Does President Joe Biden want us to lose a major war? That&#8217;s the question after Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm told Congress that she wants an all-electric military vehicle fleet by 2030. Senators called the plan &#8220;laughable&#8221; while pointing out that the big winner if this were to happen would be America&#8217;s top adversary: China.
&#8220;I do, and I think we can get there, as well,&#8221; Granholm testified before the Senate after Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-energy-secretary-doubles-down-on-electrifying-us-militarys-vehicle-fleet-2030-we-can-get-there" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> if she supported an &#8220;All EV Fleet&#8221; proposal. &#8220;I do think that reducing our reliance on the volatility of globally traded fossil fuels where we know that global events like the war in Ukraine can jack up prices for people back home … does not contribute to energy security.&#8221;
Afterward, Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) <a href="https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/6326401012112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox Business that the plan was ridiculous — but an unsurprising result of Biden&#8217;s personnel policy choices.
&#8220;This is what happens when you have a president who puts activists in place of this country instead of putting real people who&#8217;ve been there, done that,&#8221; he said.
Mullin went on to explain why the idea is just not feasible or practical.
&#8220;I mean, just think about this,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;re gonna have — we&#8217;re gonna go to war. We&#8217;re going to have electric vehicles &#8230; none of us have ever heard of EMP before  — electromagnetic pulses,&#8221; he said sarcastically, in reference to weapons that can wipe out electronics. &#8220;But not besides that, we&#8217;re going to be out in a battlefield where they don&#8217;t really have what you&#8217;d consider charging stations. So to charge the fleet — we&#8217;re going to be pulling these huge diesel generators to charge the fleets — and when they go down, instead of just simply running up there and pull it for fuel. No, we&#8217;re gonna have to sit there for hours [while] these batteries charge.&#8221;
Mullin also pointed that America would be depending upon the Chinese Communist Party to create the super-charged batteries that would be needed to power these batteries. EV batteries rely on critical minerals — a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/12/14/rare-earth-mines-00071102#:~:text=As%20of%20today%2C%20China%20accounts,firearms%2C%20radars%20and%20stealth%20aircraft." target="_blank" rel="noopener">field</a> in which China overwhelmingly dominates the market.
&#8220;This makes zero sense but in a woke president that you have in President Biden in his woke cabinets,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;These are the kind of results and ridiculous comments that you have.&#8221;
On Sunday, Ernst also slammed Granholm for her suggestion.
&#8220;You don’t fight a war that way,” Ernst <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/04/30/joni-ernst-slams-biden-push-for-u-s-military-all-electric-vehicles-you-dont-fight-a-war-that-way/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> to during a radio interview. The Iowa senator argued that Biden was putting climate change ahead of excellence.
“This administration has taken it to the extremes with this climate agenda,” she said. “We are not focusing on the lethality of our American military. Instead, they are focusing on green energy and climate change.&#8221;
Ernst, like Mullin, also pointed out that this plan would only benefit China.
That raises the question, why does it always seem like the Biden administration wants policies that favor China while putting America last?
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Jennifer Granholm

‘Laughable’: Biden’s Energy Secretary Wants All-Electric Military Vehicles Within A Decade

Biden Administration

China

Chinese Communist Party

Electric cars

electric vehicles

Joni Ernst

Military

Oklahoma

Modifications made to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/electric-cars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electric vehicle</a> tax credit by 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act have left only ten EVs that qualify for that law’s full $7,500 tax break.
The Biden administration has made the promotion of electric vehicles a major pillar of its efforts to decarbonize the American economy. Earlier this month, the EPA announced new emissions restrictions with the explicit goal of driving EV production and sales — the administration is reportedly aiming to make two-thirds of all new car sales in the U.S. electric as early as 2032. The Inflation Reduction Act also contained billions of dollars in subsidies for the production of new EVs, in addition to revamping and extending the existing <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/taxes/ev-tax-credit-electric-vehicle-tax-credit#:~:text=Beginning%20in%202023%2C%20vans%2C%20SUVs,cars%2C%20are%20capped%20at%20%2455%2C000." target="_blank" rel="noopener">EV tax credit</a>.
However, the majority of electric vehicles remain far more expensive than their gas-powered counterparts: according to Kelley Blue Book, the average new gas-powered car sold in the U.S. cost roughly $50,000, while the average cost of a new EV was over <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/23/are-evs-or-gasoline-cars-a-better-deal.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$61,000</a>. The EV tax credit only applies to vehicles below a set price point: electric vans, SUVs, and pickup trucks must have a manufacturer-suggested retail price below $80,000, while sedans and passenger cars are capped at an MSRP of $55,000.
<a href="https://evlife.co/blog/ev-tax-credit-inflation-reduction-act-2022/#:~:text=There%20are%2020%20EVs%20that,the%20IRS%27s%20FuelEconomy.gov%20website." target="_blank" rel="noopener">More than 20</a> car models met those criteria, but another limit on the tax credit stipulates that the automaker must source some of the car’s battery components and raw materials from the U.S. China, arguably America’s greatest geopolitical adversary, currently manufactures about <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/china-lithium-mining-production/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">80%</a> of the world’s lithium-ion batteries. That additional rule cut the list down to ten: The Chrysler Pacifica, the Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevrolet&#8217;s Bolt, Blazer, Silverado, and Equinox, the Cadillac Lyriq, the Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring, and the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.
Car models that met the first rule but not the second were eligible for half of the EV tax credit, $3,750. Certain used EVs can also qualify for a non-refundable tax credit of up to $4,000.
High prices and a supply chain that is highly dependent on a hostile power are both significant obstacles toward widespread adoption of EVs, and despite aggressive pushes by the federal government and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-expected-to-ban-sale-of-new-gas-cars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">several states</a>, fewer than <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/only-20-of-americans-very-likely-to-buy-electric-for-their-next-car-even-as-some-states-want-100-adoption" target="_blank" rel="noopener">20%</a> of consumers say they’re very likely to buy an EV the next time they purchase a car.
The environmental impact of electric vehicles is also a disputed issue. <a href="https://studyfinds.org/keeping-old-cars-help-environment-more-than-new-electric-cars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Some studies</a> suggest that purchasing a used car may emit less carbon compared to manufacturing a new electric vehicle, while <a href="https://terrapass.com/blog/new-car-vs-used-car-which-is-the-greener-option" target="_blank" rel="noopener">other studies</a> suggest that the reduction in tailpipe emissions may offset the emissions required to make an EV within a few years — numerous variables, including the efficiency of different gas powered vehicles and the methods used to generate the electricity that powers the EV, come into play.
Furthermore, despite the numerous government subsidies and EVs’ higher prices, most automakers are <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/03/23/electric-vehicles-evs-ford-motor-gas-cars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">losing money</a> on their EV divisions and are only turning a profit because of the sales of their gas-powered vehicles — Ford expects to lose $3 billion on EVs in 2023, although it expects to turn a pre-tax profit of between $9-11 billion overall. EV&#8217;s currently account for about 6% of all auto sales in the United States.
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&#8220;We believe no U.S. automaker is making EVs profitably aside from Tesla,&#8221; CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson wrote, noting that &#8220;EVs are likely to be a material drag on near- and intermediate-term earnings.&#8221;
Tesla recently made headlines for dropping the starting price for its <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/07/americas-top-10-bestselling-cars-of-2022-tesla-makes-the-cut.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">best-seller</a>, the Model Y, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tesla-drops-price-model-y-suv-under-average-cost-us-vehicle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">below</a> the average price of a new car.

THAILAND-AUTOMOBILE-TESLA

Only 10 Electric Vehicles Qualify For $7500 Tax Credit

Economy

Executive

U.S.

The rise of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/electric-vehicles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electric vehicles</a> could lead to more parking garage collapses like the one earlier this week.
Structural engineers and regulators in the United States and Europe are calling on builders to improve the structural integrity of parking garages because of electric cars. The massive batteries that power them dramatically increase the weight of cars, and older structures are not built to hold them up. The complaints come just days after a garage collapse in New York City.
“I don’t want to be too alarmist, but there definitely is the potential for some of the early car parks in poor condition to collapse,” Chris Whapples, a structural engineer and consultant in the U.K. who authored new guidance on increasing weight limits for car parks, told the U.K. <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/08/old-car-parks-could-collapse-under-weight-electric-cars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Telegraph</a>. “Operators need to be aware of electric vehicle weights, and get their car parks assessed from a strength point of view, and decide if they need to limit weight.”
Whapples and British Parking Association structures group chairman Russell Simmons drew up new guidance for multi-story car parks in Britain that would recommend higher load bearing weights for the concrete floors of parking structures. “We have done quite a few inspections of car parks over the last six months, and some prove that the buildings couldn’t withstand the new EV weights,&#8221; Simmons said.
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Electric cars are significantly heavier than their internal combustion counterparts. According to The <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/04/19/electric-vehicles-could-put-pressure-on-parking-garages/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a>, the battery of the new all-electric GMC Hummer alone weighs 2,900 pounds, roughly the same weight as a Honda Civic; the Audi E-tron SUV weighs more than 5,700 pounds, more than 1,000 pounds heavier than a comparable Ford Explorer.
The Telegraph report came just 10 days before a parking garage <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/1-killed-5-injured-after-parking-garage-collapses-in-new-york-city" target="_blank" rel="noopener">collapsed</a> in New York City, killing one person and injuring five others. New York City Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol noted that the garage had more than half of its cars on the roof. He also noted that electric cars complicate the cleanup operation. “There’s over 50 cars on the roof,&#8221; Iscol said, via The New York Post. &#8220;The building is not structurally sound, you think about hazardous materials that are in the garage, right gas tanks, fluids, further complicated by the fact that there are possibly some electric vehicles in that garage,” Iscol said.
The parking garage itself was built in 1925, and certified for occupancy in 1926, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/deadly-garage-collapse-new-york-city-likely-due-buildings-nearly-100-y-rcna80454" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBC News</a> reported. It was certified again to allow &#8220;more than five&#8221; motor vehicles in the basement and first three stories; at the time, the roof was only certified for passenger vehicles. But the building had faced multiple building code violations in the 2000s because of cracked and defective concrete. Local news outlet <a href="https://abc7ny.com/parking-garage-collapse-nyc-pace-university-ann-st/13158954/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC7</a> also reported that parking garages were required to undergo structural inspections and file reports by the end of the year, but the owners of the garage had not yet complied.
Whapples told The Telegraph that he foresees some car parks in the U.K. introducing weight limits. “We have height restrictions in car parks, why not weight,” he said. NCP, one of the largest operators in Britain, has already said it is making adjustments in line with the new rules, including placing EV chargers on the bottom floor, and making parking spaces wider to spread the load.
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NYC parking garage collapse

Electric Cars Could Lead To More Parking Garage Collapses Like In NYC, Experts Warn

Cars

New York City

U.K.

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-manchin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Manchin</a> (D-WV) slammed the Biden administration&#8217;s new EPA rules around electric vehicles and tailpipe emissions.
In a statement Tuesday, Manchin blasted the EPA&#8217;s radical regulations plan intended to boost EV sales beginning in 2030 and accelerating in 2032. Manchin said the EPA&#8217;s ambitious goal of ensuring that 67% of new cars sold will be all-electric was market manipulation and a &#8220;Trojan horse&#8221; to increase America&#8217;s reliance on China for critical minerals. He urged Congress to overturn the rules.
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“The EPA is lying to Americans with false claims about how their manipulation of the market to boost EVs will help American energy security,&#8221; <a href="https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/manchin-statement-on-epas-radical-vehicle-emissions-standards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Manchin</a> said. &#8220;In reality, this is a Trojan horse. To meet these timelines will mean strengthening our reliance on minerals and technologies controlled by the Chinese. Taken in concert with the clear violation of the [Inflation Reduction Act] to undermine provisions that would actually secure these supply chains, this Administration is taking steps that will only result in a more energy secure and powerful China. I don&#8217;t believe that making progress on climate change should come at the expense of our national and energy security. I fully support Congress overturning these dangerous EPA regulations.&#8221;
Earlier this month, the administration rolled out a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-to-propose-rules-to-drastically-increase-ev-sales-crack-down-on-tailpipe-emissions-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed</a> regulations package meant to drastically increase electric vehicle sales, as The Daily Wire reported. The rules would aim to make sure that EVs make up fully two-thirds of all new cars on the market by 2032. The radical new regulations would represent a quantum leap in EV sales; electric cars made up just 5.8% of all new vehicles sold.
Last week, the administration rolled out new regulations for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-unveils-proposal-for-landmark-nationwide-crackdown-on-gas-cars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tailpipe emissions</a> meant to facilitate the transition. The “more stringent” standards released by the agency would <a href="https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-04/lmdv-multi-pollutant-emissions-my-2027-nprm-2023-04.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">induce</a> a 56% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions for light-duty vehicles as well as a 44% decrease for medium-duty vehicles, while similar standards were <a href="https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-04/hd-ghg-veh-phase-3-nprm-2023-04.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> for heavy-duty vehicles.
The EPA asserted that the proposed standards would decrease carbon dioxide emissions by 10 billion tons over the next three decades and produce as much as $1.6 trillion in value. Skeptics, on the other hand, contend that the move would ignore widespread desires for affordable and reliable conventional vehicles.
Manchin, meanwhile, has become a thorn in the side of the administration&#8217;s aggressive environmental policymaking. The critical vote that helped pass the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act, Manchin has frequently criticized how the Executive Branch is implementing the law. Most recently, he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/manchin-blasts-biden-admin-over-new-ev-tax-credit-regulations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blasted</a> a proposed rule that would loosen regulations on the electric vehicle tax credit.
“Yet again – the guidance released by the Department of the Treasury completely ignores the intent of the Inflation Reduction Act,” Manchin said. “It is horrific that the Administration continues to ignore the purpose of the law which is to bring manufacturing back to America and ensure we have reliable and secure supply chains. American tax dollars should not be used to support manufacturing jobs overseas. It is a pathetic excuse to spend more taxpayer dollars as quickly as possible and further cedes control to the Chinese Communist Party in the process.”
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“The guidance includes a 60-day comment period and I ask for every American to comment,” he added. “My comment is simple: stop this now – just follow the law.”
</div>

Joe Manchin

Manchin Calls EPA’s Push For Electric Cars A ‘Trojan Horse’ To Increase Dependence On China

Manchin Calls EPA's Push For Electric Cars A 'Trojan Horse' To Increase Dependence On China

Climate Change

Environment

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Politics

During his inauguration speech on January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden declared that &#8220;the battle to save our planet by getting the climate under control&#8221; was one of the foremost issues he planned to address while in the White House.
One of the most important aspects of that climate agenda includes a move toward electric vehicles (EVs) as replacements for the gasoline-powered cars driven by tens of millions of Americans. Biden and other officials in his administration have pushed hard on the electric vehicle issue and included provisions to incentivize EVs in major pieces of legislation.
As part of the Inflation Reduction Act enacted in August 2022, Americans can receive a tax credit of up to $7,500 if they purchase an electric vehicle. The White House touted in February that the president&#8217;s infrastructure law alone had <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/02/15/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-new-standards-and-major-progress-for-a-made-in-america-national-network-of-electric-vehicle-chargers/">invested</a> over $20 billion into EV-related infrastructure, including charging stations and battery components. Meanwhile, the private sector, under the administration&#8217;s strong encouragement, had <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/09/14/fact-sheet-president-bidens-economic-plan-drives-americas-electric-vehicle-manufacturing-boom/">invested</a> over $36 billion into electric vehicle manufacturing and $48 billion into domestic battery production by the fall of 2022.
In short, the level of investment into electric vehicles during Biden&#8217;s tenure has been massive, especially in the area of batteries. 2022&#8217;s historic <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/12/30/1145844885/2022-ev-battery-plants">level</a> of investment into EV production, more than triple the level of investment from 2021, is part of the administration&#8217;s strategy to decrease the country&#8217;s dependence on China, which currently <a href="https://about.bnef.com/blog/chinas-battery-supply-chain-tops-bnef-ranking-for-third-consecutive-time-with-canada-a-close-second/">controls</a> 75% of battery manufacturing capacity.
To achieve even a modicum of industrial independence in the electric vehicle market, the U.S. is going to have to ramp up its acquisition of highly valuable, and relatively rare, minerals used in the battery production process. Some of these minerals, including lithium, are already mined by the United States and friendly countries like Australia. But the U.S. is going to need more and more of these minerals if it wants to completely transition toward electric vehicles. Africa is emerging as the next major hub for the extraction of these minerals and may provide the supply the U.S. needs in the coming decades, but it seems as if the Chinese Communist Party has beaten Biden to the punch.
Lithium is a critical component in lithium-ion batteries, which are used to <a href="https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/articles/how-does-lithium-ion-battery-work#:~:text=The%20movement%20of%20the%20lithium,to%20the%20negative%20current%20collector.">power</a> cell phones, computers, and, yes, electric vehicles. Australia currently dominates in lithium mining, digging up over half the world&#8217;s supply in 2022. But far more lithium will be needed to meet the demand from the U.S. and other countries attempting to go green.
China, meanwhile, has a near-monopoly on taking the mined lithium and using it to make the batteries that go in all those devices.
As of 2022, African nations barely produced any of the world&#8217;s supply of lithium, but they are sitting on a potential lithium bonanza, according to experts. While Australia mined 55,000 metric tons of lithium in 2021, Zimbabwe, a landlocked nation in southern Africa, is projected to extract over 100,000 tons of lithium by 2031, <a href="https://archive.is/0v90F">according</a> to the Financial Times. Mali, in West Africa, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in Central Africa, are also expected to become major producers of lithium while Namibia, Ghana, and Ethiopia will become moderate producers.
The problem for the U.S. stems from the fact that China has been investing in these countries for years, and China owns or partially owns many of the companies that are poised to exploit the coming lithium boom. The top lithium-producing companies in both Mali and the DRC are partially owned by China, while 3 out of the 4 major lithium mining companies in Zimbabwe are entirely owned by the communist nation.
Just one lithium mine in Zimbabwe, owned by a Chinese company, is estimated to hold up to 11 million metric tons of the mineral, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/09/is-the-us-falling-behind-china-in-africas-lithium-industry-.html">according</a> to CNBC. Zimbabwe banned the export of raw lithium in December 2022 to encourage domestic processing, but the three Chinese-owned companies, which have invested $678 million into lithium projects in the country and have announced plans for development projects that reach into the billions, are exempt from the regulation. Indeed, Zimbabwe has been a major <a href="https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202301/17/WS63c5fbf3a31057c47ebaa050.html">beneficiary</a> of China&#8217;s Belt and Road Initiative, a foreign investment and infrastructure policy that critics have argued is a debt trap for poorer nations. As of 2023, China has invested tens of billions in African nations, including Zimbabwe, the DRC, Mali, and Ghana — all places where mining is projected to spike in the coming years.
Additionally, the DRC has a stranglehold on the mining of cobalt, another crucial mineral in the production of EV batteries, producing an <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/cobalt-mining-transforms-city-democratic-republic-congo-satellite/story?id=96795773#:~:text=The%20Democratic%20Republic%20of%20the%20Congo%20produces%20an%20estimated%2070,those%20more%20in%2Ddemand%20minerals.">estimated</a> 70% of the world&#8217;s supply. Chinese companies also have significant <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/world/congo-cobalt-mining-china.html">control</a> over those mines in the DRC and ones in Zambia. In 2020, China held complete or partial ownership in 15 of the 19 operating cobalt mines in the DRC, The Economist <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/02/28/how-america-plans-to-break-chinas-grip-on-african-minerals">reported</a>.
China far outpaces the U.S. in trade with Africa. In 2021, China&#8217;s total trade with the continent stood at $254 billion, while the United States&#8217; trade lagged behind at only $64 billion, according to CNBC.
The Biden administration has made moves to try to catch up to China — Biden has announced billions in new investments on the continent and created the Minerals Security Partnership in 2022. During a summit with African leaders in December, Biden also reached an agreement with the leaders of the DRC and Zambia for further investment in the electric vehicle supply chain, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/us-china-compete-for-africa-s-rare-earth-minerals-/6957617.html">according</a> to Voice of America. Notably, Zimbabwe&#8217;s president did not attend the summit.
“America has not been consistent in the way it engages with Africa,” said Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, according to CNBC. “If you leave and come back 10 years later, that void you left will be filled by somebody else, so it’s important that we be consistent.”
However, “The Chinese have played for keeps,” according to Dizolele.
As multiple European countries and several U.S. states, namely New York and California, have announced plans to end the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035, the time crunch to find and develop reliable deposits of lithium and other minerals critical to EV production has created a tight deadline for Western nations. If they aren&#8217;t able to outcompete China for those resources, they might be stuck paying Beijing through the nose for them.
The United States&#8217; apathy, as well as the administration&#8217;s fixation on social issues, has allowed the Chinese Communist Party to gobble up some of Africa&#8217;s most important resources. Though the U.S. is starting to take the issue seriously and even make inroads with some countries, it might be too little too late to prevent Chinese domination of the electric vehicle supply chain.

President Xi Jinping Meets Foreign Leaders

African Alliance: While Biden Pushes Electric Vehicles, China Leads The Race For Rare Earth Metals

China Is Beating Biden To The Punch On Africa's Strategic Resources

Africa

Joe Biden

World

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) blasted the Biden administration again on Friday for seemingly reneging on another policy from the $740 billion <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/inflation-reduction-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Inflation Reduction Act</a>.
In a <a href="https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/manchin-statement-on-treasury-ev-tax-credit-guidance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> Friday, Manchin blasted the Biden administration&#8217;s newly-implemented regulations for the electric vehicle tax credit. The IRS proposed new rules Friday that would reduce the number of vehicles which qualify for the $7,500 tax credit, but it would also loosen the restrictions for critical minerals supplied to make the batteries.
“Yet again – the guidance released by the Department of the Treasury completely ignores the intent of the Inflation Reduction Act,&#8221; Manchin said. &#8220;It is horrific that the Administration continues to ignore the purpose of the law which is to bring manufacturing back to America and ensure we have reliable and secure supply chains. American tax dollars should not be used to support manufacturing jobs overseas. It is a pathetic excuse to spend more taxpayer dollars as quickly as possible and further cedes control to the Chinese Communist Party in the process.&#8221;
&#8220;The guidance includes a 60-day comment period and I ask for every American to comment,&#8221; he added. &#8220;My comment is simple: stop this now – just follow the law.&#8221;
Manchin&#8217;s gripe seems to be specifically about one of the new regulations, which loosens some requirements for critical mineral sourcing. Under the Inflation Reduction Act, in order to qualify for the $7,500 tax credit, at least 40% of the critical materials needed in the battery must come from domestic sources or countries that have a free trade agreement with the United States, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/31/business/energy-environment/electric-vehicles-treasury-tax-credits.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a> reported; but the <a href="https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-06822.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new regulations</a> loosen that requirement to include countries that have a separate Critical Minerals Agreement with the U.S. The proposed rule singles out Japan, which signed a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-japan-strike-trade-deal-electric-vehicle-battery-minerals-2023-03-28/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Critical Minerals Agreement</a> with the U.S. on Tuesday. The new rule also paves the way for more countries to be included in that list.
The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/most-electric-vehicles-wont-qualify-for-inflation-reduction-act-tax-credits-none-will-qualify-in-a-few-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in 2022 that only about 21 vehicles of the 72 electric car models currently on the road would qualify for the full $7,500 tax credit. The New York Times projected that when the new sourcing requirements go into effect on April 18, even fewer vehicles will qualify for the full credit.
Manchin, who provided the critical vote that pushed the Inflation Reduction Act over the line in 2022, has been sore all week about how the Biden administration has implemented the law. “[​​I]​nstead of implementing the law as intended, unelected ideologues, bureaucrats and appointees seem determined to violate and subvert the law to advance a partisan agenda that ignores both energy and fiscal security​,” Manchin wrote in a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-inflation-reduction-act-betrayal-joe-manchin-debt-ceiling-budget-fossil-fuels-green-energy-dc37738e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wall Street Journal</a> op-ed Wednesday. “​Specifically, they are ignoring the law’s intent to support and expand fossil energy and are redefining ​’​domestic energy​’​ to increase clean-energy spending to potentially deficit-breaking levels. The administration is attempting at every turn to implement the bill it wanted, not the bill Congress actually passed​.”
In exchange for his vote, Manchin was also promised a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/manchins-permitting-reform-side-deal-collapsing-as-republicans-blast-bill-and-propose-their-own" target="_blank" rel="noopener">side deal</a> on oil and gas permitting reform by Senate Democratic leadership, but that deal has since fallen apart.
<a class="c-link" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-15488">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Former Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pat-toomey-manchin-got-taken-to-the-cleaners-by-dems-on-tax-and-spend-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pat Toomey</a> (R-PA) predicted in July that Manchin would be disappointed by the bill. “I think he got taken to the cleaners,” Toomey said. “He’s agreeing to all this bad policy.&#8221;

Sen. Joe Manchin

Manchin Blasts Biden Admin Over New EV Tax Credit Regulations

Inflation Reduction Act

A Denver suburb voted to ban new <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gasoline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gas stations</a> from being built in the name of combatting climate change.
The city council of Louisville, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/colorado" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Colorado</a>, about 30 minutes north of Denver and 20 minutes East of Boulder, voted unanimously to approve a city ordinance that would cap the number of gas stations allowed in the city at 6, meaning just one more gas station would be allowed. But that new gas station, and any other that are built under the cap must meet strict requirements.
The <a href="https://www.louisvilleco.gov/home/showdocument?id=38007&amp;t=638146512206382035">ordinance</a> limits the number of gas or automobile service stations within the city limits to 6, including existing gas stations and other approved by the city council but not yet built. The cap may increased to 7, but only if a large retail center – like a Sam’s Club or a Costco – builds a store of 80,000 or more square feet that includes a gas station as an accessory.
The ordinance also imposes strict limits on planning approvals. Approvals expire if a building permit is not issued within 36 months. If a gas station closes for 12 months, then a new plan must be submitted that meets current city standards. The city will only review new plans for gas stations if there are less than 6 stations.
Furthermore, any new gas stations must be built further than 1000 feet away from an existing station, though that rule can be waived if the station belongs to a retail center. A newly-built station, or an expansion to an existing one, must include building electric vehicle charging stations; equal to about 20% the total number of gas pumps at the station, but no less than two.
A report accompanying the ordinance said that one of the reasons behind the move was to encourage more electric cars. “Gasoline station bans may also be seen as promoting the use of Electric Vehicles (EVs), thus, reducing vehicle emissions and encouraging low-carbon and cleaner energy options for transportation,” it read. 
But it also admitted that gas cars are still necessary right now. “The proposal for a cap but not a full ban on new gasoline and automobile service stations is in recognition that there will continue to be some demand for gasoline and automobile service stations as more EVs enter the market and gasoline vehicles are transitioned out of the market over time,” the report stated.
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“I don’t think that this is gonna change the world, [and] I don’t think any single action this council or community takes is going to fix climate change,” city council member Maxine Most said during the <a href="https://louisville.ompnetwork.org/embed/sessions/264794/03-21-23-city-council-meeting">comment period</a>.  Tomorrow, we’re not gonna find a solution that’s gonna be like, sweeping, and we’re gonna say, ‘ok, we’re gonna [decarbonize] the city buildings and that’s gonna solve climate change. The majority of climate impact is gonna come from residential and commercial. But I think it’s a really good idea for us to decarbonize because it sends a signal and it sends a message.”
“In 2023, we should not be increasing fossil fuel infrastructure. “It doesn’t make sense,” she continued. “Our state has a plan to be on 100% renewable energy by 2040 … For us to be endorsing investment in technology that we know is at the end of its life doesn’t really make sense … The reason we’re in the climate crisis we’re in is because we have allowed the free market to do what they want.”

Gas pump

Denver Suburb Votes To Ban New Gas Stations From Being Built In The Name Of Combatting Climate Change

Denver Suburb Votes To Put A Cap On Gas Stations In The Name Of Combatting Climate Change

Colorado

Denver

Gasoline

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> was slammed Monday after touting his $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles while promoting an electric truck that costs over a hundred thousand dollars and has been plagued with issues.
The photo was taken back in 2021 when Biden test drove an electric Hummer while touring the General Motors Factory ZERO electric vehicle assembly plant in Detroit, Michigan.
&#8220;On my watch, the great American road trip is going to be fully electrified,&#8221; Biden claimed. &#8220;And now, through a tax credit, you can get up to $7,500 on a new electric vehicle.&#8221;
Biden&#8217;s claims about the tax credit are misleading as the overwhelming majority of new electric vehicles, approximately 70%, do not qualify for the tax credit, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-auto-trade-group-warns-ev-tax-proposal-would-make-70-ineligible-2022-08-05/">said</a>.
The electric Hummer that Biden showed off in the tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidZipper/status/1620192537591025665">does not</a> qualify for the tax credit because it is significantly more expensive than the maximum MSRP (manufacturer&#8217;s suggested retail price) allowed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
On my watch, the great American road trip is going to be fully electrified.
And now, through a tax credit, you can get up to $7,500 on a new electric vehicle. <a href="https://t.co/n3iZ9etL4A">pic.twitter.com/n3iZ9etL4A</a>
&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1620138541937205250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The lowest level electric Hummer has an <a href="https://www.motortrend.com/features/how-much-is-a-gmc-hummer-ev-pickup-suv?slide=11">MSRP</a> of $86,645, however, with the continued supply chain issues, consumers will have a very difficult time finding even the base-level model for under $100,000 due to market demand.
Higher-level trim models of the electric Hummer have an MSRP of $112,595 but sell for significantly higher sums. The <a href="https://insideevs.com/news/596221/gmc-hummer-ev-edition-1-sells-for-324500-usd-auction-new-record/">most</a> amount of money that an electric Hummer has been sold for is $324,500.
The electric Hummers have had <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/investing/gmc-hummer-ev-recalled-over-battery-problem#:~:text=The%20automaker%20is%20issuing%20recalls,leaking%20into%20the%20battery%20packs.&amp;text=General%20Motors%20(GM)%20%2D%20Get,a%20battery%20pack%20sealing%20problem.">significant issues</a> that have plagued GM&#8217;s relaunch of brand, including recalls over water leaking into the battery packs, and the vehicle randomly dying <a href="https://www.hotcars.com/gmc-hummer-ev-breaks-down/">on road</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/electric-hummer-off-roading-trip-fails-middle-desert">off road</a>.
Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) responded, &#8220;How out of touch can you be?&#8221;
&#8220;Great example of an out-of-touch Green New Deal policy thrown into Biden&#8217;s so-called Inflation Reduction Act last Congress,&#8221; Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS) tweeted. &#8220;That vehicle costs about $100,000 – Kansas families dealing with rising prices shouldn&#8217;t be forced to subsidize Americans buying any luxury EVs.&#8221;
David Zipper, Visiting Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, responded, &#8220;Biden is giving free publicity to the Hummer EV, a 4.5-ton behemoth so inefficient that it pollutes more per mile than a *gas-powered* sedan.&#8221;
&#8220;As if that POTUS tweet wasn’t bad enough, the Hummer EV isn&#8217;t even eligible for a $7,500 federal credit,&#8221; Zipper added. &#8220;The Hummer EV costs ~$110k, and the credit is capped at $80k.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Biden is giving free publicity to the Hummer EV, a 4.5-ton behemoth so inefficient that it pollutes more per mile than a *gas-powered* sedan.
Source: <a href="https://t.co/93TnWu8MFf">https://t.co/93TnWu8MFf</a> <a href="https://t.co/wg1OovwYM4">https://t.co/wg1OovwYM4</a>
&mdash; David Zipper (@DavidZipper) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidZipper/status/1620165707257499650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Others, like Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), responded by mocking Biden.
Reschenthaler tweeted out a meme of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris&#8217; faces superimposed on cast from &#8220;Pawn Stars.&#8221;
&#8220;AMERICANS: We can&#8217;t afford to fill up our gas tanks. Please help us,&#8221; Reschenthaler tweeted.
The tweet then said &#8220;BIDEN:&#8221; and pointed to the meme while showed Biden saying, &#8220;best I can do is a $110,000 electric car.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
AMERICANS: We can&#39;t afford to fill up our gas tanks. Please help us.
BIDEN: <a href="https://t.co/8euOUqKIWB">https://t.co/8euOUqKIWB</a> <a href="https://t.co/droIwMVumN">pic.twitter.com/droIwMVumN</a>
&mdash; Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (@GReschenthaler) <a href="https://twitter.com/GReschenthaler/status/1620203574641971207?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

US-POLITICS-BIDEN-AUTOMOBILE-ENVIRONMENT-GM-ENERGY

Biden Blasted After Touting Tax Credit To Help Americans Purchase Electric Truck That Costs Six-Figures

Podcast giant <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-rogan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Rogan</a> used his show this week to shine a light on some of the horrifying slave conditions that are used to mine the raw materials used to make electric car batteries and batteries for other devices like cell phones and laptops.
Rogan brought on activist Siddharth Kara to talk about what happens at these mines in Africa, specifically in the Congo.
&#8220;Throughout the whole history of slavery, I mean, going back centuries, never, never in human history, has there been more suffering that generated more profit, and was linked to the lives of more people around the world, ever, ever in history than what&#8217;s happening in the Congo right now,&#8221; Kara said. &#8220;And the reason I say that is this: the cobalt that&#8217;s being mined in the Congo is in every single lithium ion rechargeable battery manufactured in the world today, every smartphone, every tablet, every laptop, and crucially, every electric vehicle.&#8221;
Kara noted that mining conditions in the country are so bad that people are forced at gunpoint to dig for these materials by hand.
&#8220;Cobalt really took off about 10-12 years ago,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And it&#8217;s in another part of the country in the mining provinces in the southeast of the Congo. And cobalt took off because it started to be used in lithium ion batteries to maximize their charge and stability. And it just so happens that the Congo, just as it was sitting on more than half the world&#8217;s reserves of coltan and of course, a lot of gold and diamonds and other things, is sitting on more cobalt than the rest of the planet combined. And it&#8217;s in a small little patch of the Congo, southeastern corner — a part that used to be called Katanga, and before anybody knew what was happening, Chinese government, Chinese mining companies took control of almost all the big mines, and the local population has been displaced, is under duress, and they dig in absolutely subhuman, gut-wrenching conditions for $1 a day, feeding cobalt up the supply chain into all the phones, all the tablets, and especially electric cars.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Joe Rogan: EXPOSES The Battery Mining Industry!! EXTREME Problems In The Harshest Conditions !?!" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/piXwDW36jBQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
TRANSCRIPTS:
<blockquote>SIDDHARTH KARA, ACTIVIST: We can dig into this in more depth. Throughout the whole history of slavery, I mean, going back centuries, never, never in human history, has there been more suffering that generated more profit, and was linked to the lives of more people around the world, ever, ever in history than what&#8217;s happening in the Congo right now. And the reason I say that is this: the cobalt that&#8217;s being mined in the Congo is in every single lithium ion rechargeable battery manufactured in the world today, every smartphone, every tablet, every laptop, and crucially, every electric vehicle. So you and I, we can&#8217;t function on a day-to-day basis without cobalt, and three fourths of the supply is coming out of the Congo. And it&#8217;s being mined in appalling, heart-wrenching, dangerous conditions. And so that&#8217;s why people need to know because by and large, the world doesn&#8217;t know what&#8217;s happening in the Congo.
JOE ROGAN, HOST: It&#8217;s something that people sort of know, peripherally, that, you know, they call them conflict minerals. And, you know, they know that they&#8217;re coming from an area of the world that&#8217;s very poor, but I don&#8217;t think people are aware of how horrible it is. There has been, have been some documentaries that have been done, and they&#8217;re all terrifying.
KARA: Yeah. So. So, conflict minerals was phase one. And that&#8217;s actually not cobalt.
ROGAN: What does it refer to, conflict minerals?
KARA: So, conflict minerals, also called the 3TG minerals are tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold. And those are in the eastern Congo. And that catastrophe started around the year 2000, late 1990s, 2000, shortly after the Rwandan genocide. The militias moved in and Eastern Congo is sitting on some of the largest reserves in the world of those 3TG minerals, especially tantalum. And those are all used in microprocessors. And you can think back to, you know, around the year 2000. Mobile phones first started coming out and gaining traction. I still remember my little StarTAC flip phone that I had from Motorola, you remember that? And all that supply was coming out of Eastern Congo, militias and warlords were forcing the local population at gunpoint, machete point, to dig this stuff out. And it was flowing up into the formal supply chain into mostly those first generation cell phones. And that became known as conflict minerals. Cobalt started later. Cobalt really took off about 10-12 years ago. And it&#8217;s in another part of the country in the mining provinces in the southeast of the Congo. And cobalt took off because it started to be used in lithium ion batteries to maximize their charge and stability. And it just so happens that the Congo, just as it was sitting on more than half the world&#8217;s reserves of coltan and of course, a lot of gold and diamonds and other things, is sitting on more cobalt than the rest of the planet combined. And it&#8217;s in a small little patch of the Congo, southeastern corner — a part that used to be called Katanga, and before anybody knew what was happening, Chinese government, Chinese mining companies took control of almost all the big mines, and the local population has been displaced, is under duress, and they dig in absolutely subhuman, gut-wrenching conditions for $1 a day, feeding cobalt up the supply chain into all the phones, all the tablets, and especially electric cars.
ROGAN: And we&#8217;re looking at a video now. Jamie, is this the mines? 
JAMIE: It&#8217;s his video. 
ROGAN: This is so crazy to see. 
KARA: This is the bottom of the supply chain of your iPhone, of your Tesla, of your Samsung. I mean, I&#8217;m just naming those companies, it&#8217;s all of them, right? All of them. We&#8217;re not just picking on them. And here&#8217;s what you need to know, Joe, about this video. I was the first outsider to get into this mine. And that&#8217;s why it&#8217;s just a really short video that I was able to take. This is an industrial cobalt mine, where there&#8217;s not supposed to be one artisanal miner. Now, that&#8217;s the term use for people who are just digging by hand as opposed to tractors and excavators. There is not supposed to be one here. That&#8217;s what the story is told at the top of the chain. This mine, and I can name it, it’s called Shibaura, there is not supposed to be one artisanal miner here, according to the consumer-facing tech companies and EV companies buying this cobalt. Low and behold, I walk into this place, and this is what I see. There&#8217;s more than 15,000 human beings crammed into that pit, digging by hand. And if you have sound, you hear the mallets, you hear the shouting, you hear the the grunts, it&#8217;s a mass of humanity, you might expect to see a scene like this.
ROGAN: So, there&#8217;s a term that gets used, “clean cobalt”?
KARA: There&#8217;s no clean cobalt.
ROGAN: It&#8217;s not real? 
KARA: No, no, it&#8217;s all marketing. It&#8217;s all PR, it&#8217;s a fiction, just like that place. There&#8217;s not supposed to be any artisanal mining there. It&#8217;s all done industrially. That&#8217;s the story told at the top of the chain. And people assume, people I mean, the marketing teams at big tech and EV companies, assume, well, who&#8217;s gonna go down there and actually walk into the place and grab a video that shows no, it&#8217;s actually all raw human force that is clanking that cobalt out of the ground? So there&#8217;s no clean cobalt. There&#8217;s not a single company on planet Earth that makes a device that has a rechargeable battery in it that can reliably and justifiably claim that their cobalt isn&#8217;t coming from sources like that. And that&#8217;s the truth that needs to get out there. That&#8217;s the truth people need to understand. Because this is a story that goes back generations. There&#8217;s these fictions told at the top of the chain about what conditions are like at the bottom. And truth seekers have to go find that truth and enlighten civilization so that people, people get agitated about it, and want to do something about it. So there&#8217;s no clean cobalt, let&#8217;s just make that totally, abundantly clear. And anyone that claims otherwise is either peddling in falsehoods or is recklessly ignorant of the truth.
ROGAN: Are there any industrialized cobalt mines that use machinery and don&#8217;t use slavery and don&#8217;t use child labor and don&#8217;t use these people that live in unimaginable poverty?
KARA: I&#8217;ve never seen one. And I&#8217;ve been to almost all the major industrial cobalt mines. Here&#8217;s why I say that. Number one, they all, or almost all, will have scenes like that on them. Thousands of individuals clanking away for $1 or two $2 a day, okay? They don&#8217;t have safety equipment. All that stuff, cobalt is toxic, toxic to breathe. They&#8217;re breathing it in all day.
ROGAN: No masks, no filtration systems?
KARA: No masks, no gloves, no — half those guys are in flip flops, all right? So almost all the industrial minds will have scenes like that.</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-rogan-slams-professors-who-defend-unhealthy-lifestyles-f-off-fat-professors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Rogan Slams Professors Who Defend Unhealthy Lifestyles: ‘F*** Off, Fat Professors’</a>

Joe Rogan-2

Joe Rogan’s Podcast Shows Horrifying Slave Conditions Used To Mine Materials Needed For Electric Cars

cell phones

General

Joe Rogan

The head of the world&#8217;s largest <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">automaker</a> said this week that he remains skeptical of trying to move to only producing electric vehicles and that the majority of people who work in the auto industry agree with him.
Toyota Motor chief Akio Toyoda made the remarks while speaking to reporters during a visit to Thailand.
“People involved in the auto industry are largely a silent majority,” Toyoda said. “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 added.
The remarks come as supply chain issues that were sparked by the coronavirus pandemic have continued to make it difficult for manufacturers to get the raw materials needed to make new cars, especially electric vehicles.
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/toyota-president-says-silent-majority-has-doubts-about-pursuing-only-evs-11671372223" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that while some of Toyota&#8217;s rivals have jumped fully on board with electric vehicles — setting future dates at which point their companies would only produce electric vehicles — Toyota has diversified its future product offerings and is focused on making traditional gas cars, hybrids, and hydrogen-powered vehicles.
Jack Hollis, Executive Vice President of Sales at Toyota Motor North America, said earlier this year that the company does not believe that the demand for electric vehicles is as high as people think it is.
&#8220;I don’t think the market is ready. I don’t think the infrastructure is ready,&#8221; he <a href="https://electrek.co/2022/08/25/toyota-says-no-ev-demand-try-selling-one-wheels-dont-fall-off/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;And even if you were ready to purchase one, and if you could afford it … (the price is) still too high … It took 25 years to get to less than 10% (market share) for hybrid … The consumer isn’t demanding (EVs) at that level. The consumer is not screaming, ‘30% or 40% by tomorrow.’”
With looming negative economic conditions in the U.S. on the horizon, combined with lowered gas prices, increasing interest rates, and high inflation rates, the market for electric vehicles could take even longer to expand.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also warned that the transition away from oil and gas is not as easy as people think and that society would be devastated overnight if it tried to stop using fossil fuels.
“At this time, we actually need more oil and gas, not less,” Musk said. “Realistically I think we need to use oil and gas in the short term, because otherwise civilization will crumble. One of the biggest challenges the world has ever faced is the transition to sustainable energy and to a sustainable economy. That will take some decades to complete.”

Toyota and Softbank Joint News Conference

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda: ‘Silent Majority’ Of Automakers Not Fully Sold On Electric Vehicles

Business

Switzerland is considering banning electric vehicles for non-essential travel this winter as the continent deals with an energy crisis sparked by Russia&#8217;s war in Ukraine.
The Telegraph <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/12/03/electric-car-journeys-could-restricted-switzerland-plan-deal/">reported</a> that government officials have already drafted plans to conserve energy that could include limiting heat in buildings to no more than 68 degrees Fahrenheit and reducing the number of hours stores can be open.
Stricter measures could be enacted, including banning large indoor gatherings like sporting events, concerts, and theatre events, the report said.
Switzerland relies heavily on hydroelectric power, which constitutes nearly two-thirds of its energy supply, the excess of which it exports during the time of year that it can generate the most electricity from rain and snowfall, the report said. It then typically is forced to import energy during the rest of the year as its nuclear resources, which it has been working to phase out, and its fossil fuel resources are not enough to meet demand.
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The country has created a two-tier system for dealing with the energy shortage: emergency and crisis.
When in the &#8220;emergency&#8221; tier, there are three levels of restrictions, and in the &#8220;crisis&#8221; tier, there are two levels.
Electric vehicles would face restrictions in the third level of the emergency tier.
In late August, officials in <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a> unveiled a plan to phase out new <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/oil-and-gas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gas</a>-powered cars and days later asked residents to avoid charging their <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/electric-cars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electric vehicles</a> in the interest of not overwhelming the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">power</a> grid during a heat wave.
The warnings of low grid capacity came days after the California Air Resources Board <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-expected-to-ban-sale-of-new-gas-cars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued new rules</a> requiring 35% of new vehicles to produce zero emissions by 2026 — a standard that will rise to a 68% benchmark by 2030 and a 100% level by 2035. Yet experts have warned that the state’s electric grid will require significant upgrades to manage a rapid transition away from internal combustion vehicles.
“Today, most people charge their electric cars when they come home in the evening — when electricity demand is typically at its peak,” according to researchers at Cornell University’s <a href="https://www.ece.cornell.edu/spotlights/prepare-grid-now-power-electric-vehicles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">College of Engineering</a>. “If left unmanaged, the power demanded from many electric vehicles charging simultaneously in the evening will amplify existing peak loads, potentially outstripping the grid’s current capacity to meet demand.”
Ben Zeisloft contributed to this report.

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More than 150 <a class="c-link" href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gop" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gop" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">Republican</a> legislators are asking President Joe <a class="c-link" href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">Biden</a> to not accept <a class="c-link" href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">California’s</a> recent green energy car rules by refusing the state&#8217;s request for a waiver.
According to the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/state-and-local-transportation/vehicle-emissions-california-waivers-and-authorizations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA), the Clean Air Act lets California attempt to receive a waiver that would allow the state to set its own emission regulations for new cars.
The EPA has to approve the waiver prior to the rules going into effect, and is supposed to do so unless the state “was arbitrary and capricious in its finding that its standards are, in the aggregate, at least as protective of public health and welfare as applicable federal standards;” “does not need such standards to meet compelling and extraordinary conditions;” or “such standards and accompanying enforcement procedures are not consistent with Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act.”
Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) led the Republican pushback, along with almost three-quarters of the Republicans in the House of Representatives. The lawmakers don&#8217;t want Biden to approve the State of California’s Air Resource Board (CARB) Clean Air Act waiver request.
The board’s new rules would require 35% of all new car sales in California to be electric vehicles by 2026, with all internal combustion engines done away with by 2035, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/150-house-republicans-call-biden-reject-californias-waiver-request-green-car-regulations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a>.
The Washington Times <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/oct/6/house-republicans-urge-joe-biden-reject-california/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that 68% of cars need to be electric by 2030. The state already voluntarily has a high number of electric vehicles. The outlet reported that around 16% of new cars sold during the first half of 2022 were zero-emission vehicles, per the California Energy Commission. Almost 10% of cars <a href="https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-product/global-ev-outlook-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sold</a> around the world were electric last year.
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-california-clean-air-act-vehicle-emissions-standards-eebb48c13e24835f2c5b9cb56796182a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Seventeen</a> states have vehicle emissions rules connected to California&#8217;s actions, and could decide to create new regulations like those California is attempting to push.
Republicans wrote to Biden, asking him to &#8220;reject California’s forthcoming request for this waiver due to widespread concerns for the negative impact it will have on the electric grid, the need for additional power generation, the overreliance on foreign adversaries for critical minerals, and the right of Americans to choose for themselves which vehicles they wish to drive.”
They said it is &#8220;disconcerting that California is attempting to ban ICE vehicles when there have already been real world examples showing California’s grid will not be able to handle the increased electric load,&#8221; reportedly discussing how the government <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-asks-residents-to-avoid-charging-electric-vehicles-due-to-blackout-risk-days-after-unveiling-new-gas-car-ban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> people who live in California not to charge their electric cars during a heat wave following the news about the policy change.
During California’s recent heat wave, residents were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-reaches-highest-energy-costs-since-2020-outages-residents-are-asked-to-reduce-power-use" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> to reduce power use when solar energy generation was not available, creating a situation many realize will not improve with more cars on the road and an undependable electric grid.

Electric vehicle charging station sign, Los Angeles, CA.

More Than 150 GOP House Members Ask Biden To Refuse California’s Waiver Request For Electric Vehicle Rules

More Than 150 GOP House Members Ask President Joe Biden To Refuse California's Air Resource Board (CARB) Clean Air Act Waiver Request For Electric Vehicle Rules

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