Are EVs a Threat to the Republic?

This text isn’t involved with dangers to people from driving all electrical automobiles (EVs); nor with the consequences, if any, EVs could or could not have on the setting.

Our concern is the hazards to which an all EV fleet could expose our society and our nation.

To this point, the debates surrounding EVs have centered on gross sales and the setting: Does constructing and driving EVs actually assist the setting? “How does one improve EV gross sales?

For the sake of argument, allow us to assume everybody agrees that EVs assist and one might get the general public to simply accept them.

WHAT THEN?

Recognizing governments can not management Mom Nature both by elevating taxes or issuing mandates; one has to weigh what injury(s), if any, an all electrical fleet might trigger within the occasion of a pure, man-made, or maliciously impressed catastrophe.

The query then comes all the way down to: what occurs if we do not need electrical energy and what are the chances of that occuring?

NATURAL DISASTERS HAPPEN

On July 13, 1977, a lightning strike on a substation precipitated a blackout within the Metropolis of New York that resulted in looting, arson and different felony exercise,

On November 9, 1965, the tripping of a transmission line close to Ontario, Canada precipitated one of many largest energy failures in historical past, affecting over 30 million individuals, spanning throughout all of New York State, parts of seven different states, and elements of jap Canada.

Tens of millions of commuters had been delayed and lots of of hundreds of individuals had been stranded in subways, workplace buildings and flats.

Because of this, hundreds of Nationwide Guard troopers and off-duty police needed to drive, or be pushed to the realm to guard residents and property.

Then there was the Northeast blackout of 2003 which blacked out elements of the Northeast and Midwest and most elements of the Canadian province of Ontario.

That blackout was supposedly trigger by a “software program bug” within the alarm system on the management room of FirstEnergy.

These are however a couple of of the lots of of blackout incurred throughout the nation from snow storms, hurricanes and overtaxed tools.

THREATS FROM TERRORISTS

Terrorists are and have been a acknowledged risk, particularly immediately, with our authorities having permitted over a million “gotaways” to penetrate our borders.

In a November 15, 2023 listening to earlier than the Home Committee on Homeland Safety, FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed that the Border Disaster Poses Main Homeland Safety Menace

(COMMITTEE) “. . . . members acquired affirmation of the pressing nationwide safety risk posed by the almost 1.8 million recognized gotaways and the rising variety of people on the terrorist watch-list apprehended crossing the Southwest border—particularly as America’s enemies, together with Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah, have been emboldened to unfold their malign affect . . . .” Supply: Home Homeland Safety web site.

In 2013, “. . . . a mysterious incident south of San Jose marked probably the most severe assault on our energy grid in historical past.

For 20 minutes, gunmen methodically fired at excessive voltage transformers on the Metcalf Energy substation. Safety cameras captured bullets hitting the chain hyperlink fence.

JON WELLINGHOFF, then chairman of the Federal Vitality Regulatory Fee (FERC) said:

“They knew what they had been doing. They’d a selected goal. They wished to knock out the substation.

BILL WHITAKER: If they’d succeeded, what would’ve occurred?

JON WELLINGHOFF: Might’ve introduced down all of Silicon Valley.

BILL WHITAKER: We’re speaking Google, Apple; all these guys-

JON WELLINGHOFF: Sure, sure. That is appropriate.”

Supply: Susceptible U.S. electrical grid dealing with threats from Russia and home terrorists, By Invoice Whitaker, CBS Information, February 27, 2022

The next 12 months, on March 12, 2014, the Wall Road Journal warned the U.S. might endure a coast-to-coast blackout if saboteurs knocked out simply 9 of the nation’s electric-transmission substations.

In 2021, Border Patrol Deputy Chief Raul Ortiz (Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)) warned that his company was recording 1,000 gotaways a day.

Supply: Border surge contains individuals from international locations apart from Central America, highlighting terror risk, by Nolan Rappaport, Opinion Contributor, The Hill, Could 18, 2021.

VULNERABILITY TO OUR ENEMIES

On October of 2018, the U.S. Division of Homeland Safety warned, in its “Technique for Defending and Getting ready the Homeland In opposition to Threats of Electromagnetic Pulse and Geomagnetic Disturbances” that excessive electromagnetic incidents brought on by an intentional electromagnetic pulse (EMP) assault or a naturally occurring geomagnetic disturbance . . . similar to excessive geomagnetic disturbances related to photo voltaic coronal mass ejections . . . could trigger widespread and long-lasting injury to {the electrical} grid to incorporate vital parts of the Nation’s vital infrastructure, together with electrical energy methods, satellites, digital navigation methods, communications tools, water and wastewater methods, and transportation modes and undersea cables.

They reported that “There are 16 vital infrastructure sectors whose belongings, methods, and networks, whether or not bodily or digital, thought-about so important to the US that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating impact on safety, nationwide financial safety, nationwide public well being or security, or any mixture thereof. (Supply: Homeland Safety Website. See hyperlink at finish of report..)

• On February 27, 2022, ABC’s 60-minutes once more warned: Susceptible U.S. electrical grid dealing with threats from Russia and home terrorists, and went on to report: One White Home official famous that Russia has confirmed its potential to make use of cyber assaults to close down electrical grids, and “compromised U.S. vitality networks.” We have been trying on the grid for months and had been shocked to find out how susceptible it’s, and the way usually it is intentionally focused.

(Years again, on Could 1, 2020 then President Trump acknowledged the risk and issued Government Order 13929 “ . . . declaring a nationwide emergency with respect to the nation’s electrical grid and prohibiting the acquisition or set up of “any bulk-power electrical tools designed, developed, manufactured, or provided, by individuals owned by, managed by, or topic to the jurisdiction of such overseas adversaries.” Along with China and Russia, the order recognized North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela as ‘overseas adversaries.’

Sadly, for some unknown purpose, that Government Order was suspended.”

Supply: March 10, 2021 Commentary: Might China Hack Our Electrical Grid?, by The Hon. J. William Middendorf II, Emeritus Trustee since 2022, Heritage Trustee from 1988 to 2022.)

Middendorf additionally warned that:

“Secret ‘again doorways’ in transformers and mills imported from such adversaries as China and Russia might allow these international locations to close down your entire nationwide electrical grid, throwing your entire nation into chaos.

. . .

[In (2020] . . . the Wall Road Journal reported that U.S. officers had seized a Chinese language-built transformer they suspected had been (sic) secret capabilities that would enable distant adversaries to watch and even disable it. Cybersecurity knowledgeable Joseph Weiss informed the Journal that officers had discovered “electronics that ought to not have been a part of the transformer (i.e., {hardware} again doorways) that would secretly enable the Chinese language to achieve efficient management of the transformers.” Weiss added that way back to 2001, China was caught making an attempt to hack right into a U.S. grid in California. He additional contends that the Russians have been ‘in’the U.S. grid since 2014.”

WILL INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES (ICE) EVER BE REPLACE?

A number of, non damming options are on the horizon.

Aiko Toyoda mentioned it a very long time in the past. “We begin with hybrids and EVs, whereas nonetheless permitting ICE automobiles to be bought and operated, and we proceed naturally from there. We don’t mandate.” Supply: “Toyota Shareholders Will Be Thanking Aiko in September,” by: John Pico February 11, 2024. See LinkedIn publish.

Presently, a lot of the main producers Toyota, Ford, Honda, GM, and others are engaged on Hydrogen engines.

Hopefully, in brief order, we’ll gravitate from Hybrids and EVs to hydrogen and ultimately, to fusion.

Fusion is without doubt one of the most promising types of vitality. Its gas is plentiful and simply accessible and it might provide our vitality wants for tens of millions of years.

It doesn’t emit carbon dioxide or different greenhouse gases; its reactors won’t produce lengthy lived nuclear waste; and a meltdown at a fusion reactor is virtually inconceivable.

The primary Worldwide IAEA Fusion Vitality Convention was held in 1961 and, since 1974, the IAEA convenes a convention each two years to foster dialogue on developments and achievements within the subject.

At the moment, nuclear fusion and plasma physics analysis are being carried out in additional than 50 international locations, Since nuclear fusion was first understood again within the Thirties, scientists have been on a mission to recreate and harness the vitality of the solar right here on earth – oft nicknamed “Solar in a Bottle”.

Lastly, on December 5, 2022, the Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) achieved by the Lawrence Livermore Nationwide Laboratory’s (LLNL) Nationwide Ignition Facility (NIF) proved the idea {that a} thermonuclear fusion response (producing extra vitality from the self-sustaining fusion response than required to create the response), a situation often known as ignition, could be reproduced within the laboratory. It’s the identical response limitless vitality that powers the solar and all the celebrities.

Attaining ignition opened the door to discovering a pathway to create industrial fusion crops, which might a viable clean-energy possibility.

Such a end result, nonetheless, is clearly a couple of many years away, but it surely might probably present the final word clear vitality to energy not solely our vehicles, however our ships and spaceships.

The purpose is that EVs are superb as a chunk of the pie, however they don’t seem to be the ultimate answer. They’re merely a child step within the development of fresh vitality options and to threat the safety of our nation and our lifestyle by mandating 100% compliance could, to some, seem folly.

Primarily based upon the proof thus far, it could seem that the manufactures ought to go away the EVs to Tesla and give attention to the longer term options to Inside Combustion Engines (ICE).

The graveyard is replete with Tesla challengers, whereas the large three (GM, Ford and Stellantis have misplaced billions on their foray into the sector.

Hats off to Jim Farley, president and CEO of Ford Motor Co., for having the perception and integrity to depart the consolation of his workplace to expertise firsthand the difficulties encountered by his prospects’ driving Ford EVs, and for giving an unabashed report of his findings.

Not like U.S. Vitality Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, who had her workers, to the chagrin of residents who wished to cost their automobiles, block a public charger with a gasoline automobile to “reserve” it for her upcoming convoy of EVs she was utilizing to focus on the White Home funding in electrical automobiles, Farley mimicked his drive on the precise driving habits of shoppers.