Discussion»Statements»Rosie's Corner» WOW! California Governor Gavin Newsome is following the lead of England Germany Norway Sweden Israel India Canada France. WHAT WHAT WHAT?
WOW! California Governor Gavin Newsome is following the lead of England Germany Norway Sweden Israel India Canada France. WHAT WHAT WHAT?
"Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced that California will prohibit the sale of all new cars and light trucks that run on gasoline starting in 2035!"
That was reported on the News over here in the UK - and I must admit, I was surprised! I'd always thought California was one of the most car-loving of the States. Going to take more than a few recharges to get a battery-powered car all the way along Route 66!
Just gasoline or diesel as well?
2040 was set as the cut-off date in the UK but I think the Government is looking at bringing it forwards; and it applies to hybrids as well as purely petrol & diesel, cars. Meanwhile the car manufacturers continue to develop and sell new i.c.-engined vehicles anyway.
I don't know if it's both Durdle. Our Governor is very conscious of what's happening to the planet. Of course the handful of republicans in California despise him. But I was happy to see that although I onder if the demeted duck and his hitman billybarfbarr will override it. They'll probably try. I was going to say I don't kno if they have the authority or legal right to do anything about but why should that matter? They've ignored it so far. Sigh. Thank you for your reply and Happy Tuesday to thee and thine! :)
I wonder if that will only work if it becomes a Federal law.
Otherwise what would be there to stop someone buying a new car in a State that still allows them, and driving it back to California, short of it being made illegal to do that.
Also, I don't know how much people drive between states but to make such a scheme viable would need public re-charging points all over the country, and a lot of them. The maximum practical range in good conditions for a battery-powered car at present in less than 300 miles; and one feature of North America the films and publicity likes to highlight is the enormous distances and emptiness of a lot of it.
The efficiency and range of such vehicles will increase with development but I think the rate of development will slow because it still takes a definite amount of energy to move a definite weight of car, even on the level let alone up a hill; and also the "energy density" of a battery is far lower than an equivalent volume of liquid fuel.
Friends who own a battery-electric car tell me it takes at least one recharge over the 250 or so mile journey he needs sometimes in his work; where previously one tankful of petrol would suffice. In cold, dark Winter conditions they don't use the heater on any but short journeys, either. That is in England, with much more moderate weather then you have in the middle of a continent like North America.
All these schemes in all those countries you list have a very laudable aim but they are not as practical as they are made out. Nor as "green", either. Their main advantage is reducing air pollution in cities.
It would work in Norway because that has an abundance of hydro-electric power and a relatively small population, and although it is a very long country you are rarely very far from towns and villages where even the local shops could provide chargers. Also I think most Norwegian homes except perhaps in the cities, have parking spaces on their own land.
In Britain we have a set of motorways dotted with service-areas typically up to about 30 miles apart, though there are stretches with much longer gaps. These are now providing chargers, but it takes a lot longer to recharge a car traction-battery than to fill up with petrol or diesel, and at busy times I foresee journeys taking at least an hour or even more longer than normal thanks to the queues. That and a lot of motorists stranded by having chanced the next 30 or so miles hoping for a shorter queue.
Our Government seems to imagine we'll be able to recharge our cars at home, but very many Britons do not have drives in front of their homes. They live in flats or (as I do ) in houses built before cars were common or even invented, so have to park on the street with no guarantee of always being able to park anywhere close to your own home. Even a lot of homes built within the last 20 years are like that, thanks to a pre-battery policy of encouraging housing developments that in theory, discourage car-ownership. That means we'd have to use public chargers just as we have to use public filling-stations for petrol - but with that heavy time penalty hence risk of very long queues.
The British Isles are also generally a lot flatter than much of North America. We have many hills but most are of relatively modest heights, and most roads tend to go round the biggest, not over them. My atlas shows that California is nearly all mountains and high plateaux, so driving anywhere East from the coastal plain means climbing for mile after mile, though I don't know how steep the main roads are. I hope your State Governor is also going to see what can be done about enough charging-points so all-electric vehicles can travel that way without running out of electricity before they reach the summits of the passes - even with their air-conditioning or heaters switched off!
Still, it'll keep that self-important but very naïve young lass from Sweden happy!
This post was edited by Durdle at September 29, 2020 10:07 AM MDT
Durdle 