Electronic Vehicle Impact on Transportation

Government Policy, Financial Influence, and the Impact of Electric Vehicles on the Transportation Sector

Larry Schweikart (2024) highlights the intricate connections between celebrities, government policies, and the global push towards electric vehicles (EVs), while also critiquing the broader agenda surrounding climate change and environmentalism.

Schweikart begins by discussing the role of celebrities in advancing globalist agendas, noting how their influence is often leveraged to promote specific causes, such as environmentalism. This is paired with financial strategies, including government subsidies for green projects like electric vehicles. Tesla, led by Elon Musk, serves as a key example. Despite Musk's initially favorable relationships with both the Obama and Trump administrations, his company faced challenges under the Biden administration. Tesla was notably excluded from a 2021 ceremony promoting electric vehicles, largely because it is not unionized, reflecting contradictions in Biden’s energy policies.

Tesla’s rise in the EV market, according to Schweikart, was significantly aided by government subsidies, which made its expensive cars more affordable. However, Schweikart speculates that Musk's strategy might involve dominating the EV market by first opposing subsidies, only to later seek them again once competition is minimized. Despite Tesla’s success, issues with charging infrastructure and the practicality of EVs, such as long charging times and insufficient charging stations compared to gas stations, remain significant hurdles.

The broader push for electric vehicles is reshaping the transportation sector, creating both opportunities and challenges. While EVs are positioned as the future of transportation, the transition is fraught with complications. For instance, the insufficient number of charging stations compared to traditional gas stations and the long charging times create significant inconveniences for EV owners, making widespread adoption challenging. Additionally, the impact on jobs, particularly in traditional automotive sectors, raises concerns, as seen with the United Auto Workers' strike in 2023 over pay increases being diverted to EV production, despite Ford’s EV division incurring substantial losses.

Opposition to EVs is not confined to the U.S. Schweikart points out that "rolling coal," or modifying diesel engines to emit more pollution, has become a form of protest against electric cars. This opposition also stems from concerns about job losses, China’s dominance in the EV market, and skepticism about the legitimacy of global warming. The impact of electric cars during natural disasters, such as fires sparked by submerged EVs during Hurricane Idalia, further complicates the push towards green energy.

Schweikart critiques the broader environmental movement, labeling it as misguided and based on flawed science. He argues that climate treaties like the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Accord have failed to reduce CO2 emissions and are more about financial redistribution than environmental protection. He also challenges the widely cited statistic that 97% of scientists agree on man-made global warming, arguing that it is based on a misinterpretation of data.

The passage concludes by questioning the integrity of environmental activism, suggesting that it often prioritizes political and economic agendas over scientific truth. Schweikart cites various instances where activists and politicians have admitted to manipulating or overstating scientific claims to advance their causes, reflecting a broader critique of the globalist approach to climate change and environmentalism.

Source: Schweikart, L. (2024). A Patriot's History of Globalism: Its Rise and Decline [Kindle iOS version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com