#162-California to ban sale of new ICE vehicles in 2035 - a podcast by Marc Hoag

California recently announced a ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in 2035. This is an incredible decision but one which has been met with a surprising -- or not -- amount of resistance. I'm going to explain why everybody who disagrees with this is wrong.

The first argument I've heard is people complaining that they should be allowed to buy ICE vehicles. This is not a ban on the sale of all ICE vehicles; only new ones.

The second argument I've heard is that this will unfairly burden low income families. First, everything in the US unfairly burdens low income families thanks to our woefully inept social safety net. Second, low income families tend to buy used cars, not new cars (never mind the fact that most people in general tend to buy used cars), so this won't actually change anything.

Third, and as a follow-up to the previous point, it needs to be pointed out that we're talking about something 15 years in the future; that's about as long as Tesla has been around (17 years), and look what it's accomplished in that time. Come 2035, not only Tesla, but countless other auto-makers will offer EVs in the $20K price range ($30K assuming 3% inflation rates); and countless used EVs will be available by then in the $10K-$20K range, if not cheaper. 

Finally, the simple fact is that this sort of change must happen; it cannot not happen. The mathematically certain risks due to climate mandate that we make such drastic changes, or the harm caused by inaction will be far greater than the secondary harm caused by action.

Have a listen to hear me ramble on in a not dispassionate way about why this ban absolutely needs to happen, and why, if you disagree with me, you're wrong.

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