Photo: Hookyung Lee / Pixabay
It is difficult to find logic and justification for the increase in gasoline prices in recent months in our area. There has been no interruption in supply, transportation or refinery work.
However, these increases do not affect the entire population in the same way. At equal increases, people with fewer resources, including much of our Latino community in Los Angeles, must pay a higher proportion of their income for transportation than others. It is the second highest expense for families after housing.
Solutions cannot wait.
Weekly a new model of electric car appears. The market is growing visibly and the state government is advancing a plan so that all new cars sold for 2035 are zero emission.
In 2021, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and battery of fuel accounted for 12,4% of California new car sales versus 7.8% in 2020: almost 60% more .
But it’s not enough. The growth of affordable, zero-emission transportation must be focused on those who require public transportation and those who drive polluting cars.
It’s simple: passenger vehicles are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for the 25% of environmental pollution.
This it means that in this celebration of innovation and development we once again forget that for our community, the electrification of trucks and buses can no longer wait. Health damage continues, for example, from toxic truck diesel emissions that continue to impact communities of color where they live, near freeways, rail stations, and ports.
Low-income communities of color have for many years borne the brunt of vehicular pollution but been left out of the benefits of switching to technologies cleaner.
There are successful initial plans, such as the SB law 1275 by Kevin de León that already in 1275 opened the doors for our community to have greater access to electric cars through rebates, credits and Clean Cars 4 All, an old-for-electric car trade-in program with a potential value of up to $9, 400 for low-income drivers in disadvantaged communities in Los Angeles, Sacramento, the Bay Area, Orange County, and the San Joaquin Valley.
There are similar “scrap and replace” plans that provide incentives, such as that of the California Air Resources Board, but do not specify that the replacement be with an electric car.
There is also the new program launched by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and Councilman Curren Price in South Los Angeles that expands services electric vehicle sharing facilities, charging facilities, on-demand transportation, and electric bicycles. It is noble, but not enough to change our reality.
That’s just it can be done by the state government, using part of the budget surplus.
Sacramento must decide once and for all to “put their money where their mouth is” in order to adequately finance the changes. Benefits must be adjusted to a person’s income and the area where they live. And they should take into account that despite the progress made, electric cars are still expensive and their range is less than the 400 miles from a car with a combustion engine.
Every step, every decision on the road to vehicle electrification must serve the communities; It is the only way to ensure that we advance as a society towards electrification.
The Charge Ahead California Campaign, led by the Coalition for Clean Air, Communities for a Better Environment, Environment California, The Greenlining Institute, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, among many other organizations, is It focuses precisely on these needs. In one document, he urges the Legislature and Governor to fully fund clean transportation programs and ensure those investments are made in low-income, historically disadvantaged communities.
The coalition requests that the state ensure access to charging stations in or near multi-family homes.
Ask for billions for the electrification of trucks and buses used by the community. More shows by the billions follow.
“The communities most affected by environmental damage and risks,” the document concludes, “have paid a disproportionately high price with their health for the cradle-to-grave impacts of fossil fuels, and deserve to benefit first from public dollars and of any available incentive.”
This is a critical time for change and the Charge Ahead California initiative comes at a good time.
Gabriel Lerner is editor emeritus of Real America News.