By Andrew Guan
Dear Mr. Bokat-Lindell,
Thank you for your letter and your article about climate change concerning the United States. I was not too surprised to hear President Biden’s plan about electric cars. I hope the White House and Congress follow through so we can get the new electric cars by 2030.
There’s only a few problems with switching to electric cars. Companies that specialize in the fine motor industries and extracting natural resources from the earth will have to suffer through years of “withdrawal.” The government may have to spend trillions of dollars converting to renewable resources, and even then, it’s not a certain guarantee that they can support converting gas stations to electric charging stations and powering other companies at the same time. Don’t get me wrong. I understand and completely agree with what Coral Davenport said. We have to start with eliminating “fossil-fueled combustion engines” and switch to “electric vehicles.” You really can’t get rid of climate change without removing them.
I appreciate President Biden’s efforts, but it’s clear that even if he manages to push quick enough for his electric vehicles goal, he has to get the public on his side. With a world like ours, there will be millions of people who will refuse to follow and may cause a major uproar in the country. Fake news can spread. Even now, Tesla is the leading motor company to produce electric vehicles on a regular basis. Other companies such as Ford, Toyota, and Hyundai are going to have to comply with the president’s demands in order to produce a “net-zero” emission. I know Davenport thinks that it’s technologically feasible to achieve the president’s goal within the “next decade.” But the prospect of using pure solar energy, wind mills, and hydro power to support the electric grid of hundreds of millions of people doesn’t seem that realistic, especially considering each house uses about 16,000 KWh per year. Now multiply that by roughly 400 million people. Yes, that is a lot of electricity to generate! I’m not sure if the companies that specialize in the extraction of natural resources from earth can handle that amount. We may need to start more companies.
There is also a matter of being able to reduce all carbon emissions around the world. The United States is simply the first step. Afterwards, we must convince the other nations, France, England, Germany, Russia, China, etc., to move on from fossil fuels and invest in a more renewable society. Ultimately, it boils down to less developed societies, such as those in Africa and South America. Electric technology will be less widely available and we will have to find a way to share it with them.
Thank you for your article.
Best wishes,
Andrew Guan
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/opinion/electric-cars.html