Should CA Ban The Sale Of Gas Powered Cars? Readers Weigh In

CALIFORNIA — Last week, the California Air Resources Board signed off on a bombshell plan that will require all cars sold in the state in 2035 to be electric vehicles or other models free of emissions.

The decision drew criticism from those who have questioned how the ban of gas powered cars will affect the nation's largest auto market. Patch asked readers if they agreed with the ban in a recent non-scientific survey. A landslide 74 percent of respondents said they did not think gas cars should be banned, while some 19 percent said they agreed with the new plan; 7 percent said that they were unsure. About 87 percent of respondents said they owned an electric vehicle.

Gov. Gavin Newsom first signed the executive order in 2020 to prohibit the sales of gas powered cars.

"The climate crisis is solvable if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to stem the tide of carbon pollution," Newsom said in a statement.

California State Senator Andreas Borgeas stated his opposition to the move in 2020, tweeting then that it was part of the governor's "radical agenda."

“With virtually no infrastructure to support the wholistic eradication of gas vehicles, and the threat of rolling electrical blackouts, the Governor has unilaterally decided to move forward without consultation from the Legislature,” Borgeas said in a statement.

Alternatively, Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) applauded Newsom's order, having authored his own legislative effort, AB 1745, in 2018, which would have banned the sale of new, gas-powered vehicles by 2040.

"If we want clean air, we need clean cars," Ting said previously.

The order follows similar pledges by countries including the United Kingdom and France to eliminate emissions and reduce greenhouse gases. California rideshare company, Uber, has also vowed to eliminate gas-only cars from its vehicle fleet, planning to enforce the change even sooner, by 2030 in the U.S.

We asked readers if they thought rideshare companies should be required to switch their fleets to electric vehicles. More than 59 percent of respondents said "yes" and 27.7 percent said "no." About 13 percent said they were unsure.

We asked readers to share their thoughts on the ban.

Our idiot-in-chief, Gov. Newsome, has done nothing about rolling blackouts in our state. Can you imagine adding millions of new electric cars to an already overtaxed electrical grid? Dumb just keeps getting dumber.

The cost and impact on the environment of producing electric vehicles and disposing of rhe batteries is never mentioned and it needs to be factored in.

California and the USA as a whole does not have the electrical capacity in-place or approved to support all-electrical vehicle/transportation systems until 2050.

This is ridiculous and puts more of a burden on low income families as well as low income workers! Electric cars defeat deplete cobalt and other rare minerals it is not any better.

California's electricity infrastructure is HOT MESS. We have multiple power outages per month. There are no signs of this being improved, it's worse each year. If the state bans gas powered cars, how are people supposed to charge their cars when there are constant power outages?

We need an comprehensive network of charging stations, faster charging times, and longer ranges on batteries to make this work.

While the environment is a major concern, this approach is based on large assumptions about the maturation of electric vehicle technology. Additional steps should be included to mitigate the overall need for personal vehicles - such as investment in public and mass transit options, which would have a greater impact in a shorter timeframe.

Electric cars are still a luxury. A lot of working people can't afford either the car nor the charging equipment. Also, where is all this electricity coming from? Renewables are not able to sustain the amount of power that is going to be required by everything going to electric.

The transition needs to be slow people have time to adjust to changes. We also need a much more robust charging network as no one wants to wait 30 min for a slot to charge their car for another 30 min.

Last year, the state adopted a regulation requiring rideshare companies to begin electrifying their California fleets starting in 2023.

READ MORE: Uber Vows To Switch To 100% Electric Vehicles By 2030

Newsom has repeatedly pointed out that climates have been rising sharply in California alone, during the summer and winter months, since 1980.