EV's good vibrations
The Golden State prepares to tax petroleum demand into decline, promoting electric and zero-emissions vehicles
Two years ago this summer, California's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) resurrected its iconic, black and gold automobile licence plate, last issued in 1969. You'll pay a bit extra for it, but the plate is a hit with drivers nostalgic for an era of The Beach Boys—and ¢30 gasoline. Lawmakers in Sacramento are less wistful, though, and a fresh round of steep petrol taxes and vehicles fees is being prepared. California's goal? To push gasoline consumption from today's zero growth rate into outright decline. So confident are policy designers that they talk of the unthinkable: a steady decline in petroleum-tax revenues, forever. California has managed to suppress gasoline demand growth already
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