Climate Crisis AM Edition 3/8/24 Massive Snow In California
The green car industry continues to show that its struggles are not over. For several months, sales have been shaky in the US and EU. A small US EV company just walked away from a factory on which it planned to spend $5 billion. The New York Times reported, “Rivian said delaying the Georgia plant would save it about $2.25 billion, a large sum from a business that has been losing billions of dollars for several years.” Rivian announced new products as well. They have low price points. US buyers have shown that price is a key component of their sales decisions,
Climate News —America’s Coasts At Risk
An Industry Destroyed —Skiing In America
Tesla has more competition in China, the world’s largest EV market. While small EV companies in the US like Rivian and Lucid are falling, the number of EV manufacturers in China is growing rapidly. This is a challenge for Tesla, which needs strong sales in China to grow. Bloomberg reports that Aito, the car brand from Huawei Technologies Co., has done well recently. Huawei is among the world’s largest consumer electronics companies. Aito shipped 21,142 shipped vehicles in February. Market leader BYD shipped 121,748. This number includes both EVs and hybrids. Bloomberg wrote, “Tesla Inc. shipments from its factory in Shanghai, meanwhile, slumped to 60,365 — the lowest in more than a year amid a Lunar New Year holiday sales lull. Of those, 30,224 were for export, and 30,141 were for internal shipment.”
100 Inches Of Snow In California
Across the US, there is more local evidence that climate change is affecting early spring temperatures. IndyStar reported, “Indianapolis had record-breaking temperatures in February and has exceeded average daily temperatures multiple days in March.” The paper also reported that the temperatures could hurt the region’s agricultural production. Specifically, it mentioned corn and soybeans.
Climate change is also having a new effect in California. According to CBS News, “In just four days at the beginning of March, an epic blizzard dropped more than 100 inches of snow in parts of California.” Higher than normal temperatures could melt that snow quickly and help refill reservoirs and lakes hit by what has been called a 1,200-year drought. It is an example of how quickly climate change conditions radically change from year to year.
