Editor,

Democrats, special interests and the Biden administration are pushing electric vehicles (EVs) on the population and military in order to save the planet from climate change. Fleets of electric vehicles ready to shoulder the military’s workload and slash greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decade — that’s what the Pentagon is hoping it can pull off as part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to combat climate change, according to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.

Tactical vehicles will first go hybrid, using a mix of fossil fuels and electricity, before making a full transition, while about 170,000 non-tactical cars and trucks used on military bases could go right to electric, Hicks said while touting the climate initiatives at Wayne State University in Michigan.

California and 15 states that want the U.S. Postal Service to electrify its mail delivery vehicles are suing to halt purchases of thousands of gas powered trucks as the agency modernizes its delivery fleet. Three separate lawsuits, filed by the states and environmental groups in New York and California, ask judges to order a more thorough environmental review before the Postal Service moves forward with the next-generation delivery vehicle program. Plaintiffs contend that purchases of fossil fuel-powered delivery vehicles will cause environmental harm for decades to come.

This short-sighted tunnel vision by our government and special interests is endangering our national safety and security. All of these vehicles will require charging from our electric grid. The U.S. electric grid is vulnerable to cyberattacks that could result in catastrophic, widespread, lengthy blackouts and other loss of electrical services. Russia, North Korea, Iran and China, not exactly friendly toward us, currently have the capability to launch cyberattacks that could disrupt critical infrastructure and bring our country to an electrical and electric vehicle standstill instantly.

This isn’t a problem with fossil-fuel powered vehicles that can receive fuel from sources immune to cyberattacks. In the push for the United States to save the world we are putting ourselves vulnerable and at a severe, clear and present risk by pushing our country for all vehicles to be electric. This is especially foolhardy with military vehicles operating in environments where electrical sources have been destroyed and the enemy still using fossil fuel powered vehicles. If our country fails, climate change will not even be a consideration. Is there anyone with even a bit of common sense in the present administration? Something to think about.

Ed Hickey

Oak Harbor