The following is a response to a letter from Al Liebeskind about Senate Republicans’ opposition to the governor’s proposed electric vehicle mandate.
I contacted my representative so I could see the caucus newsletter for myself. What I saw was a survey conducted by Ragnar Research Partners from Feb. 7-9, of 300 likely voters on the subject of the gasoline car ban in Delaware. People were surveyed on the phone. The survey had a 6% margin of error. A total of 78% of the people surveyed opposed the ban of gas vehicles. Only 18% approved, while 4% were undecided. Furthermore, 63% of people said they would be less likely to vote for elected officeholders who supported the ban. Also, 72% of independents and 64% of Democrats did not support the ban on gas vehicles. So it is not just Republicans who oppose the ban of gas vehicles.
Before we can have an all-out ban on gas vehicles, we need to have a supply of electricity to support electric cars. Two points. The Indian River coal-fired plant is being kept online for an extra year because there is not enough electricity in Sussex County to support the electric needs of the county. Also, over the Christmas holiday when the temperature dipped near zero, Lewes BPW sent out an email to cut back on electric use because the grid was being overtaxed.
If Al Liebeskind is so interested in cleaning up the water and the air, he only needs to look at East Palestine, Ohio, and the lack of response on cleaning up a chemical spill that is killing fish, frogs and chickens, and sickening humans, cattle and dogs. The water is iridescent and the air is not breathable. It took Pete Buttigieg, the secretary of transportation, 20 days to visit the site, and it still is not cleaned up. These Americans will live with health issues for the rest of their lives.
Electric cars are putting the cart before the horse.
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