In reponse to “Combusting traditional engines in CA”, Issue 5
Mr. Scott Randles
AP Environmental Science
In regards to Chris Klementich’s opinion on traditional internal combustion engines vs. Governor Jerry Brown: Governor Brown’s interest in exploring options to replace the internal combustion engine is not about eliminating particulates.
Many of the pollutants that are now plaguing Beijing (like particulates), are on the list of pollutants that the California Air Resources Board and the South Coast Air Quality Management District addressed decades ago. Our air quality has improved tremendously since the 1970’s (ask any old person who grew up here).
For years, Governor Brown has been a proponent of science, which, along with the US Supreme Court, identifies CO₂ as a major pollutant that is contributing to our current climate change situation. This is the impetus for Brown’s interest in moving away from technologies and economies that require fossil fuels to those that can be perpetually powered by the sun and by the wind.
Furthermore, while one can understand Mr. Klementich’s nostalgic appreciation of old cars, now is the time for re-imagining how we can move people from Point A to Point B.
I look forward to the next generation of fully automated vehicles that will reduce traffic, that will reduce our energy consumption, that will effectively eliminate traffic accidents and the cost of insuring against those accidents.
I suppose there is a place for things like typewriters, record players and coal, but most people recognize that these technologies are past their prime. The same can be said for the automobiles of the 20th century. I commend Governor Brown for having the foresight and courage to propel our great State into the future of transportation.