Although California is making improvements in transforming its infrastructure to be more eco-friendly with EV’s the truth is that California is going in the wrong direction and has to focus more on its public transportation and revamping the way their cities are built. And the California High Speed Rail is the first step towards this goal.
Recently California has passed a law that will ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by the year 2035. This will undoubtedly create less pollution and make California’s infrastructure more eco-friendly but there are quite a lot of problems with this ban, problems that have to be addressed.
First of all, the problem with California’s outdated and inadequate power grid that suffers blackouts nearly every summer and will not be able to support a state full of EV’s. Without improvements to the power grid the transfer to EV’s will be impossible.
Secondly, the inconvenience of this gas car ban. There are many things that are reliant on the business of cars in California and the familiarity with said cars that have been a staple of California for years. Forcing the industry to change to EV will cause thousands to lose their jobs especially in the mechanic and gas industries. On top of that quite a lot of people are put off by EV’s due to the fact they are often not as reliant as gas cars. For example range anxiety, the possibility of the batteries dying, and the fear of battery fires.
And lastly, the biggest problem with this path California appears to be taking; The impracticality and cost of being over-reliant on automobiles.
The reason why California has such a huge carbon footprint is not because the cars they use are not electric, it is because we use cars. I am not saying cars should not be used at all, they have their uses, but when you get to the point where nearly every adult individual owns a car it becomes a problem. And the blame is not on the individual but on the state for creating an infrastructure where a car is necessary.
California population: 39.35 million
California Car population: 30.39 million
(accurate from 2020, registered vehicles only)
Schools, hospitals, living accommodations, grocery stores, key locations are often miles apart leaving people with no choice but to drive there. California must start building up, down if possible; cities must be created with walking in mind to mitigate our carbon footprint and truly bring an end to car pollution.
And projects such as California’s high speed rail is exactly what is needed. A train that can travel 380 miles in 2 hours and 40 min at top speeds of 220 mph promotes efficient transportation and trade. It is projects such as these that will bring California into the future and ensure the world lasts for many years to come.
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