Gov. Gavin Newsom is bullish on EVs. So why is he riding around in gas guzzlers? | Opinion

With the possible exception of Elon Musk, California Gov. Gavin Newsom may be the biggest EV promoter on the planet — or at least in the U.S.

Think about it: It was Newsom who ordered that all new vehicles sold in the state must be zero-emission starting in 2035.

“Californians shouldn’t have to worry if our cars are giving our kids asthma,” he said when he announced the policy in 2020. “Our cars shouldn’t make wildfires worse — and create more days filled with smoky air. Cars shouldn’t melt glaciers or raise sea levels, threatening our cherished beaches and coastlines.”

The policy set a precedent for other blue states; so far, eight have decided to follow California’s lead and others are expected to follow.

Newsom’s affinity for electric vehicles goes way back; Politico reported that he was one of the first Californians to own a Tesla.

The governor still owns a Tesla roadster, his staff said, though ironically, these days he’s being driven around in gas-powered vehicles.

“The governor, like all constitutional officers, is driven by CHP’s protective detail who drive gas vehicles,” Daniel Villaseñor, the governor’s deputy press secretary, wrote in an email.

“For what it’s worth,” he added, “Governor Newsom acknowledges he uses oil products, but he has also been clear about the oil industry’s deceit and denial and their role in accelerating the destruction of our planet.”

The oil industry ‘has been playing us for fools’

It’s true that Newsom has no love for the oil industry; check out what he said at a United Nations climate summit held in September.

“For decades and decades, the oil industry has been playing each and every one of us in this room for fools. They’ve been buying off politicians. They’ve been denying and delaying science and fundamental information that they were privy to that they didn’t share or they manipulated. Their deceit and denial, going back decades, has created the conditions that persist here today.”

The governor is justifiably angry, but anger alone isn’t going to solve the climate crisis, especially if we continue to depend on fossil fuel. Anger without action is morally suspect, sort of like shoppers who condemn fast fashion — but continue to buy it because it’s cheap.

Newsom should be giving us less talk and more walk. Not that we should expect him to go full-on Greta Thunberg, but please, no more trips to China. As the BBC reports, “mile for mile, flying is the most damaging way to travel for the climate.”

Or how about this? Instead of flying across the country to make an appearance at a conference, attend it virtually. It works for the rest of us.

U.S., Russia and Saudia Arabia are increasing oil drilling

This isn’t just about the number of air miles the governor does or doesn’t travel; after all, one more trip to China isn’t going to put the Earth over the edge.

This is about sending a message of urgency.

The New York Times just reported on projections that show the United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia are on track to drill for more gas and oil in 2030 than at any other time in history.

That “underscores the wide gap between world leaders’ lofty promises to take stronger action on climate change and their nations’ actual production plans,” The Times wrote.

Leaders — especially those preaching the importance of cutting emissions — need to close that gap by communicating just how critical the situation is through example, and maybe a little bit of sacrifice.

Because if an eco-friendly governor isn’t going to wean himself off fossil fuels, why should the rest of us?

So how about it, Governor?

We would not want you to sacrifice your safety, but is there no appropriate zero-emission vehicle on the market that’s fit for public officials? An electric Hummer, for example?

If not, couldn’t Elon Musk come up with something?