The U.S. Postal Servicewon’t give up gaswithout a competitiveness , and now it ’s getting one .
California Attorney General , Rob Bonta , is leading the charge . Hefiled a suit todayagainst USPS over the postal inspection and repair ’s plan to replaceabout 165,000aging , fogy - fuel - power manner of speaking vehicle with another troll of accelerator - guzzle trucks . The suit is back by attorneys general of 15 other country , and as a bonus , Washington D.C. , New York City , and environmental groups .
In the legal complaint , the states set about their introduction with the pursual :
What if… all of these were electric vehicles?Photo: AP/STRF/STAR MAX/IPx (AP)
The United States Postal Service has one of the big civilian vehicle fleets in the world . Its vehicles are on the route , six days a week , in every residential district in the United States . While they work a critical persona delivering the body politic ’s mail , these vehicles also pollute the air in the communities where they run and emit pregnant amount of glasshouse gasoline . As its current vehicle fleet come near the end of its useful life , the Postal Service has been presented with a tremendous opportunity to change over its fleet to zero - emission , electrical vehicle , a change that would facilitate pollution in overburden communities and help undertake the climate crisis .
And they ’re not wrong . Swapping all of the old vehicle with new , galvanizing ones would prevent an estimated 537,415 measured tons of atomic number 6 dioxide from entering the atmosphere , from direct tailpipe discharge alone . And that ’s according to the USPS’sown environmental impact statementon the issue . For context , removing that amount of CO2 from the equation is equivalent to almost9 million treesgrowing for 10 years .
On top of the C emission , the USPS count on that transition to an all - galvanic fleet would also prevent almost 1 million tons ofharmful nitrogen oxidesfrom entering the zephyr annually , along with more than 11,000 net ton of carbon monoxide , and hundreds of dozens ofdeadly particulate thing .
The Biden Administration haspreviously pledged to transition 100%of government fomite to zero - discharge models by 2035 . But last year , the postal servicing announce a newfangled , gas - powered intention for their trucks , thatdidn’t go over so well . Those upgraded vehicles would only offer a.4 - air mile - per - gallon improvement(up to a dismal 8.6 mpg ) over the condition quo , according to the EPA , which issued a letter urge the USPSto reconsider its decisionin February . The White House Council on Environmental Qualityalso weigh in , siding with electric alternative .
There are earnest conversation to be had about the range of electric vehicle for serving rural sphere , or how to set up all those chargers , but ultimately , the USPS has allege it ’s opt to not go with EVs because of the price . Postmaster General Louis DeJoy name “ dreaded financial condition(s ) , ” ina February statementmaintaining that the USPS would be maintain its foot on the gas pedal point .
DeJoy further put forward that 5,000 galvanising vehicle is all his bureau can afford unless they get more money . “ absentminded such financial backing , we must make in fiscal matters responsible decisions , ” he sound out .
For context : the added cost to the USPS of opting for electric vehicle over young , burning - railway locomotive vehicles would only be $ 2.3 billion — absolute chump - change for the federal politics that spends$6 million dollarson each new , quasi - functional tank it build , concord to a report by Forbes . Or,$13 billion aloneon an uncertain aircraft carrier , harmonise to Bloomberg .
And , as the 30 - class long time of the current retiring fleet function to show , determination made now to pull through a couple billon bucks will have long - lasting impacts . “ Once this purchase blend in through , we ’ll be stuck with more than 100,000 young gas - guzzling vehicle on neighborhood street , serving homes across our country and across the commonwealth , for the next 30 years . There wo n’t be a reset button , ” said AG Bonta , in a statement . He add , “ We ’re going to court to check that the Postal Service complies with the law and considers more environmentally friendly alternatives before it make this decision . ”
galvanising vehicleService industriesTransportU.S. Postal Service
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