Dear Sirs:
I think you must be insane or perhaps you don't live in
California, this "plan" is the most misguided attempt to make
yourselves relevant that I have ever seen. This is so cart
before the horse, let's review the facts:
- The state of CA does not have safe or reliable
power. How do I know? Because PG&E burned
down my home and town of Paradise while CA did NOTHING to follow or
regulate their criminal behavior even while they were on
probation. Result: every time the wind blows during
fire days, CITIES IN FIRE-PRONE AREAS HAVE NO POWER FOR WEEKS OUT
OF EVERY MONTH FROM MAY TO OCTOBER. So when the next fire
comes once we have no gas-powered cars, how do you expect people to
evacuate in electric cars that have not been charged??
Bicycles??? Oh wait, that's right - hundreds of thousands of
people WILL USE GAS POWERED GENERATORS TO CHARGE THEIR ELECTRIC
CARS. And no way can PG&E go underground with their
utilities in time to meet your timeline. Even if town power
is underground, the giant towers spanning state will not be.
- The state of CA does not have enough power to run the
state WITHOUT conversion to all electric cars. Every
year since the fire, I get nasty letters from the murderers of my
life (PGE) that I am using too much power for the size of my
house. I work from home and live in Chico, where temps range
between 95 and 110 from May through October. I set my
thermostat at 79 degrees and the AC runs only from 1pm to 9pm, my
house is 2800sf so I am not abusing the power grid. I will
NOT work in sweatshop temperatures so some Prius in San Francisco
can commute to work 40 miles. I am the one saving the
environment by completely getting rid of my commute in my
gas-powered car. People DO need to run refrigerators,
washers, dryers, air conditioners or heaters... people DO NOT
need to drive electric cars.
- Electric Cars still negatively affect the
environment. I think people in the city believe that
electricity is delivered nightly to their homes via the electricity
fairy. Energy consumption for electric cars is not
passive!! We have an entire state that depends upon
hydroelectric power and plants that dam waterways that negatively
affect our wildlife in Northern CA. Our poor fish and birds
struggle to migrate. Converting the entire state will only
increase this damage and our massive human footprint in our
forests. Also, what about electric car parts and the lack of
ability to recycle??
- Electricity is more expensive than gas.
In Chico because of the heat, my power bill in the summer ranges
between $900 and $1200 per month and this was BEFORE PG&E's
rate increase (winter bill is no less than $350 per month and we
don't run the furnace more than a dozen times per year). Two
electric cars in my household would be more expensive than my
mortgage. My gas car can sit for months with no consumption
but is ready to drive when needed. An electric car would need
constant charging and consumption of electricity even when I don't
drive anywhere for weeks. How on earth would people on a
limited income function?? This bill clearly discriminates
against poor families.
- Charging an electric car takes a long time and many
stations will be needed. Have you thought about the
massive amounts of charging stations you would need to accommodate
an entire state of electric cars? As a family that camps and
needs a vehicle that will pull 5000lbs, how will you have the
amount of charging stations on every road in CA to make sure people
have access to "fuel" when they need it? How about in
Burney? Quincy? Mount Lassen? Weaverville?
Doris? With the hours it takes to "top off" an electric
vehicle, how are you going to handle the insane lines?
Remember the gas crisis in the 70's?? That would be the best
case scenario for what would ensue if your plan rolls out. By
the way, do you think these stations are good for the
environment?? So in your world, if we want to spend our
summer traveling to Yellowstone or the Black Hills, what do we do
when we get to another state whose roads don't have chargers?
This plan would make CA a big, giant jail.
- You will kill tourism. How many
tourists from other states will drive to CA to visit our beautiful
monuments? How are you going to keep them out of the state
with their gas vehicles? After COVID, we have had enough
stress on our businesses that depend upon tourists.
- You will kill people. I have been
caught twice in the Grapevine due to snow-related accidents, and
once we were not able to pull off the road. If electric cars
lose charge more quickly in cold temps, how are people to keep warm
in emergency situations when they cannot run their engines?
This is not a maybe, this is a certainty as this occurs every
year.
- CA is not the ruler of the universe!
Let's be honest, NOTHING will help world air quality until China,
Russia, etc. stop their polution. We may be a world economic
power, but we are a tiny geographic footprint. Last time I
checked, CA in no way can offset the pollution of these
superpowers.
If you want people to stop driving, BUILD MASS TRANSPORT THAT
APPEALS TO PEOPLE!!! Make it easy to travel between Sac and
SF, SF to Redding, put Bart down 280 to San Jose and back up east
Bay. Fund Elon Musk's train not just from SF to LA but all
over CA. Put a bullet train right down Highway 5 from Doris
to the Mexican border. MAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION COOL.
With the amount of money you will spend on charging stations, you
could build the most amazing public transportation in the world and
let people ride for free. That is how you get people out of
their gas powered cars, which are needed for vacations and for
emergency situations. Electric cars just trade one type of
ecological damage for another. And we all know why you are
doing it! It has not escaped anyone's attention how much
sales tax you will collect if everyone needs to buy a new
car. Shame on all of you.
Sincerely,
Dawn Durfee