Activists Want Stricter Emissions Standards from the Biden Administration

Are the emissions standards being proposed by the Biden administration strict enough to move our country forward in the war on pollution?

According to two-dozen activist groups they are not. While this might seem like several groups sending a letter to the President to tell him that he’s not being strict enough on vehicle emissions, but it might take some getting to the meat of the argument to figure out which side of this you might want to be on.

The Environmental Groups Want EmissionsReduced by Much More

One of the first Presidents to push for emissionsstandards to be stricter was Obama. During his era, the year-over-year reduction was to be five percent. While this does mean that the reduction would never reach zero, five percent each year seems an unlikely and lofty goal. As we come closer to reducing emissions to zero, there will become a hard choice that needs to be made.

Currently, the California Air Resource Board agreement with a group of five automakers, which is reflected as national regulations, requires emissions to be reduced by 3.7 percent year-over-year. Considering the five percent per year during the Obama presidency, this seems like a logical change. Unfortunately, the actual number is much closer to 2.7 percent as reported by Bloomberg, but that might be enough of a reduction each year.

Concerns that Make Sense

While the letter sent to the President was filled with flowing language and a call for integrity when it comes to vehicle emissions standards, there are some concerns that make more sense than a call for a five percent reduction every year. The current emissions regulations do not account for the emissions produced when an electric vehicle is charged. While EVs drive without producing emissions, the electricity used to charge them has to come from somewhere.

The group of environmental activists is concerned that not accounting for the energy from coal-fired plants could lead to the use of more coal for electricity. They also worry that automakers will lean on the ZEV credits and avoid improving the emissions efficiency of gasoline vehicles over the next several years. These are legitimate concerns and something that President Biden and his administration need to consider during their time in office.

Let’s Put This Together

On one hand, we have the activist calling for the same five percent year-over-year reduction of emissions which would move much faster than the emissions controlling technology. While, in a perfect world, we would all drive electric vehicles with charging stations that receive power from wind, solar, or water power only, that’s not a reality. No matter the reason, we aren’t quiteto the point where we can completely turn our back on gasoline.

Why Can’t Everyone Go Electric?

The challenge of driving electric vehicles for personal use has to do with the driving range when it’s time to take a road trip. Most EVs now offer more than enough driving range for a full day of working, running errands, and taking kids to activities. With new trucks being offered that operate on electricity, daily use of EVs can certainly rise, and those road trips might have to be taken via airplane or train.

Unfortunately, it’s still difficult to expect commercial companies to move to electric vehicles. The charging time it takes to fill a battery is still too great for allof those semi-trucks on the roads to change to electricity. Add the fact that these vehicles are some of the worst for the environment with their massive diesel engines, and you can see how reducing emissions standards is difficult and five percent might not be realistic.

Other Alternative Fuels Might be the Right Answer

Currently, electricity is the most popular alternative fuel being used, but other products that don’t have any emissions expelled out of the vehicle might be a better solution. Hydrogen is one of these fuels and it might be the answer to the commercial vehicle challenge. Unfortunately, this fuel isn’t being researched as much as electricity and it has a negative aura about it.

What Will the President’s Response Be?

Will the Biden administration respond with stricter emissions regulations in the future or will he respond by reminding this group that technology isn’t at the level to where we can reduce emissions by five percent every single year? There will be a time, not too long from now when more new vehicles are electric than gasoline, but we still won’t likely be at a zero-emissions level. However, the closer we get, the cleaner the air will be; that’s certainly something to consider.