California doesn't have the capability to support the electric car push: Shellenberger
Environmental Progress founder Michael Shellenberger says California is 'incredibly poorly managed' as Gov. Newsom pushes an electric vehicle mandate that could stress the power grid
Michael Shellenberger, founder of Environmental Progress, criticized California’s "incredibly poor" management as leaders push for electric vehicles during an ongoing energy crisis. He warned that climate "hysteria" has led to poor decisions, and, ultimately, increased dependency on China.
Shellenberger, author of books like "San Fransicko" and "Apocalypse Never," pointed out the irony of Gov. Gavin Newsom issuing an executive order to increase the electricity supply ahead of a major heatwave, just days after the state moved to ban gas-powered cars in favor of electric vehicles.
He said on "America’s Newsroom" Thursday that the state’s infrastructure isn’t prepared for the massive switch.
"This is what you get when you convince yourself that the end of the world is nigh and that climate change is something that is going to basically destroy civilization within the next 12 years," Shellenberger told host Trace Gallagher.,
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He noted the dramatic and swift shift to EVs requires technological changes and advancements, not simply the passage of laws, in order to be successful.
"There’s a still a big debate about whether or not electric vehicles are the right way to go," he added, noting that EVs largely depend on China's rare earth metals and manufacturing.
"We’re in the worst energy crisis in 50 years," Shellenberger said. "This is not the time to be becoming more dependent on a totalitarian regime like China."
The decision to require all new vehicles in the state to run on electricity by 2035 by the California Air Resources Board that came two years after Gov. Gavin Newsom first directed regulators to consider such a policy. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
He warned the state’s power grid isn’t equipped to handle the current number of EVs, much less the millions more that will be on the road when the ban on gas-powered cars takes effect in 2035, and stressed the need for more reliable sources of energy.
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"We need to be more deliberate and rational and science-based about this, rather than basically taking orders from angry adolescents and from people that are convinced the sky is falling," he said.
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