Special to WorldTribune, August 8, 2023
Commentary by Laurence F Sanford
Keep in mind that American taxpayers are subsidizing our nation’s growing energy dependence on a would-be communist superpower.
Why?
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured in China are now for sale in the U.S. They are Buick’s Envision and Sweden’s Polestar 2, with Lincoln Nautilus soon to follow. Many more Chinese EV brands are coming. Waiting in the wings to begin export to the U.S. are BYD Co., Li Auto, Xpeng Motors, Nio Inc., and Geely.
And, as the U.S. dismantles its combustion engine industry and all the ancillary industries to make way for EVs that Americans aren’t buying, American workers are losing jobs and suffering wage decreases. People working in repair shops, garages, gas stations, parts manufacturers, and distributors are just a few of those who will suffer.
Since 2018, over $112 billion has been invested by American automakers in EVs and batteries. American taxpayers are also spending over $300 billion to finance green energy and EVs, which will have little impact on carbon dioxide reduction and little, if any, impact on climate change. The climate is changing and has been changing for over four billion years.
Ford Motor announced it will lose $4.5 billion in EVs this year. Sales are lower than expected, with industry-wide 90,000 EVs sitting in dealer lots. Yet, due to government funding through the Investment Reduction Act (IRA), Ford and China’s Amperex Technology will partner to build a $3.5 billion EV battery plant in Michigan, betting (with taxpayer money) that U.S. customers will embrace EVs. Why would Americans embrace high-cost and poor-performance cars? In extreme heat or cold, batteries perform poorly. In cold weather, EVs lose 20% to 40% of their purported range. In California, some owners are suing Tesla for falsifying mileage ranges.
China has committed billions of dollars to EV development. Not to save the climate but because China has limited fossil fuels and could not compete worldwide with Western civilization companies’ combustion engine automobiles. China now leads the world in EV technologies which include lithium batteries and lithium raw material sourcing.
Chinese-owned BYD is already America’s largest manufacturer of electric buses. Proterra, a California company, is second. Converting buses from fossil fuels to electric, is a U.S. government high priority for reducing greenhouse gases emission into the atmosphere. BYD is not an American company, and therefore is ineligible to receive any of the $7.5 billion allocated to replace 50,000 diesel buses with electric vehicles. BYD is another Chinese company funded by Wall Street to the detriment of America. Warren Buffet alone claims over 8% ownership. BYD has hired numerous high-profile law firms and lobbyists to enjoin the government to include BYD in federal funding.
If China were interested in climate change and reducing carbon dioxide emissions, it wouldn’t be building hundreds of coal-powered plants while the U.S. is building none. But as Chairman Xi of the CCP has stated, he will not abandon coal-fired plants before renewable energy can substitute fossil fuel energy. Renewable energy will not and can not provide the necessary energy for Chinese society or any other society.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in the meantime, is issuing regulations that will cripple Americans with billions of dollars in costs to reduce emissions.
- A “tailpipe” rule would require by 2030 all new vehicle sales to be EVs. The cost for EVs is from $10,000 to $25,000 more per vehicle. Gas-powered cars have further mileage range, refuel quicker with more fueling options, weigh less, and recycle better than EVs. Who wants to buy a used EV when the replacement battery can cost $10,000 or more?
- All power plants bury or sequester 90 percent of their carbon emissions or shut down. The obvious solution is more nuclear power plants.
The U.S. electric grid is old and in serious need of an upgrade. Transformers critical to the grid are made in China and pose security issues. It is not possible to power our society with EPA regulation strangulations,combined with projected EV growth. Renewable energy can not meet the demand. California has rolling blackouts now,and has the highest electricity rates in the country due to its policies. Germany has the highest electricity rates in Europe, due to its closure of nuclear power plants and dependence upon so-called renewables. Carbon dioxide emissions have increased due to dependence on coal power plants when the wind doesn’t blow, and the sun doesn’t shine.
Lastly, lithium is dangerous to humans in mining and in manufacturing. Lithium is also dangerous to humans because lithium is unstable and when it catches fire, it is extremely difficult to put out. Several ships carrying lithium battery cars have caught fire with loss of life; one sunk in the mid-Atlantic with an estimated cost of $400 million. Recently a ship off the Netherlands has been burning for a week carrying lithium battery cars. A number of New York City residents have died from fires caused by their lithium battery-powered bikes.
Summary
Why is the United States government not following “science” and common sense? Is it because of a cult belief that human activity is the root cause of climate change? Or is it a Marxist belief that American capitalism is bad and needs to be replaced with state control? Science says the sun is the main factor in climate change, and history shows the climate has been changing for over four billion years.
The irrational dismantling of American energy and internal combustion engine industries will lead to CCP world dominance and American poverty in mind and body. China wins, and the U.S. loses; or Marxism wins, and American civilization loses.
Actions:
- Ban Chinese made EVs.
- Decouple from China. Raise tariffs. As long as the CCP rules China, Western civilization is threatened. Allowing China access to Western trade has not made China more democratic. On the contrary, the CCP is using Western rope to hang us.
- Reciprocity. Ban all CCP internet media such as TikTok until the CCP reciprocates in allowing Google and Facebook to operate in China.
- Reduce the U.S. administrative state. Government regulations by the administrative state (EPA/FCC/FTC) are strangling American innovation and industry.
Peace through strength!
Laurence Sanford graduated from Boston College and then served in the U.S. Navy Pacific fleet from 1963 to 1966. He then served as an officer in the clandestine service of the Central Intelligence Agency for over 4 years, including a two-year assignment in Hong Kong. Mr. Sanford serves as a Senior Analyst with the American Security Council Foundation and is also President of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers — Florida Satellite Chapter.
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