Claim: Zero carbon emissions not a zero-consequences approach for automobile industry

Zealous “green” energy legislation will (in a stroke of irony) make manufacturing electric vehicles near-impossible, says energy consultant Ronald Stein. Many materials required for EVs are sourced from crude oil derivatives, which will be slapped with an illegal label under Gov. Newsom’s mandate. Plus, tightened environmental regulations across the world currently constrain the lithium mining market (without which EV batteries can’t function). Might CA’s non-renewable moratorium mean a “death spiral for the automobile industry”? To receive daily updates of new Opp Now stories, click here.

Most people do not know that crude oil is useless unless it can be manufactured into something usable. All the material for the EV, from electronics, plastics, glass, leather, tires, etc. are all made from the oil derivatives manufactured from crude oil.

Today’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) divesting in fossil fuels are all the rage to divest in all fossil fuels. ESG is working but will result in shortages and inflation as the new norm as society’s demands for the products from crude oil are exceeding the supply from the diminishing number of manufacturers.

There were almost 700 oil refineries in the world as of January 2020, but as a result on continuous over regulations, permitting delays, aging equipment, over the next five years 20 percent of the them are projected to close. That is a whopping 140 manufacturers that will close. Shortages and inflation in perpetuity may be the new norm as society’s demands for the products manufactured from crude oil are continually exceeding the supply from the diminishing number of manufacturers.

This article originally appeared in the Heartland Institute. Read the whole thing here.

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