NY Times: Delta Variant Could Totally Slow Economic Growth/Recovery

By William Teach July 28, 2021 – 10:30 am

Poll after poll show a lack of faith in Sleepy Joe and his administration when it comes to economic matters, along with concerns about the state of the economy and the recovery. And in comes the NY Times

Will the Delta Variant Wreck the Recovery?

COVID dancing penguinsThe good economic news, when it comes to the ascendant Delta variant of the coronavirus, is that it puts the economy at risk in only two ways. The bad news: They are supply and demand.

So far, the recovery remains robust by most available data. Real-time indicators of business activity show little evidence that Americans are pulling back their economic activity in any meaningful way.

But while there is no reason to expect a repeat of the huge disruption of 2020, the new variant puts at risk the kind of rapid recovery that has been underway for months. Just as major parts of the economy were figuring out how to return to full functioning, this may amount to throwing sand in the gears.

The emergence of the variant has already caused several wobbly days on Wall Street. And the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, is likely to face questions about the economic implications of Delta in a news conference Wednesday afternoon after a meeting of the Fed’s policy committee.

At the White House, officials are monitoring the variant closely, but see no evidence that it is hurting the recovery — or that policymakers will need to inject another dose of short-term fiscal stimulus anytime soon.

So, at the moment, there’s no widespread concern from the Delta variant seriously disrupting the economy. But, they are putting it out there in case they need to flip to protect Biden from his crappy handling of the economy. However

As economists and policymakers game out the nature of those risks, what stands out is not the chance of a major shutdown. Instead, the concerns are the constraints on the availability of workers and on the supply and demand for many services.

This gives Democrats a chance to push for significantly raising the minimum wage, and for more government control of the economy.

On the supply side, there are already severe disruptions in many supply chains, especially those that rely on goods imported from Asia. These create ripple effects for the United States, such as a shortage of computer chips that is in turn hindering automobile production and contributing to high inflation.

Shockingly, some people still don’t know this. They show up and are like “where are all the new and used cars? Why do I have to put a deposit down and wait for the new car I want?” It gets tedious explaining this.

All of that means that the policy response to the Delta variant, as for Covid all along, relies more heavily on getting the best possible public health outcomes, with conventional economic policy a secondary concern.

Just when it seemed that the pandemic policy story was finally winding down, in other words, it is starting to repeat itself.

And there you have it. The ending is showing that the economy might go south again, and all this is meant to protect Biden from criticism. And, let’s be honest, it wouldn’t be all his fault, just like it wasn’t Trump’s fault. Trump wasn’t mandating this and that, locking people down, saying they couldn’t buy seeds for the garden or go out and exercise. He wanted the economy moving. Most was done at the state level. Joe seems to be mandating and pushing at the federal level. So, he bears more responsibility, and his economic recovery plans have not been working.

Read: NY Times: Delta Variant Could Totally Slow Economic Growth/Recovery »

Posted in Bat Soup Virus, Joe Biden | 8 Comments | Trackback URL

Hotcold Take: NATO Should Invoke Article 5 To Fight Climate Crisis (scam)

By William Teach July 28, 2021 – 8:03 am

Is anyone else disturbed on using our military, and those of the other NATO members, to “combat” the climate emergency (scam)? What, exactly, would this look like? Where would they be fighting it? How would they be fighting it? What kinds of restrictions will be placed on citizen’s lives? Will they be using firearms to enforce mandates? Will they be invading and taking over countries that don’t Comply?

Climate change is a unifying threat — NATO should enact Article 5 to combat it

The North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) recently joined the group of nations, cities, central bank and companies pledging to eliminate net CO2 emissions by 2050. We should certainly applaud them. NATO’s purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of all its members by political and military means.

But despite a plethora of pledges made by many entities to reduce carbon emissions, the CO2 level is now 409ppm (higher than at any point in at least the past 800,000 years) and climbing. In that context, can NATO’s plan be anything more than a decent gesture that will have little impact on climate change and CO2 levels. Given climate change is one of the greatest threats to global populations — and has increased conflicts and suffering — is this enough from NATO? I argue no. NATO has the power to do more.

What if NATO was to consider climate change as a full-fledged assault on our communities, nations and planet? And instead of a voluntary pledge NATO attacked climate change under its existing charter to create a secure world, and support allies. In other words: What if NATO invoked Article 5?

Article 5 (The Collective Defense Clause) of the North Atlantic Treaty that created NATO is at the heart of the alliance. The clause states that if a NATO ally is the victim of an armed attack, every other member of the alliance will consider this act of violence as an attack against all members. NATO will then take the actions deemed necessary to assist. At what point does climate change become that unifying threat?

The notion that Article 5 was invoked after September 11th is mentioned, and how it was used to fight Islamist (well, a good liberal never mentions who, exactly, attacked the U.S.) terrorism.

First, NATO nations can agree that climate change is a threat to peace and security, requiring an Article 5-level collective action. The organization touts its consulting and cooperation on defense and security-related issues to prevent conflict ultimately.

As it did after 9/11, nations can share data to develop proactive, responsive strategies for climate change. NATO can use the shared information to analyze scenarios, hypothesize outcomes and find ways to reduce or improve the crises.

Interesting, but, not particularly in depth. Nor does this piece go in depth. There’s some yammering about responding to “climate disasters’, otherwise what used to be known as “weather” prior to the rise of the climate cult. Deborah Brosnan, Ph.D., who is an environmental scientist and a marine resilience specialist, talks a bit about responding, but, what about the proactive strategies? That’s concerning. But, not unusual, because climate cultists really do not want to mention what they really believe should happen.

Read: Hotcold Take: NATO Should Invoke Article 5 To Fight Climate Crisis (scam) »

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CDC, Nancy Pelosi Reverse Positions On Masking

By William Teach July 28, 2021 – 7:50 am

Will people comply with new mask mandates? Tucker Carlson makes a good point, which you’re surely making in your head at the same time

(Fox News) Millions of children will now be required to cover their faces in school — this despite the scientifically established fact that masks pose a far greater threat to children than COVID does. Strictly speaking, as a scientific matter, this is lunacy. But there’s more.

According to an announcement by the CDC this afternoon, the administration will force masks on adults as well — including on people who’ve already been vaccinated. Pause to consider this for a moment. Americans were promised that if they took the vaccines, they could have their lives back. So by the millions, they did that. Now they’ve learned in the clearest possible way that they were lied to. They got their shots, but the Biden Administration has decided to continue to control what they wear, where they go and who they talk to. Why are they doing that? What’s happening here, exactly?

So, the White House and CDC are recommending that all the kids wear masks at school, despite all the science saying something different. And the administration’s response, through Jen Psaki (who wasn’t wearing a mask), is pretty much “because we said so.” Nothing of depth is offered. But, see, it’s not just for kids

(The Hill) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday reversed guidance from just two months ago by saying fully vaccinated people should now mask up in certain areas, underscoring the growing threat posed by a new strain of the coronavirus.

In updated guidelines, the CDC advised fully vaccinated people to wear masks in “public, indoor settings” in parts of the country with “substantial” or “high” levels of transmission. Agency officials cited data showing vaccinated people can spread the delta variant, which recently became the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the U.S.

Public health experts widely applauded the decision as the right move amid surging cases and with less than half of the U.S. population fully vaccinated.

These would be the masks that made almost no difference once the mandates were implemented, right? When China Flu exploded even worse than during the initial outbreak, right? How will this incentivize the unvaccinated to take the vaccine? If they can’t get their lives back, why would they take it? They aren’t going to consider that it would mostly mean that if they get the Delta variant of China Flu they will have symptoms like a basic cold, not end up in the ICU and potentially die. The problem with mask mandates is that companies will mostly go along, in order to avoid overbearing government.

House to resume mask mandate after new CDC guidance

Masks will once again be universally required on the House side of the Capitol amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant, the Capitol physician announced late Tuesday night.

The resumption of the House mask mandate — just over a month after it was lifted — comes after new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earlier Tuesday recommending that vaccinated people should wear masks in high-risk areas.

“To be clear, for meetings in an enclosed US House of Representatives controlled space, masks are REQUIRED,” a memo from the Capitol physician, Brian Monahan, states. (snip)

“For the Congress, representing a collection of individuals traveling weekly from various risk areas (both high and low rates of disease transmission), all individuals should wear a well-fitted, medical-grade filtration mask (for example an ear loop surgical mask or a KN95 mask) when they are in an interior space,” Monahan wrote.

First, you can bet Nancy Pelosi was behind this. While wearing a non-medical grade mask that does barely anything to stop Bat Soup Virus. Second, neither of the two masks Monahan mentioned are meant to truly stop COVID. N95’s are better, but, they are single use masks (both types are), and people will wear them for days and days. And, again, what’s the point of being vaccinated?

“Make no mistake — The threat of bringing masks back is not a decision based on science, but a decision conjured up by liberal government officials who want to continue to live in a perpetual pandemic state,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) tweeted Tuesday night

About half of Republicans in the House are vaccinated. Will instituting a mask mandate entice them? If they want to take the chance, that’s on them. Back to Tucker

You just read it. Quote: “public health leaders in our administration have made the determination.” In other words, because we said so. That’s the medical justification for suffocating your third grader with a paper mask forever. “Public health leaders in the administration have made the determination.” They issue the rule, without explaining it. You then obey it. If you question it, CNN calls you a murderer. That’s how our government works. (snip)

So, a rational public health policy would look entirely different from the one the Biden administration is now embarking on. A rational administration would make vaccines available to anyone who wants one, and leave the rest of the population alone to live their lives — like they used to do in America back when it was a free country.

Just leave people alone. If they want to risk it, that’s their choice. I think it’s a bad one. If they want to ride without a helmet, that’s on them. If they were smart, they’d recommend distancing, which was seeming to work, along with the rest of the initial guidance: wash your hands, don’t touch your face, be careful.

Read: CDC, Nancy Pelosi Reverse Positions On Masking »

Posted in Bat Soup Virus, Democrats, Joe Biden, Queen Nancy | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

Your Fault: Climate Crisis To Drive Record Shattering Heat Extremes

By William Teach July 27, 2021 – 3:00 pm

All because you won’t give up meat, move into a tiny home in a big city, and give your money to government

Climate change will drive rise in ‘record-shattering’ heat extremes

“Record-shattering” extremes – which break weather records by large margins – will become more likely as a result of climate change, a new study finds.

The paper, published in Nature Climate Change, finds that the northern mid-latitudes are particularly vulnerable to record-shattering heat. This is exemplified by the recent heatwave over north-western US and Canada, in which many long-standing temperature records were broken by as much as 5C.

The study finds that record-shattering extreme events are likely to occur more frequently in the coming decades, but notes that they would be “nearly impossible” without climate change. It adds that the speed of warming is more important than the level of warming reached when determining the likelihood of these extremes.

Just wondering, what’s the penalty for being grossly wrong, like virtually every environmental and ‘climate change’ doom prognostication? What’s the penalty for news outlets who push this stuff without any sort of journalistic skepticism?

“I think it is an extremely important paper that couldn’t be more timely”, a scientist who was not involved in the research tells Carbon Brief. She adds that, after the heatwave in the Pacific north-west, “many people have suggested our climate models are not able to simulate such events”. However, “this paper shows very nicely that they do. We just haven’t asked the question in quite this way before.”

In other words, they wrote it to push the doom. And get more government study grant money. This is climate science.

Read: Your Fault: Climate Crisis To Drive Record Shattering Heat Extremes »

Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 20 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach July 27, 2021 – 1:00 pm

…are glaciers which will Soon! disappear due to Other People not taking the train, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Victory Girls Blog, with a post on race scam aimed at Woke whites.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

Welcome To Dem Run Oakland: Former Senator Barbara Boxer Robbed

By William Teach July 27, 2021 – 10:30 am

There was a very old notion from the Framers of the Constitution that the federal Congress should be composed of citizens who go to Washington for a time and then return home to live under the laws that they passed. Well, this is the type of thing that Democrats like Boxer have created

Former Sen. Barbara Boxer attacked, robbed in California

Former Sen. Barbara Boxer was attacked and robbed of her cell phone Monday while in Northern California, according to a Twitter post from her account.

Boxer, a Democrat from California, was in Oakland’s Jack London Square neighborhood when someone pushed her in the back and took her phone, according to the tweet.

“Earlier today former Senator Barbara Boxer was assaulted in the Jack London Square neighborhood of Oakland,” the social media post reads. “The assailant pushed her in the back, stole her cell phone and jumped in a waiting car. She is thankful that she was not seriously injured.” (snip)

The (Oakland Police) department’s robbery section is investigating the incident. A $2,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest.

I bet they will investigate a lot harder for this than for the average citizen, eh? This is what happens in Liberal World, where Democrats have enable high crime in California. Oakland has long been a high crime area, but, did you know how high? Per Neighborhood Scout, the city is a 1, meaning it is safer than just 1% of US cities. Since there is no zero, it is really the worst of the worst. On violent crime, it has 12.94 violent crimes per 1,000. California is at 4.41, the US median is 4. You have a 1 in 77 chance of being a victim of a violent crime in Oakland. California is 1 in 227. Murder, rape, robbery, and assault are well above the national median.

Property crime is 65.78 per 1,000. California is 23.31, nationally is 21. You have a one in fifteen chance of being the victim of theft, motor vehicle theft, or burglary. Again, well above national numbers. Especially theft and motor vehicle theft. Oakland has 607 crimes per square mile, vs 83 per square mile for California and 28.3 nationally. This is what Democrats like Boxer created with their soft on crimes policies.

Policies?

AOC says she wants ‘to abolish our carceral system’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said she wants to “abolish” the U.S. carceral system during a campaign event for Ohio congressional candidate Nina Turner on Saturday.

“I want to abolish our carceral system that’s designed to trap Black and Brown men,” the democratic socialist told a rally of Turner supporters in Cleveland. “I want justice. I want peace, and I want prosperity. That’s what I want.”

So, how does this work? Is the jail system replaced with anything? Treating criminals with kid gloves doesn’t work well in Oakland, eh?

Read: Welcome To Dem Run Oakland: Former Senator Barbara Boxer Robbed »

Posted in Democrats, Liberal World | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Folks In NJ Seaside Town Not Enthused About Extending Rail

By William Teach July 27, 2021 – 7:13 am

Bay Head, NJ, is a town that tends, like the rest of Ocean County, to vote Republican. But, you have a lot of rich, left leaning Democrats from North Jersey who own shore homes there

Rich New Jersey Shore Enclave Says No to Climate-Change Rail Project

A project to end increasing rounds of flood damage is pitting New Jersey Transit against an oceanside enclave of multimillion-dollar homes.

Bay Head, where billionaire philanthropist Peter Kellogg learned to sail as a kid, is the last stop on the North Jersey Coast Line that runs about 70 miles north to Manhattan. It’s also the site where NJ Transit, the nation’s largest statewide commuter-transportation provider, is spending $32 million to rebuild a power station damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

But town officials and some residents want no part of an effort to boost trains used more by summer visitors than themselves. Opponents cite the construction’s potential to contaminate Twilight Lake, which feeds Barnegat Bay, the state’s largest inland waterway. And while Governor Phil Murphy — a regular at the upscale Charlie’s of Bay Head restaurant on the lake’s edge — calls for 50% clean energy statewide by 2030, the project will leave the town’s trains still relying on diesel fuel.

“You have a governor who’s opposed to fossil fuels and meanwhile, they have a train that’s polluting the environment,” said beachfront homeowner Lawrence E. Bathgate II, 82, an attorney and former finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. “It’s as if we’re second-class citizens.” (big snip)

Summertime passengers push Bay Head’s daily boardings to about 286, double the off-season figure. The new elevated substation, with a completion date in late 2023, will provide steady electricity to the rail yard, ultimately benefiting all the line’s riders, NJ Transit says.

The train in Bay Head is really not used that much, and is the start of the line all the way up to Penn Station in NYC. I’ve ridden it many a time from the next station north, Manasquan. A goodly chunk of the Bay Head riders don’t even live in Bay Head.

Mayor Bill Curtis, in an interview, said the town had spent around $200,000 challenging the plan. Bay Head got design concessions, but its greater concern is the pumping of millions of gallons of water into Twilight Lake and the Barnegat Bay — keeping the construction area dry but potentially disturbing fuel and other contaminants spilled decades ago.

“It’s just unnecessary,” said Curtis, 78, a Republican and mayor for 14 years. “They’re not willing to do anything to assist the residents of Bay Head.”

Save Barnegat Bay, a non-profit group working to reverse decades of environmental damage, in a lawsuit claims that the project lacks wetlands permits and has disturbed nesting ospreys and other wildlife. Twilight Lake and the bay “are entitled to the highest protections of the Clean Water Act and New Jersey laws,” according to the lawsuit, filed on June 24.

This plan goes back almost two decades, where NJ Transit wants to “advance a plan to upgrade the fueling, light maintenance and storage operations at the existing Bay Head yard — which was originally constructed in 1872 — to comply with new Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulations and to help address community concerns including noise, lighting and diesel fumes.” Bay Head wants nothing to do with this. And now the state is trying to do this to deal with the climate crisis scam. You think Gov Phil Murphy takes the train? How about Warmists coming to the shore? Lots of people are enthused to Do Something about ‘climate change’ in theory, not in practice.

Read: Folks In NJ Seaside Town Not Enthused About Extending Rail »

Posted in Collapsing Science, Global Warming | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Covidurtue Signalers Are Getting Mad At The Unvaccinated Or Something

By William Teach July 27, 2021 – 6:58 am

Why? If people want to take the chance without the vaccine, that’s on them. Especially since data is showing that the vaccinated can, in fact, get COVID, and the Delta variant is blowing through the vaccine protection, you just don’t get as sick. Usually.

As Virus Cases Rise, Another Contagion Spreads Among the Vaccinated: Anger

As coronavirus cases resurge across the country, many inoculated Americans are losing patience with vaccine holdouts who, they say, are neglecting a civic duty or clinging to conspiracy theories and misinformation even as new patients arrive in emergency rooms and the nation renews mask advisories.

And many of them don’t think they need it as they never caught it during all those months. And don’t trust something that was developed so quickly. One with no real trials. And more legitimate reasons.

The country seemed to be exiting the pandemic; barely a month ago, a sense of celebration was palpable. Now many of the vaccinated fear for their unvaccinated children and worry that they are at risk themselves for breakthrough infections. Rising case rates are upending plans for school and workplace reopenings, and threatening another wave of infections that may overwhelm hospitals in many communities.

Even if we had everyone vaccinated

“It’s like the sun has come up in the morning and everyone is arguing about it,” said Jim Taylor, 66, a retired civil servant in Baton Rouge, La., a state in which fewer than half of adults are fully vaccinated.

Or, you can mind your own business and take care of yourself and family, and let others do their thing.

“The virus is here and it’s killing people, and we have a time-tested way to stop it — and we won’t do it. It’s an outrage.”

The rising sentiment is contributing to support for more coercive measures. Scientists, business leaders and government officials are calling for vaccine mandates — if not by the federal government, then by local jurisdictions, schools, employers and businesses.

“I’ve become angrier as time has gone on,” said Doug Robertson, 39, a teacher who lives outside Portland, Ore., and has three children too young to be vaccinated, including a toddler with a serious health condition.

These are the same people who wear masks to own the Cons. And then leave their noses (and even mouths) constantly uncovered. Wear it wrong so it doesn’t cover the sides of their faces properly. And then bro-hug. Get too close. Lower it when done at gym and immediately light up a smoke (yeah, that was yesterday morning). Wear one when solo in their own car. This is the NY Times trying to make people angry. I’ve seen some of these nuts online, but, never seen one in person. Have you? If they want to get angry, and let the Times make them angry (does the Times require all employees to be vaccinated?), well, they can simply mind their own f’ing business.

The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday required that 115,000 on-site health care workers be vaccinated in the next two months, the first federal agency to order a mandate. Nearly 60 major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association, on Monday called for mandatory vaccination of all health care workers.

What about the Times? Regardless, a lot of people will quit, and an already medically understaffed VA will lose more medical professionals, just like at hospitals. Why is it that you see numbers that say that 30% of hospital staff are not vaccinated, when they were the first to be allowed? Maybe they all don’t trust it.

Communities from San Francisco to Austin, Texas, are recommending that vaccinated people wear masks again in public indoor settings. Citing the spread of the more contagious Delta variant of the virus, the counties of Los Angeles and St. Louis, Mo., have ordered indoor mask mandates.

The masks that didn’t work. Thin pieces of cloth that do not stop viruses.

“It goes beyond just putting us at risk,” he said. “People with privilege are refusing the vaccine, and it’s affecting our economy and perpetuating the cycle.” As infections rise, he added, “I feel like we’re at that same precipice as just a year ago, where people don’t care if more people die.”

Privilege. Sigh.

Some are even wondering how much sympathy they should have for fellow citizens who are not acting in their own best interest. “I feel like if you chose not to get vaccinated, and now you get sick, it’s kind of your bad,” said Lia Hockett, 21, the manager of Thunderbolt Spiritual Books in Santa Monica, Calif.

She’s right. What about if you’re vaccinated and get sick?

Rising resentment among the vaccinated may well lead to public support for more coercive requirements, including mandates, but experts warn that punitive measures and social ostracism can backfire, shutting down dialogue and outreach efforts.

People are too invested in Other People’s lives, and really just need to mind their own business. Even with something like COVID. Give me my space, don’t touch me, and live your life, make your decision on being vaccinated, I’ll make mine.

Read: Covidurtue Signalers Are Getting Mad At The Unvaccinated Or Something »

Posted in Bat Soup Virus | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Even If You Had An EV, Where Will You Charge It In Los Angeles?

By William Teach July 26, 2021 – 6:54 pm

Read: Even If You Had An EV, Where Will You Charge It In Los Angeles? »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming, Liberal World, Progressive Goals | Comments Off on Even If You Had An EV, Where Will You Charge It In Los Angeles? | Trackback URL

NY Times Seems Upset That Toyota Is Working To Delay Electric Vehicles

By William Teach July 26, 2021 – 3:00 pm

Perhaps Toyota isn’t seeing profit in them? I wish I could find the list again of the top 100 cars for lowest depreciation. There were only two hybrids on it, both Prius’. Not one EV

Toyota Led on Clean Cars. Now Critics Say It Works to Delay Them.

Electric vehicleThe Toyota Prius hybrid was a milestone in the history of clean cars, attracting millions of buyers worldwide who could do their part for the environment while saving money on gasoline.

But in recent months, Toyota, one of the world’s largest automakers, has quietly become the industry’s strongest voice opposing an all-out transition to electric vehicles — which proponents say is critical to fighting climate change.

Last month, Chris Reynolds, a senior executive who oversees government affairs for the company, traveled to Washington for closed-door meetings with congressional staff members and outlined Toyota’s opposition to an aggressive transition to all-electric cars. He argued that gas-electric hybrids like the Prius and hydrogen-powered cars should play a bigger role, according to four people familiar with the talks. (snip)

The recent push in Washington follows Toyota’s worldwide efforts — in markets including the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Australia — to oppose stricter car emissions standards or fight electric vehicle mandates. For example, executives at Toyota’s Indian subsidiary publicly criticized India’s target for 100 percent electric vehicle sales by 2030, saying it was not practical.

Together with other automakers, Toyota also sided with the Trump administration in a battle with California over the Clean Air Act and sued Mexico over fuel efficiency rules. In Japan, Toyota officials argued against carbon taxes.

Hybrids make sense. EVs don’t. The average price for an EV is $54000. That’s higher than a fully loaded Sienna or Highlander. And an EV will go a whole lot less per charge. And most people cannot afford that. Even without factoring in tax, tags, dealer fees, can you guess how much a 5 year loan for $54k with $2000 down is at 1.9APR? $909 a month. And that car will be worth crap-all when they go to sell it.

“Toyota has gone from a leading position to an industry laggard” in clean-car policy even as other automakers push ahead with ambitious electric vehicle plans, said Danny Magill, an analyst at InfluenceMap, a London-based think tank that tracks corporate climate lobbying. InfluenceMap gives Toyota a “D-” grade, the worst among automakers, saying it exerts policy influence to undermine public climate goals.

By “public”, do they mean “government”? Explain the costs to consumers along with the limited range and extra time for travel and the citizens might put the brakes on this idiocy. Let’s say I had a Tesla and wanted to head down to Wrightsville Beach for the day. The least expensive is the Model 3, around $39000, with a range of 260-353 miles per charge. It’s around 130 miles from Raleigh to Wrightsville. But, you can hit some great traffic going through Wilmington. What if I need to charge? There’s one station across the Intercoastal. Too far to leave charging and walk. There’s certainly some on the way back. I don’t mind sitting around for an hour, right? Not bloody likely.

In statements, Toyota said that it was in no way opposed to electric vehicles. “We agree and embrace the fact that all-electric vehicles are the future,” Eric Booth, a Toyota spokesman, said. But Toyota thinks that “too little attention is being paid to what happens between today, when 98 percent of the cars and trucks sold are powered at least in part by gasoline, and that fully electrified future,” he said.

Until then, Mr. Booth said, it makes sense for Toyota to lean on its existing hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles to reduce emissions. Hydrogen fuel cell technology should also play a role. And any efficiency standards should “be informed by what technology can realistically deliver and help keep vehicles affordable,” the company said in a statement.

How’d the Volt do? Sure, government bought a lot, but, consumer sales were low. Same with the Honda Clarity and most. People do not want this. Has the NY Times replaced their use of fossil fueled vehicles with EVs? Toyota is not stupid. They have a pretty good grasp on what consumers want, what they are willing to pay, and the fallout from forcing this switch. A switch that politicians are mostly not making in their own lives.

Read: NY Times Seems Upset That Toyota Is Working To Delay Electric Vehicles »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 7 Comments | Trackback URL
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