For many Americans, the automobile is a way of life.
We revere our cars as not only a necessity for life, but as an extension of ourselves…of our very being. We buy the cars we like, whether that be for looks, features, or performance.
But soon, Californians will be severely limited as to what vehicles they can purchase, and it has many Americans a bit antsy.
California on Thursday is expected to put into effect its sweeping plan to prohibit the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035, a groundbreaking move that could have major effects on the effort to fight climate change and accelerate a global transition toward electric vehicles.
“This is huge,” said Margo Oge, an electric vehicles expert who headed the Environmental Protection Agency’s transportation emissions program under Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. “California will now be the only government in the world that mandates zero-emission vehicles. It is unique.”
The rule will see a swift implementation.
The rule, issued by the California Air Resources Board, will require that 100 percent of all new cars sold in the state by 2035 be free of the fossil fuel emissions chiefly responsible for warming the planet, up from 12 percent today. It sets interim targets requiring that 35 percent of new passenger vehicles sold in the state by 2026 produce zero emissions. That would climb to 68 percent by 2030.
And, to further irritate automobile lovers in our nation, there are at least a dozen other states that have considered adopting similar policies to that of California, putting the future of the gasoline-powered car in serious jeopardy.
