You knew this was coming…
In keeping with California’s goal of cleaning up the state by flipping the ratio of electric to gas automobiles on its roads, Assemblymember Phil Ting (D- Sacramento) announed the Clean Cars 2040 Act yesterday. The goal of the bill is to require all new cars sold after January 1, 2040 to be zero emmissions.
“California has long led the nation in promoting environmental protection and public health through visionary policies and technological innovations. We’re at an inflection point: we’ve got to address the harmful emissions that cause climate change. Achieving the goal of electrification of transportation is crucial for the health of our people and the planet. Vehicles run on fossil fuels are responsible for nearly 40 percent of California’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.” said Assemblymember Ting.
2040 is a long way off, even in auto industry years, so there’s really no practical reason why this can’t be achieved and I think we humans will be better off for it. Now, a lover of internal combustion engines (aka: ICE), my knee-jerk reaction is of course “Nooooo!”, but I think we all have to look at the writing on the wall: this planet’s getting warmer, greenhouses gases are on the rise and while they’ve come a long way, gas-powered cars do not do the environment any favors….simply put: this needs to happen.
The big takeaway: ICE cars are on the chopping block, people…start buying up your dream versions now (and preferrably with a manual transmission!) as they will be the sought after.
Who knows, by 2050 my 97 Miata 5spd could be worth a mint!
