To the editor:

In his acceptance speech at the RNC, Donald Trump provided a stream of conscious description of the world as he wishes it was but not the world as it is. Repeating themes from his campaign rallies, he made up the story as he went along.

Countries are not sending inmates to America from their prisons and asylums. The violent crime rate is going down. According to the CBO, as a percentage of GDP, both Reagan and Obama implemented tax cuts bigger than Trump’s cut. A lie takes a sentence. Refuting a lie may take paragraphs.

Trump promised to make America energy independent, which will be easy because we already produce more oil than any other country, and we export more oil than we import. Despite Trump’s promises, drilling for more oil will not likely lower gas prices. Oil is a global commodity sold at a price determined by the world market. California refineries may import crude oil rather than transporting it across the mountains from North Dakota. Oil from Texas may be refined overseas. American oil is generally extracted by expensive processes such as fracking which are not profitable if the price of oil is too low. If prices drop too far, U.S. production will stop.

We are not dependent on foreign sources for energy, but we are dependent on fossil fuels that pour carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. Unless we strive toward independence from fossil fuels, our descendants will find as we do that each succeeding decade will be the hottest in history. Storms and droughts will continue to intensify. Coastlines will be submerged. We need to switch to electric vehicles.

Trump promised to end the electric vehicle mandate, but there is no such mandate. Biden has set a goal to encourage the sale of electric vehicles to become half of the car market by 2032. There would be regulations on gas powered cars but no plan to ban them.

In the 1970s, American automakers refused to adjust to the times, only to be outcompeted by cars from Japan and Korea. To avoid repeating that mistake, the big auto companies must develop competitive electric vehicles for today’s market. Regardless of what America does, the world is moving to electric vehicles. Either we produce them in America, or we abandon the car market to the Chinese.

Sherwin Skar

Marshall