Implement Clean Cars standards quickly

We live about 25 miles from the nearest city. We limit our driving as much as we can, but even one weekly trip to town adds high fuel costs to our budget and a lot of greenhouse gases to our carbon footprint.

To reduce our carbon emissions from driving and to save money, I would buy a used electric vehicle today, if I could find a good one at a good price. Virtually all available new and used electric cars have the range needed for our driving distances, with simple charging at our home. Even though we live outside of an urban area.

However, there are not many used EVs available because relatively few new electric cars have been sold in this state over the past five years. I see acres and acres of used conventional vehicles on car lots all over Albuquerque, but there are very few used electric cars for sale in all of New Mexico.

A greater selection of good used electric cars will only become available as more new electric cars are sold and then resold. While electric vehicle sales are increasing, they are held back by a number of regulatory impediments that deter sales. The Advanced Clean Cars and Trucks initiatives would remove some of the deterrents and add important incentives for citizens.

These initiatives would also provide important incentives to dealers and manufacturers to sell more electric cars in New Mexico, so people like me could purchase both new and used electric cars more readily.

Each year, the New Mexico government does some things that help promote clean air and zero-emission vehicles. But at the same time, it passes other measures that discourage protecting our environment and our health, and leaves many older impediments in place. We have squandered more than 30 years in turning back the subtle but increasingly deadly acceleration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.

We must do all we can now! I hope everyone will work toward implementing the Clean Cars initiatives as soon as possible.

Derek Roff supports the Clean Cars and Trucks standards.