California’s green agenda is about to become unstoppable! Having just received a massive green light from the EPA itself, the Golden State is now granted the platform for some ambitious policy changes. With climate change being such an important issue for their leader, California intends to show the entire country what it means to truly go green.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took a major partisan step in the fight against democrat climate change on Friday when it granted California authority to phase out heavy duty trucks powered by gasoline. This is a move that could have long-lasting impacts, not just within California but across the US. with the EPA showing their support to democrat causes.
Daily Wire reports, between 2024 and 2035, the California Air Resources Board will require truck manufacturers to adopt more stringent standards aimed at promoting electric vehicles so that all new trucks are zero-emission by 2045. In order to enforce California’s requirements, the EPA granted two waivers of federal standards.
According to a statement released by Gov. Gavin Newsom, “This is a big deal for climate action. Last year, California became one of the first jurisdictions in the world with a real plan to end tailpipe emissions for cars. Thanks to the Biden administration, we’re getting more zero-emission heavy duty trucks on the roads, expanding our world-leading efforts to cut air pollution and protect public health. We’re leading the charge to get dirty trucks and buses, the most polluting vehicles, off our streets, and other states and countries are lining up to follow our lead around the world.”
Michael Regan, EPA Administrator, praised the move toward electric heavy duty vehicles. “Under the Clean Air Act, California has long standing authority to address pollution from cars and trucks,” he said in a press release. “Today’s announcement allows the state to take additional steps in reducing their transportation emissions through these new regulatory actions.”
NBC reported on the war on gas trucks.
Several states have adopted truck standards established by the California Air Resources Board, including Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington. Multiple state attorneys general urged the EPA last year to grant California’s waiver request.
California is the fifth-largest economy in the world and the new regulations may arguably incentivize the market to develop new electric heavy duty vehicles. However, automakers haven’t yet developed robust electric semi-truck offerings to target the mass market: according to Knight Transportation, diesel semi-trucks can travel 2,100 miles on a single tank of gas, while the Tesla Semi can travel 500 miles.
This shift to aggressive electric trucks raises major concerns to many companies functionally. Electric vehicles do not have the kind of rage gas vehicles have which makes absolutely no sense as to why force people to shift. It takes twice the time to four times the time to charge an electric car than it does gassing one up. Time is a precious commodity in business and life in general, yet a bunch of politicians are attempting to waste our time with their policies.
Let’s continue this conversation, in the comments below.
