California to Require All New Vehicles Be Zero-Emission by 2035

[brooklynite]

Source: Bloomberg

California will phase out sales of new, gasoline-powered cars by 2035 as part of its fight against climate change, Governor Gavin Newsom announced -- the first state to set an expiration date for the traditional automobile.

The move comes as California battles historic wildfires that Newsom has blamed squarely on global warming, with more than 3.6 million acres burned so far this year. It could prompt other states that have followed California’s climate and auto policies in the past to set similar goals.

“You deserve to have a car that doesn’t give your kids asthma,” Newsom said in a statement. “Our cars shouldn’t make wildfires worse -- and create more days filled with smoky air. Cars shouldn’t melt glaciers or raise sea levels threatening our cherished beaches and coastlines.”

The executive order Newsom issued Wednesday would give automakers 15 years to make the transition. It doesn’t specify whether the passenger cars sold by that date would be powered by batteries or hydrogen fuel cells -- only that they have zero emissions. Sales of used gasoline-powered cars would still be allowed. The order also directs California regulators to ensure that all new medium- and heavy-duty trucks are zero-emission by 2045. The state has already set a goal of eliminating all net emissions from its economy by the same year.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-23/california-to-phase-out-gasoline-cars-by-2035-governor-says

[Wellstone ruled]

1. And Germany is doing

the same.

[Miguelito Loveless]

2. *sighs*

A decade too late.

[The Mouth]

3. If this doesn't get the Republicans back in power in CA, nothing will

[SunSeeker]

22. Why do you think Californians voted him into office? To not do anything about climate change?

[Initech]

4. I've always wondered how gas cars are still a thing right now.

I'm buying a new car this week and it's shocking how many cars use full gas engines. I'm buying a Subaru and they only have one hybrid in the US - and that's the Crosstrek. Hybrids should be the standard with full electric vehicles phasing them out. We'll never combat climate change as long as we're still burning gas and coal.

[DBoon]

6. Crosstrek hybrid is brand new, too

4WD cars that are hybrid use the electric engine to increase power, not to conserve gas. I read that auto manufacturers believe 4WD customers aren't really interested in fuel efficiency.

I have a hard time believing that.

[Initech]

12. I think we're still a long way off from electric and hybrid cars being full replacements.

Because yeah, 4WD. And the car that I'm buying is the Legacy which is a full 4WD sedan and that's rare for sedans. I'm sure people want fuel efficiency but Trump, in all his infinite wisdom, is convinced that "cars have too much junk on them". Whatever that means.

[SunSeeker]

19. The '21 Toyota RAV4 Prime (plug-in hybrid) is so popular dealers are charging $15k markups!

The thing is 4WD but gets 40 MPG while in hybrid mode, and has a 42-mile electric-only range. It has 302 hp and goes 0-60 in 5.6 seconds. There's extremely high demand for the RAV4 Prime, but Toyota only built 5,000 of them for 2021, citing battery supply chain issues.

[DBoon]

25. I was looking for my new vehicle about 1-2 yrs ago

Things change quickly

[SunSeeker]

17. The Crosstrek only has a 17-mile electric-only range, which is pathetic.

I said that to the salesman and he just hung his head and said "I know."

Car manufacturers need to get serious. Plug-in hybrids should have at least a 50-mile range. The Chevy Volt had 53-mile electric-only range. And it's been around for years. Then Chevy killed it off!
Ridiculous!

[Initech]

20. I originally wanted a Honda Clarity.

The salesman told me that the plug in motor only has a range of 42 miles and it took 14 solid hours of charging to achieve that range. I was like "nope!". And yeah they do need to get serious!

[SunSeeker]

21. My husband has a Honda Clarity. It only takes about 4 hours to charge it using a 240 outlet.

Fortunately, we had a 240 outlet already in our garage from an old electric dryer the prior homeowners had. We just plug the Clarity into that, no fancy wall charger needed. And the Clarity has a 47-mile electric-only range. That's pretty decent. WAY better than the Crosstrek, but then it's not a 4WD SUV.

I drive a 2019 Chevy Bolt EV with a 238-mile range. It charges in about 9 hours from totally depleted, but it never is. I just top it off every day in a few hours, also using that same 240 volt outlet in our garage.

My lease on the Bolt runs out in 2022. I hope by then there are some nice plug-in hybrid subcompact SUVs. I wish the Hyundai Kona came in a plug-in hybrid. I like small sporty SUVs, and would prefer a plug-in hybrid over a full EV. The Kia Niro plug-in hybrid is really the only one out there right now, but it is just too damn slow.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

5. Are we going to upgrade our electrical capacity too?

I had always thought the answer to California transportation would be mass transit replaces individual car ownership. There are a lot of watts of power being spent to get rows of individuals down the freeway. Switching them all to electric might strain our power grid.

[oldsoftie]

9. Nothing "sexy" about upgrading a power grid. Should be a constant program.

If we have another Carrington Event we'll ALL find out

[OneCrazyDiamond]

13. I hear that.

Hell, the last heatwave highlighted our limits on capacity.

[aggiesal]

7. Why not 2030? n/t

[MichMan]

8. Prices of used IC cars are going to skyrocket when this goes into effect

[msongs]

10. one wonders what authority he has to do this nt

[patphil]

11. Until they can market electric vehicles with a range equal to 1 day's driving, it won't work.

We need to have cars that you can get into in, say Oklahoma City and travel to Cincinati (about 850 miles) non-stop except for bathroom and food breaks, it's not practical.
Even then, if you need to plug in for several hours before moving on it's still a no go.

As an alternative, a 200-300 mile electric may be possible for commuting and day trips, but that can't replace gas engines.
All this will do is cause people to hold onto their old gas powered cars.

[Massacure]

16. I don't think that's an overly large issue, especially with 15 years to prep for it

It takes 20 minutes to charge a Tesla to 50%, 40 minutes to 80%, and 75 minutes to 100%. Worst case scenario, I doubt it would be difficult to design a 20-30 kw generator that could be fit in an aerodynamic shroud and mounted on a roof rack.

[roamer65]

14. This needs to happen worldwide.

[noneof_theabove]

15. day late and a dollar short

today at Times Square in New York the changed one of the big clocks
to count down from 7:130:23:15:32 [can't find the h:m:s value]
when we a toast from global warming
7 years
130 days
then hours:min:second

So 2035 is a useless year.
We will look like the move The Book of Eli, and several others.

[SunSeeker]

18. It is doable. Elon Musk promises a $25,000 Tesla in 3 years in Fremont, CA.

Tesla officials, led by CEO Elon Musk, outlined a set of aggressive plans Tuesday to slash battery production costs, which they said will allow Tesla to bring a $25,000 electric battery vehicle to market within three years.

Those were two of the key takeaways from the company's Battery Day, a show-and-tell session following its annual meeting. During the three-hour event, which was livecast from a site by Tesla's assembly plant in Fremont, California, Musk and other executives went into extensive detail explaining how they plan to reduce the cost of batteries — the single most important and most expensive part of an electric vehicle — by 56 percent. They then revealed a variety of new product programs that will be launched over the next several years.

The battery stuff is clearly revolutionary and essential to Tesla's goal," Musk said, "accelerating the [transition] to sustainable energy."The downward curve has "flattened out," Musk said, and will need significant breakthroughs to come down even lower. According to many experts, the figure will need to come in at something close to $70 per kilowatt-hour before battery-electric vehicles, or BEVs, are truly cost-competitive with vehicles using internal combustion engines. For a vehicle like a Tesla Model S Long Range, with a 100 kWh battery pack, the savings would add up to somewhere on the order of $7,000 a vehicle.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/elon-musk-reveals-plans-slash-electric-battery-costs-build-25-n1240754?cid=referral_taboolafeed

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

23. Sounds like a good move, for California

I don't think California is much impacted by the effects of lithium mining, the associated pollution of waterways. It happens in someone else's backyard.

And, lithium is a reactive metal that can occasionally provide a source of ignition for wildfires.

If the battery technology and chemistry can be improved, maybe to a safer substance, then the all-electric system may make sense.

[hunter]

24. As lithium demand increases, California's lithium resources will be developed.

Same with rare earth metals.

Both resources are in our "backyard."

For example, this:

Lithium start-up backed by Bill Gates seeks a breakthrough at the Salton Sea

Sammy Roth
March 16, 2020

--snip--

On Monday, Lilac and the Australian company Controlled Thermal Resources announced they’re partnering to develop a lithium extraction facility at the Salton Sea. The Australian firm is trying to build the area’s first new geothermal power plant in a decade, a project that would be far more lucrative if the super-heated underground fluid could produce lithium in addition to electricity.

Lilac is also working with billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy, which has not previously been reported outside energy industry circles.

Berkshire is one of several firms seeking funding from the California Energy Commission to build a lithium extraction demonstration plant. The plant would use Lilac’s technology, according to a letter from the Geothermal Resources Council, an industry trade group, urging state officials to fund Berkshire’s proposal.

--more--

https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2020-03-16/lithium-startup-lilac-solutions-bill-gates-salton-sea

Overall, I don't think the earth's natural environment can support an automobile for every adult human on earth. There's simply too many of us. We need to create attractive pedestrian friendly cities where car ownership is unnecessary.