TO THE EDITOR:
Keith Crain is right that "It will be a rude awakening" (June 17) with respect to electric vehicles. But he is wrong to think the rude awakening could only be slow adoption. If we have another do-nothing or, worse, 19th-century leader for the rest of the century who does not believe in science generally or climate change specifically, then it may take a very long time to convert to EVs.
Just as the naysayers continued to believe the Earth was flat in Copernicus' time, I'm sure that when Mar-a-Lago and 20 percent of Florida are underwater, the naysayers will still come up with reasons to deny climate change. I don't hope for a climate disaster that changes the minds of rational people, but it is closer than many people think. If we had a real leader in the White House and if the populace elected a Congress that had the long-term interest of the country as its goal, there could be real change.
In that case, those bodies could put a $5- or $10-per-gallon tax on gasoline, and then just see how fast that conversion to EVs would occur. It's all a matter of politics and the political will to save the planet. I would like to see my children and grandchildren have a planet that they can live on, and I would hope that Crain does, too.
RANDALL McCATHREN, President, BLC Associates Inc. Nashville, BLC Associates is a consulting firm specializing in retail vehicle leasing, financing and dealer services.
