So, once Donald Trump became president, California reminded us that it’s the home of the biggest bunch of crybabies on the planet and started screaming for secession from the United States. Of course, those of us who are informed know that California simply couldn’t survive on its own, but hey that’s just my opinion. The point is, the state has a habit of thinking it knows better (hence the emissions laws that are more strict than in the rest of the nation) and now, it’s looking to take things another step further by imposing a state-wide ban on the internal combustion engine. This, of course, comes after several other nations in the world have put out the word that they, too, will ban the ICE in coming years.
This move would put California on the same pedestal as the Netherlands, Norway, France, the U.K., India, and China, with the list to surely grow even more in the future. There’s no official word as to when any of these bans will be set in stone, but anytime between 2025 and 2040 is a good guess. This would, however, have a huge impact on automakers, and could force them to take the move to EVs even more seriously, as Cali is responsible for registering more vehicles than France in 2016 – that’s a lot of cars, folks. Members of CARB have gone on record saying that such a ban would be at least a decade out, so If you’re ready to tell California to bite you, you still have plenty of time to relocate. And, in fairness, electric cars have to be readily available and affordable to the everyday joe – otherwise, you’re leaving a lot of people without a legal mode of transportation. We used to bootleg booze… next, it’ll be gasoline.
Where’s That Strong Earthquake When you Need One?
Okay, so maybe that header is a little harsh, but for real… If California wants to impose its own liberal ways so bad, maybe it shouldn’t be a part of the continental United States or the union as a whole. It wants to pretend to be its own nation, then perhaps we should cut off all water supplies and government funding and see just how well it does on its own. That Earthquake that is set to separate a good chunk of the state from the content might even be welcomed at this point – let them float out to sea and be their own little sovereign nation for a bit.
And, before all of you start hating and tying me to the stake, let me just point out that I’m not hating on the independence of the state, but at the same time, it hasn’t exactly made life easy for the rest of the country in the past either. Admittedly, my issue is that I'm just a little mad because I just had to pay out an extra $300 for emissions-related parts because my car was built to be CARB compliant. Maybe I should praise the state, as that exact thing would be a thing of the past if all cars went electric, right? Hmmm, decisions decisions.
Back to the point, it seems that if the state doesn’t get its way it wants to secede with absolutely no effort to actually find common ground and come to an agreement with the rest of the country. I understand that an ICE ban from California alone could do some good for the world – considering it registers a massive number of vehicles each year, and more than France in 2016 -- but, at the same time, I have a feeling that it won’t even try to take into consideration the right time to do this, and that’s what irks me. But, what do you all think? Am I being too harsh? Does California have the right idea? Will it set the bar and lead the way for the rest of us? Let us know in the comments section below.
References
Read more emission news.
Read more electric care news.