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Join Jim and Greg as they cautiously welcome news of Ukrainian progress against Russians at a key spot along the war front. They also groan as the number of families with children apprehended at the border surged in August – yet another sign that the Biden administration’s policies are nothing but a giant magnet for people to come to the U.S. illegally. Finally, they unload on California for thoroughly implausible new regulations banning diesel-powered big rigs travelling between ports starting next year in favor of electric trucks. From the length of charging time to weight restrictions to the toll on the electrical grid, the impact on trucking – and the prices you pay for goods. Oh, and they have a few choice words for new members of Transportation Secretary’s Pete Buttigieg’s Advisory Committee on Transportation Equity who think all cars are bad and that they “perpetuate systemic racism.”
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The People’s Republic of California has gone bananas regarding trucks especially those for moving containers etc just from the ports to the rail lines, warehouses, etc. They want to require only new trucks, which is counter-productive because the new trucks are best suited for long-haul work where breakdowns can be expensive and time-consuming. It makes the most sense to use older trucks for the short runs from port to warehouse/rail terminal, as they never get very far from home.
Now, the short range and long charging times of the electric trucks can actually make sense for that work, but it doesn’t address the problems of how much electrical capacity is needed to charge them coupled with PRC’s refusal to actually produce electricity. And they can’t really charge the trucks at night from solar panels.
And doesn’t it seem impossible to stop the Californication of the whole country? Everything will cost more with no help to the environment.
It may have actually been worse in the past than it is now. California doesn’t have as much impact on school textbooks nationwide as it used to, for one example. California still requires more-expensive gasoline mixtures that aren’t used in other parts of the country. As well as other mandates, including for portable generators etc.
Now we just need to separate from China as much as we’ve largely been separating from California.