. No one is proposing any alternative method to fund our road system.
The EPA, a manifestation of Leviathan, has jumped into the “climate change” issue without Congressional authority. It is attempting to govern and change our lives by imposing controls that are neither legal or reasonable. Climate hange is a controversial issue. The EPA is using climate change to grow and expand far beyond any legislative authority granted to it.
Under the guise of “climate change” the EPA has indeed become Leviathan, and is attempting to become an “eternal” power. The EPA wants to control nearly every aspect of our lives. They do not care about the cost.
Mike Lang, Chairman, Union County Republican Central Committee