Q: The one thing I do not see addressed in your articles and discussions about electric vehicles is trucks. Freeways are full of stinky diesel and gasoline trucks of all sizes. When are they required to go electric? I was recently in Holland where many trucks are electric and I bet the rest of western Europe is doing the same. Why not the USA?
Also, even though I am in favor of electric cars (plunked down my $100 deposit on a Tesla Cybertruck years ago), I would only consider one with a very long range, like the Cybertruck. We have a house in the Sierras and we need to be able to evacuate in case of a wildfire. I would not dream of having an electric car in a wildfire area (i.e., most of California) without it having a very long range. Electricity gets turned off when a wildfire looms and charging stations are few and far between. Gov. Newsom should focus on requiring all gas stations to have electric superchargers. If the Tesla Cybertruck does not get to market soon, I’ll do a plug-in hybrid so I can get out of Dodge alive.
Woutje Swets, Santa Cruz
A: According to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), trucks are the largest single source of vehicle air pollution, responsible for 70 percent of smog-causing pollution and 80 percent of carcinogenic diesel soot, even though they are only 2 million of the 30 million registered vehicles in the state.
CARB passed the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) regulation in 2020. It requires manufacturers to sell an increasing percentage of zero-emission trucks in the state, starting with model year 2024.
CARB is developing an Advanced Clean Fleet (ACF) regulation with the goal of achieving a zero-emission truck and bus fleet in the state by 2045.
Q: There has been a lot of construction material and huge piles of dirt at the end of Almaden Expressway at Harry Road. They seem to be winding down the operation, but do you know what was being worked on? There is nothing around the area that shows any construction work.
Stu Goodgold, San Jose
A: Since the summer of 2021, this area has been used by a county contractor as a staging area for construction of a new bridge over Alamitos Creek, about 3 miles south of the intersection. County road crews have also been using this area to store materials for their annual pavement maintenance program. County use of the area should wind down by the end of December. The Water District has an easement in this area and has a construction permit for work commencing in September.
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