Aug. 15, 2025 5 AM PT
To the editor: With regard to your article (“Newsom’s push to reduce fossil fuels is clashing with California’s thirst for gasoline,” Aug. 11), why are Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic members of the state Legislature shocked?
The Legislature passes payments that primarily are meant to attain factors and do extra to harass oil corporations than they do to cut back air air pollution. Newsom applauds these political payments and urges them to cross extra.
A few years in the past, Democrats within the Legislature pretended to be petroleum engineers and designed a cool political form of gasoline not utilized by the opposite 49 states. This political gasoline is the one sort allowed to be bought in California. It’s extra pricey to make and might solely be made by oil refineries modified at nice expense.
When oil corporations cost extra for this extra-cost gasoline, Newsom accuses them of value gouging. If California can not discover oil refiners outdoors the U.S. who’re prepared to switch their refineries to make “California-only” gasoline, and who’re prepared to place up with the state authorities’s false acquisitions and harassment, some house owners of gasoline-powered automobiles should relearn their childhood abilities at using bicycles.
Gordon Binder, Pasadena
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To the editor: All this Sturm und Drang over the closing of two refineries in California is misplaced. Any critical research of market traits would conclude that the tip of inside combustion might be as quickly as 2035, a mere decade from now. As an alternative of telling readers {that a} discount in oil refining goes to trigger value will increase due to a shortage of gasoline, level them within the route of getting off of fuel solely by switching to an electrical automobile.
Individuals buy more than 40,000 new automobiles — about 3,300 of them are EVs — each single day on common. The most affordable fuel automotive is a fundamental econobox from Nissan for about $17,000. That a lot cash will purchase you a wonderful used EV that may serve you higher with out polluting the air or supporting oil corporations. And because you aren’t shopping for fuel, demand goes down, decreasing the necessity to elevate costs.
I’d prefer to see California use the abilities of our movie trade to supply commercials that dissuade of us from shopping for new fuel automobiles. Scale back demand for fuel automobiles and we’ll get to the tip of inside combustion ahead of later.
Paul Scott, Santa Monica
