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KXAN deep dive into toll billing woes, includes look at pay-to-play

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Check out the story on KXAN-TV Austin here.

TURF Founder/Director & Texans for Toll-free Highways Founder, Terri Hall was interviewed in this story.

Despite this coverage in the press, none of our toll billing reform bills passed, although HB 2170 (Guerra) was a good start and contained language from our reform bill, HB 2991 (Harrison).

Radical climate agenda passing in Republican House

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Link to Scorecard Op/Ed here.

How Democrats are passing radical climate policies in Republican House

By Terri Hall, Founder/Director, Texas TURF & Texans for Toll-free Highways
May 2, 2023
Texas Scorecard


When Texas State Representative Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) filed a bill to place the state of Texas under a mandatory Climate Action Plan, many across the aisle cried foul. ‘That’ll never happen in Texas. We’re an oil and gas state.’

But the radical policies that come along with a Green New Deal-style Climate Action Plan are being quietly chopped up and parsed out to various other lawmakers who aren’t viewed as far Left as Zwiener, which are sailing through the House Transportation Committee with barely a whimper of opposition from Republicans.

Though Republicans hold an 86-64 seat majority in the Texas House, Democrats still chair significant committees, including House Transportation chaired by Terry Canales (D-Edinburg). While Austin’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) includes intentional slowing of speeds for cars and traffic calming measures designed to restrict the free flow of auto lanes, such climate equity plans can also include increasing penalties on speeding and other aspects of driving. For instance, prohibiting cars from pass pedestrians and cyclists without a specific distance as a buffer. Anything to put barriers in the way of free flowing traffic. Houston’s Climate Action Plan also calls for slower speeds and other anti-car measures, with the express intent of getting people out of their cars and into buses or onto bikes.
Read more: Radical climate agenda...

STOP the bill to slow down our highways!

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RED ALERT: FINAL vote on HB 2224 today (Thurs., April 20).


The senate bill has already passed. If we don't stop HB 2224, it will become law as of Sept. 1!

Call your Texas State Representative and tell them to vote 'No!' on HB 2224. Capital switchboard: (512) 463-4630. They can tell you who your state rep. is.


What does HB 2224 do?


HB 2224(Hernandez) -This bill would give cities unilateral power to lower speed limits on highways (not designated part of the state highway system) down to 20 MPH if they consider the posted speeds ‘unreasonable or unsafe.’ This language is too broad language, especially considering part two of this bill where it gives cities the authority to change speed limits on the fly  without a traffic or engineering investigation  to justify it.
 
These cities could use this language to turn almost any highway into a 20 MPH zone - effectively a school zone. This subsection applies to a  two-lane, undivided highway or part of a  highway.  Highways should  not  be slowed to 20 MPH!
 
This is part of cities' push for California-style  Vision Zerotraffic calming measures, which have the opposite effect of calming. These techniques  intentionally slow down cars  to make them miserable enough to switch to transit, walking or biking to get around. This is the stated goal of Vision Zero-style plans adopted by city officials in most Texas cities.
 
Houston Mayor  Sylvester Turner  admits,
 
"When the buses and the trains are going faster than the cars and the trucks, people will exit the cars and the trucks and use the buses and the trains.”
 
(SOURCE: ‘Houston to Unveil Vision Zero Plan for Zero Traffic Fatalities by 2030',The Texan, November 2020.)
 
"Vision Zero concepts have been  adopted by the United Nations  (UN) and are promoted under the organization’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and a special resolution to improve global road safety.
 
"The UN also urges member nations to increase use of public transportation, promote pedestrian walkways and bicycle lanes, establish 'safe speed limits' and implement 'speed restricting mechanisms.'"
 
(SOURCE: ‘Harris County Seeks to Achieve Zero Traffic Fatalities by 2030, Mirrors UN Plan',The Texan, August 2020.)
 
Austin’s Climate Action Plan  states: “We created the plan through the lens of racial equity…” Under strategy #4: “Support locally initiated community events that are car-free and  expand “Slow Streets” programs…” In its bicycle policy is states: “These local, neighborhood streets are naturally more attractive for all cyclists, and can be further improved for people through measures such as  traffic calming…”
 
FHWA defines traffic calming as: “The primary purpose of traffic calming is to support the livability…of residential and commercial areas …These objectives are typically  achieved by reducing vehicle speeds.” Urge your State Rep. to oppose this bill.
 
We can keep our streets safe without going to  extremes.
 
Tell your State Rep. to vote 'No' on HB 2224!

John Deere settles right to repair lawsuit with farmers, same issues coming to cars

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Link to article here.

Deere gives farmers long-sought ability to repair their own tractors

Brian Fung
By Brian Fung, CNN
Published 11:47 AM EST, Mon January 9, 2023

Washington CNN  — US farmers will have the right to repair tractors and other agricultural equipment from John Deere without having to use the manufacturer’s own parts and facilities, under an agreement the company signed Sunday with farm industry representatives.

The agreement marks a major victory for farmer and consumer advocacy groups, who have complained for years about the repair limitations Deere has imposed on its products and technology, from software locks to requirements to use official dealers for repairs. The restrictions have inspired multiple lawsuits against the company and created a high-profile public relations headache in which farmers have accused Deere of interfering with their ability to plant and harvest crops on a timely basis.

The memorandum of understanding with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) gives farmers access to the same Deere documentation, data and diagnostic tools used by the company’s authorized repair shops. Farmers will be able to diagnose and fix broken down equipment on their own or by choosing an independent repair facility, which will also have access to the proprietary tools and data on the same fair and reasonable terms, according to the MOU.

In exchange, AFBF officials agreed not to push for state or federal legislation promoting users’ right to repair products they’ve leased or purchased. Under the MOU, farmers and third-party repair shops may not disable on-board safety features or use their access to Deere’s technology to illegally copy the software controlling their equipment.

The voluntary deal safeguards Deere’s intellectual property while giving farmers more control of their own business, said Zippy Duvall, president of AFBF.

“A piece of equipment is a major investment,” Duvall said in a statement. “Farmers must have the freedom to choose where equipment is repaired, or to repair it themselves, to help control costs.”

John Deere’s SVP of agriculture and turf marketing, David Gilmore, said in a statement that the agreement reflects the “longstanding commitment Deere has made to ensure our customers have the diagnostic tools and information they need to make many repairs to their machines. We look forward to working alongside the American Farm Bureau and our customers in the months and years ahead to ensure farmers continue to have the tools and resources to diagnose, maintain and repair their equipment.”

The MOU aims to resolve longstanding claims that the requirement to use authorized dealerships can interfere with agricultural production, harming farmers and disrupting the food supply chain. Farmers have said having to wait days or weeks for an official repair can undermine planting and harvesting schedules. Some advocacy groups have blamed the delays on consolidation in tractor dealerships, the majority of which are controlled by Deere, according to the US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG).

“There is one John Deere dealership chain for every 12,018 farms and every 5.3 million acres of American farmland,” the group wrote in a report last year.

The agricultural industry has become a battleground in the wider movement for the so-called right to repair movement, which focuses not only on farm equipment but also on consumer electronics such as smartphones, tablets, computers and even household appliances. A notable target of complaints has been Apple, which is known for shipping ultra-thin devices sealed with special glue or with unremovable components including batteries and memory chips. Apple has said for years that customers should rely on authorized repair facilities, citing potential dangers to users and their devices if they attempt their own maintenance.

The issue has won the attention of the Biden administration: In 2021, a White House executive order called on the Federal Trade Commission to develop new rules to promote the right to repair. In response, the FTC vowed to “root out” illegal repair restrictions. Months later, Apple announced a self-service repair program allowing users to fix their own iPhones and Macs using Apple-made tools and parts.

Last month, New York became the first US state to enact a right-to-repair law. Since 2000, US lawmakers have introduced more than a dozen bills dealing with the right to repair, focusing on automobiles, farm equipment and repairs of medical devices during the Covid-19 pandemic.

With Sunday’s MOU, however, the tension between farmers and Deere has been resolved without the need for regulation or legislation, the agreement said.

EV craze coming to an end as reality sets in

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Link to article here.

‘EV Mania May Be Over’ as Car Production Estimates and Executive Enthusiasm Wane: Institute for Energy Research

By Naveen Athrappully
Epoch Times
January 21, 2023, Updated: January 22, 2023

A driver charges his electric vehicle at a charging station as the California Independent System Operator announced a statewide electricity Flex Alert urging conservation to avoid blackouts in Monterey Park, Calif., on Aug. 31, 2022. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
A driver charges his electric vehicle at a charging station as the California Independent System Operator announced a statewide electricity Flex Alert urging conservation to avoid blackouts in Monterey Park, Calif., on Aug. 31, 2022. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

 

Electric vehicle (EV) “mania” might be at an end, or, at a minimum, easing down, according to research, as concerns about supply chains, lithium sourcing, inflation, and more affect production capacities while customer demand decelerates globally, as evidenced by industry leader Tesla cutting prices in order to increase sales.

In Europe, EV car manufacturers are slowing production due to uncertainties around lithium supply for batteries as well as electric vehicles proving to be expensive for the middle class, according to a Jan. 18 Institute for Energy Research (IER) post. This year, Europe is expected to output 12 million cars, which is a million less than earlier estimates.

The average price of an EV in Europe during the first half of 2022 was 55,821 euros, up by over 14 percent from 48,942 euros in 2015, according to a report by automotive market research firm JATO. An EV in Europe is 27 percent more expensive than a gasoline car. These factors raise an affordability challenge for the sector in a region where EV-adoption is generally more accepted than in North America.

The issue of lithium sourcing, as a challenge for EVs becoming mainstream, was highlighted by geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan in September last year.

“The lithium comes from one place, and it’s all processed in China. So, just building the alternate processing infrastructure … and by the way, we have to invade Russia too … just to get the materials to do EVs at scale is just laughable for the next decade,” he said at the time.

Meanwhile, in the UK, production estimates for electric cars and vans in 2025 have been reduced from 360,000 to 280,000. Consumers in the UK are worried about the operating costs of EVs since the average cost of charging an electric car has risen by 58 percent since last May.

In the United States, sales of electric cars rose in 2022 by 66 percent compared to the overall decline in auto sales of roughly 8 percent.

The IER believes that “the EV mania may be over or at least slowing” down given interest rate hikes, supply chain shortages, inflation, and restriction on tax credits.

“While some politicians are following in California’s footsteps by banning gasoline-powered vehicles and President [Joe] Biden has a goal for 50 percent of new car sales in 2030 to be electric, those feats may not be attainable due to problems in manufacturing and selling of electric vehicles,” the IER said.

“Range and performance problems still exist making consumers wary. And with escalating electric rates, operating costs may not be less than those for gasoline vehicles as Europe is seeing.”

An analysis by The Wall Street Journal in December shows that drivers of Tesla’s Model 3 had to pay 18.46 euros at a Tesla supercharger station in Europe for a 100-mile drive.

In contrast, drivers in Germany had to shell out a slightly lower 18.31 euros to drive the same distance on a Honda Civic 4-door, which is the Tesla Model 3’s combustion engine equivalent.

Global EV Sales, Tesla Price Cuts

A KPMG survey of more than 910 auto executives conducted last year found that expectations of worldwide EV sales have tempered.

In 2021, auto execs were “very optimistic” about the prospects of global EV sales, expecting the vehicles to capture as much as 70 percent market share by 2030. But in the 2022 survey, the expected market share plummeted to 40 percent at most.

“The closer the expert is to the customer, the lower the EV share expectations seem to be,” says the report. “For example, U.S. executives say car dealers expect EVs to capture 22 percent of the market by 2030, eight percentage points less than OEMs predict,” referring to the original equipment manufacturers.

Tesla has cut prices of its cars by up to 20 percent in Europe and the United States in a bid to boost demand. By doing so, the company is sacrificing some of its profits to raise sales volume.

By reducing prices, some of the lower tier electric car models being sold in the United States will qualify for federal tax credits worth $7,500.

Restricting EV Sales in America

In the United States, some states are seeking to restrict the sale of EV’s. In Wyoming, six Republican lawmakers are pushing to phase out the sale of new electric vehicles by 2035 to protect its oil and gas industries as well as to preserve crucial resources.

In a recently introduced bill, the lawmakers note that allowing the proliferation of electric vehicles at the expense of gas-powered vehicles will seriously affect the state’s economy as well as its communities.

Moreover, the batteries used in the EVs contain critical minerals needed in many other applications. The domestic supply of these minerals is limited and at “risk of disruption,” the bill stated.

In addition to that, these critical minerals are “are not easily recyclable or disposable, meaning that municipal landfills in Wyoming and elsewhere will be required to develop practices to dispose of these minerals in a safe and responsible manner,” the bill adds.

In California, the local administration is pushing for greater use of EVs. However, the state’s poor power infrastructure is raising a question about the possibility of such a transition. In September, California’s electric grid regulator had asked people to avoid charging their EVs so as to avoid outages.

EVs are also seen as some of the least reliable vehicles sold in the United States. According to the Consumer Reports 2022 Annual Auto Reliability survey published in November that looked at 24 auto brands, hybrid vehicles and mid-sized or large and gas-powered sedans are seen as among the most reliable vehicles sold in the country.

In contrast, full-size pickup trucks and electric vehicles were seen as problematic. Owners of EVs reported issues with electric motors, batteries, and charging systems. Out of the 11 EV models in the survey, only four had average or better than average predicted reliability.

Toll tax for every mile coming? States consider mileage tax

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Link to article here.

Pay per Mile: States Move Toward User-Based Road Tax

Hybrid drivers pay twice

By Beth Brelje
Epoch Times
January 16, 2023, Updated: January 25, 2023
Traffic backs up at the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge toll plaza on Aug. 24, 2022. California announced a ban on the sale of new gasoline-powered cars after 2035 in a push to transition to electric vehicles, on Aug. 25, 2022. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Traffic backs up at the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge toll plaza on Aug. 24, 2022. California announced a ban on the sale of new gasoline-powered cars after 2035 in a push to transition to electric vehicles, on Aug. 25, 2022. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
 

With each gallon of gasoline pumped in the United States since 1932, drivers have been paying taxes. The revenue is used for road repairs and public transportation such as train and bus systems.

Currently, the federal government takes 18.4 cents per gallon for gas or 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel. State gas taxes range from a national high of 61 cents per gallon for gas in Pennsylvania, to a low of 8.95 cents per gallon in Alaska.

But environmentally motivated improvements in fuel efficiency and the move to electric vehicles (EVs) translate to less gas sold, resulting in less tax revenue collected.

State and federal governments are looking for a new way to fund transportation. Through numerous studies by transportation organizations, they’ve landed on mileage-based user fees (MBUF); vehicle miles traveled fees; road user charges, or highway use fees (HUF). The acronyms all mean the same thing: Drivers pay a tax for each mile traveled.

Read more: Toll tax for every mile...

Tesla battery fire takes 6,000 gallons of water to extinguish

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Tesla car battery 'spontaneously' bursts into flames on California highway, firefighters need 6,000 gallons to put it out
By Carlos Garcia
The Blaze
January 30, 2023

Sacramento fire officials said that it took 6,000 gallons to put out a fire caused by Tesla car batteries that had "spontaneously" burst into flames.

The official Twitter account for the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District issued a series of tweets documenting the incident near Rancho Cordova in California on Saturday.

"Crews arrived to a Tesla Model S engulfed in flames, nothing unusual prior. 2 Fire Engines, a water tender, and a ladder truck were requested to assist," the department tweeted with four photographs.

"Crews used jacks to access the underside to extinguish and cool the battery. Thousands of gallons were used in extinguishment," they added.

They went on to say that the battery cells continued to combust as firefighters attempted to put out the fire.
Read more: Tesla battery fire...

EVs government scheme to implement green agenda

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Horowitz: Study shows electric vehicles are a scam propped up by government
Op-ed
By Daniel Horowitz
The Blaze
February 02, 2023
 
SimonSkafar/Getty Images


With the exception of the COVID shots, there is perhaps nothing in the economy that has gotten more tailwind in terms of government support than electric vehicles. Whether it’s the subsidies, the mandates, the inflation of the cost of gasoline, or the construction of cumbersome electric charging infrastructure, the government has done everything it can to turn a product that is inherently costly and impractical into something accessible to the public. Yet despite it all, a new study shows fueling these cars is more expensive than most gas-powered cars, even with record high gasoline prices, which were induced by policies from the same green energy. Now is the time to end all subsidies and mandates on behalf of this pathetic industry.

It’s truly hard to quantify the degree to which government has propped up green energy and products that never would have gotten off the ground in the free market. Between making gasoline so expensive and making gas cars more expensive with fuel efficiency mandates on the one hand, and subsidizing electric vehicles and all their required infrastructure on the other hand, electric cars have every reason to succeed. Heck, all blue states are even signaling the end of gas-powered cars altogether, and some are even mandating it. The subsidies reached a tipping point with the “Inflation Reduction Act,” which offers a subsidy of $7,500 per electric vehicle. But a new study shows that it still costs more to fuel an EV after spending so much more for the original purchase.

“Typical mid-priced ICE car drivers paid about $11.29 to fuel their vehicles for 100 miles of driving,” concluded a study from consulting firm Anderson Economic Group. “That cost was around $0.31 cheaper than the amount paid by mid-priced EV drivers charging mostly at home, and over $3 less than the cost borne by comparable EV drivers charging commercially.”

Oh, and let’s not forget that time is money. You have to spend an average of $18 per charge and spend 15 minutes per 100 miles traveled. Good luck on your family road trip this summer with the baby screaming in the car who was woken up after finally taking a nap, thanks to the incessant need to stop.

The only benefit the Michigan-based consulting firm found to fueling EVs over traditional cars was, of course, among the high-end luxury cars used by the elites promoting these products.

This is astounding given the record-high gas prices this past year, especially for winter months. This means that even after spending more money for the purchase of an EV, you are saddling yourself with a boondoggle to maintain. The problem for the parasitic, venture socialist industry is that the very regressive green policies that are harming the oil and car industries are doing even more damage to the electric grid. Thanks to the war on coal, oil refineries, and pipelines and the stagnation of nuclear energy by the same radical eco groups, electricity prices are skyrocketing even more than gasoline. All that “investment” in solar and wind is not there for us during our time of need. Now we face the prospect of electric grid failures more acutely than even oil and gas shortages.

Just consider what would happen during these heat waves if we only had electric vehicles. California grid operators warned people during last summer’s heat wave to ease off charging their cars. Now imagine if they had their way and 100% of cars were electric and 100% of the electricity was generated from wind and solar. Well, you’d be stuck at home … which is exactly how they want it.

Biden’s signature legislation last year handed out over $50 billion to the electric vehicle industry, including $7.7 billion for EV charging stations and $10.3 billion in grid and battery subsidies. But just like money can’t buy you love, it also can’t buy you efficacy, efficiency, or safety. Despite all of the corporate welfare for green energy, it’s still natural fuels from the earth that are holding up Texas’s grid during this cold spell and ice storm in the northern part of the state.

 
\u201cTexas Grid Snapshot\u2026 yet 8 out of 10 new projects are wind and solar \n\nWe must change that. #txlege \n\nWe\u2019ll fight federal subsidies.\u201d
— Chip Roy (@Chip Roy) 1675209997

What was powering northern Texas during the ice storm? As the Energy Information Administration data shows, natural gas was the star player while wind collapsed, despite Texas throwing tens of billions of dollars at it.

 

 

 

As for efficiency, a 2021 study shows that even if EVs were more economical post-purchase in terms of fueling per mile, there are fewer miles to monetize those returns. According to the paper from the Bureau of Economic Research, the average family EV only racked up 5,300 miles per year, less than half the 13,476 miles per year driven by normal privately owned cars. Thus, the savings in operating these cars was always a mirage because they are just driven less. They could never possibly replace internal combustion vehicles, just like wind and solar cannot replace oil, gas, and coal for electricity and fuel. Yet the government has mandated automobile manufacturers to quadruple the market share of EVs in their fleets.

Then, of course, there is the issue of safety. Recently, it was found that during Hurricane Ian, electric vehicles caught in the storm surge in southwest Florida were suddenly exploding. DeWalt’s new no-turn electric mower also seems to have problems, as one model caught fire on the opening day of Equip Expo 2022. These are the sorts of issues that are worked out when a product has to rise or fall in the free market without a permanent guarantee of income. But with endless subsidies, we can only imagine the economic and societal problems from an EV-only road show.

 

Moreover, what this all demonstrates is that EVs were never meant to replace traditional cars to fulfill our needs and standard of living. They are serving as a Trojan horse to break our standard of living so that we will “own nothing and be happy,” as the WEF officials like to say. They want us to pay a fortune for cars and then barely be able to drive them because of the cost of electricity that they are concomitantly and artificially increasing thanks to other global warming regulations and market distortions.

Oh, and of course, no action taken against our prosperity, liberty, and mobility is complete unless it helps China. We all know China controls 76% of global EV battery production, and the nickel, cobalt, and lithium used to produce these batteries are all produced abroad. So now we are subsidizing China and other bad actors to make the rope that hangs our economy, which is pretty much in line with every other government policy. All they need now is to absolve these companies of product liability, and they will be just like the COVID shots.

So why do Republican governors continue to service the electric vehicle scam? Why do they continue to place the boot of government on the scale toward these loser vehicles? The time has come for red states to completely divest from the green energy scam.

Congressman warns of kill switch, urges complete repeal

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Link to article here.

BARR: Biden’s ‘Infrastructure’ Bill Contains Backdoor ‘Kill Switch’ For Cars
By Former Rep. Bob Barr Contributor
Daily Wire
November 29, 2021

Buried deep within the massive infrastructure legislation recently signed by President Joe Biden is a little-noticed “safety” measure that will take effect in five years. Marketed to Congress as a benign tool to help prevent drunk driving, the measure will mandate that automobile manufacturers build into every car what amounts to a “vehicle kill switch.”

As has become standard for legislative mandates passed by Congress, this measure is disturbingly short on details. What we do know is that the “safety” device must “passively monitor the performance of a driver of a motor vehicle to accurately identify whether that driver may be impaired.”

Everything about this mandatory measure should set off red flares.

First, use of the word “passively” suggests the system will always be on and constantly monitoring the vehicle. Secondly, the system must connect to the vehicle’s operational controls, so as to disable the vehicle either before driving or during, when impairment is detected. Thirdly, it will be an “open” system, or at least one with a backdoor, meaning authorized (or unauthorized) third-parties can remotely access the system’s data at any time.

This is a privacy disaster in the making, and the fact that the provision made it through the Congress reveals — yet again — how little its members care about the privacy of their constituents.
Read more: Congressman warns of...

Toyota president says silent majority doesn't believe EVs should be only option

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Toyota president says auto industry 'silent majority' wonders if electric vehicles 'are really OK to have as a single option

By Alex Nitzberg
The Blaze
December 21, 2022

While electric vehicles may seem to be all the rage in the automotive space, Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda is pumping the brakes on the idea of an all-in approach.

"People involved in the auto industry are largely a silent majority," Toyoda told reporters during a trip to Thailand, according to the Wall Street Journal. "That silent majority is wondering whether EVs are really OK to have as a single option. But they think it's the trend so they can't speak out loudly."

"Because the right answer is still unclear, we shouldn't limit ourselves to just one option," he said, according to the outlet — during the past few years, he said, he has attempted to communicate this idea to stakeholders in the automotive space, including government figures, but he indicated that his effort had been tiring at points.

"Is there interest in electric vehicles? Yes. Is it more than 10% to 15% of our customer base? No way," said Ryan Gremore, a dealer based in Illinois who owns a number of brand franchises, according to the outlet.

Read more: Toyota president says...

Buttigieg interested in ban on gas powered vehicles

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Federal ban on new gas-powered cars? Buttigieg is 'really interested' in California's new regulation

By Chris Enloe
The Blaze
September 13, 2022

Could the federal government impose a ban on new gas-powered cars

What did California do?

In late August, the California Air Resources Board approved a new rule banning the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

The regulation does not ban Californians from driving vehicles with internal combustion engines, but it mandates that any new vehicle sold in the state with a model year of 2035 or later must be free of fossil fuel emissions.

What did Buttigieg say?

The transportation secretary told KTTV-TV last week that he is "really interested" in regulations like those in California. In fact, Buttigieg suggested such a policy may be considered nationally.

"It’s interesting to see how the states are trying to go above and beyond what we’re doing at the federal level," Buttigieg told the news station.

"I’m really interested in these developments, while we continue to set a national policy that’s the baseline for all of this. We need to move in the direction of electric vehicles," he added.

Read more: Buttigieg interested in...

Globalists want to get rid of 90% of cars, make you eat bugs

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The WEF Wants to Reduce Car Ownership by 90 Percent and Nudge People Into Eating Plants and Bugs › American Greatness

By Debra Heine, American Greatness, July 29, 2022


As they push for a global transition to a “green economy,” the World Economic Forum (WEF) is seeking to dramatically reduce both meat consumption, and the number of cars on the road worldwide.

The globalists say steps like eliminating car ownership need to be taken to reduce reliance on critical metals in the coming years.

“This transition from fossil fuels to renewables will need large supplies of critical metals such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, to name a few,” the forum said in a report earlier this month. They added that “shortages of these critical minerals could raise the costs of clean energy technologies,” which include cellphones, electric vehicles, wind turbines and efficient lighting.

Read more: Globalists want to get...

Journalist spends more time charging EV than sleeping

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Journalist attempts road trip in electric car, ends up spending more time charging than sleeping

By Phil Shiver
The Blaze
June 7, 2022

Wall Street Journal reporter Rachel Wolfe recently ventured from New Orleans, Louisiana to Chicago, Illinois in a brand-new Kia EV6 to test America's current electric vehicle capabilities and public-charging infrastructure. By the end of her exhausting trip, she said the fumes of gasoline — though particularly expensive at the moment — "never smelled so sweet."

Never again. Well, at least not for awhile, Wolfe would likely say if someone asked her to make a lengthy EV road trip another time.

In a column for the newspaper published this month, the reporter chronicled the difficult journey with all of its pitfalls. It included a shorter range than expected, finicky charging cords, loads of slower-than-advertised charging stations, and large swaths of the country without any "fast" charging stations at all, among other hardships.

Read more: Journalist spends more...

TxDOT buys into EV craze, to spend $408 million on charging stations

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Texas Department of Transportation to Create Statewide Network of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Anticipating one million electric vehicles on the road by 2028, the state wants to build a network of charging stations starting with interstate routes.

Rob Laucius June 27, 2022, The Texan

https://thetexan.news/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Electric-Vehicle-EV-Charging-Station-1280x854.jpg

Photo by Oxana Melis/Unsplash

 
 
In its “Texas Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan” draft released June 12, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) laid out its proposal to create more electric vehicle (EV) charging stations throughout the sta

 

According to the draft, it is “a multi-year plan to enable current and future drivers of EVs to confidently travel across the state for work, recreation, and exploration.”

The idea was conceived after the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into law by President Biden in November 2021. The federal law allocated $408 million for Texas to create a network of charging stations.

The White House also stated that, “Texas will also have the opportunity to apply for the $2.5 billion in grant funding dedicated to EV charging in the bill.”

According to their schedule in the draft, TxDOT will submit the plan to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) by August 1, 2022 and, pending approval, will submit their solicitation for charging stations by October 1. TxDOT wants to start awarding contracts to build charging stations in January 2023 and continue for the next five years.

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Buttigieg: 'Roads are racist' plan to use road funding to make amends for past

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Buttigieg initiative to address racial inequalities in highway systems: 'It's about mending what has been broken'

By Cortney Weil
The Blaze
June 30, 2022

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has launched an initiative that seeks to redress inequalities created by civil engineering in previous generations.

According to the AP, Buttigieg's Reconnecting Communities project aims to reunify historically black neighborhoods divided decades ago when the interstate highway system was developed and restore the civic pride that comes with safe and beautiful green spaces.

“Transportation can connect us to jobs, services and loved ones, but we‘ve also seen countless cases around the country where a piece of infrastructure cuts off a neighborhood or a community because of how it was built,” Buttigieg said on Thursday.
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GOP opposes 'road diet' including on SA's Broadway

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New Texas GOP platform condemns ‘road diets,’ complicating path for Broadway

by Andrea Drusch July 9, 2022, San Antonio Report


Proponents of San Antonio’s Broadway renovation hope Gov. Greg Abbott will back down on his opposition to lane reductions — a key feature of the project’s multimodal corridor — after the November election. 

But transportation activists who’ve supported the governor are seeking to tie his hands on the issue as Abbott heads into a tightening reelection race this fall. 

Plank 63 in the 2022 Texas GOP platform, released Wednesday, calls for the party to oppose “anti-car measures,” including ‘road diet’ mandates designed to shrink auto capacity and/or intentionally clog vehicle lanes to force deference to pedestrian, bike, and mass transit options.”

Kerrville conservative activist Terri Hall, whose group Texans Uniting for Reform & Freedom (TURF) fights toll roads and lane reduction projects across the state, pushed for the plank’s inclusion.

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TxDOT stands firm against reducing lanes of highway for bikers, pedestrians

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TxDOT gives cold shoulder to San Antonio’s latest plan to remake Broadway

by Andrea Drusch August 2, 2022, San Antonio Report


The City of San Antonio’s latest plan to bring the Texas Department of Transportation back on board with its plans for the the Broadway corridor appears dead on arrival.

San Antonio submitted an updated proposal for the Broadway renovation that would make some changes to address TxDOT’s concerns with traffic congestion through synchronized traffic signals, consolidated driveways and raised medians to eliminate left turns. The new plan would still include reducing the number of lanes from six to four, something TxDOT has said it won’t consider.

City leaders presented the plan to TxDOT officials, including Texas Transportation Commission Chairman J. Bruce Bugg Jr., on June 14. City Manager Erik Walsh said Tuesday the city hadn’t received a response, but TxDOT later issued a statement reiterating the agency’s opposition to lane reductions.

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Mileage tax means tracking your every move, using carbon footprint against you

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Electric Car Drivers: Why You Might Not Be Pumped Over Privacy-Jolting Mileage Taxes

By Eric Felten
Epoch Times
August 3, 2022

The environmental impact of electric cars may still be unknown, but leaders are growing concerned about the threat they pose to the financing of the nation’s highway system. Because freeways and bridges are funded, in large part, through federal and state taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, the battery-powered future will test whether roads can just be paved with good intentions.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are trying to devise new ways to raise that fuel tax revenue, which in fiscal year 2020 delivered $35 billion to the federal government and an additional $51 billion to state and local governments. But experts say that proposed fixes to the anticipated highway funding shortfall—involving charging drivers for the miles they travel by tracking their movement—pose a significant threat to personal privacy and liberty.

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Drivers will be tracked using new carbon reporting systems

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Americans Likely to Be Tracked for CO2 Emissions Under SEC’s New Climate Rule: Consumers' Research

By Harry Lee and Paul Greaney
Epoch Times
July 24, 2022

Will your CO2 emissions data be collected and reported to the government in the near future? A consumer rights group said that a new rule proposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would lay the groundwork for doing so.

On March 21, the SEC proposed a rule titled “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors” (pdf). The nearly 500-page rule would require SEC registrants—mostly public companies, investment advisers, and broker-dealers—to report certain climate-related information including their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The GHG emissions are categorized into three scopes. Scope 1 is the registrant’s direct GHG emissions. Scope 2 is its indirect GHG emissions from purchased electricity and other forms of energy. Scope 3 is indirect emissions from upstream and downstream activities in a registrant’s value chain.

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EVs pose a dangerous strain on electric grid

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How Mass Adoption of Electric Vehicles Will Impact the Power Grid

By Katie Spence
Epoch Times
July 28, 2022

In January 2021, the Biden administration announced its plans to transition the United States to 100 percent “clean” electricity by 2035, and to have half of all new vehicles sold be zero-emission vehicles by 2030.

One hundred percent clean energy by 2035 is an ambitious goal, and adding a considerable amount of electric vehicles (EVs) to the country’s power grid is forecast to increase electricity demands substantially.

For example, in 2021, EV sales reached 6.6 million, according to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). And the increase in just light-duty EVs added 1,700 gigawatt-hours in annual energy load to the U.S. electric grid, according to the independent and nonprofit energy research firm Electric Power Research Institute.

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Latest News

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