Friday Funny: The Onion Satirizes the Federal Government’s Electric Car Fetish

The totally satirical, not-at-all-real website The Onion is back with another planning-related fake news take.

1 minute read

June 24, 2022, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Pick-Up Truck

Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock

“In keeping with its mission to address the nation’s environmental challenges, the Department of Energy introduced a new program Monday that provides pedestrians and cyclists with economic incentives to switch to electric vehicles,” according to a totally made up article by The Onion satirizing the wishful thinking about electric cars and the insistence on automobile dependency from every level of government in the United States.

The latest satire of planning-related news by The Onion was published just a few days before the Biden administration announced a proposed federal gas tax holiday, similar to gas tax holidays proposed by ostensibly liberal governors of state like California and New York in recent months—very real signs of the inability of Democratic political leadership to meaningfully address climate change.

Electric car programs have gained traction, despite all the gas tax holiday talk, as the variety of climate change action preferred by Democratic leadership, despite copious evidence of the limitations of electric vehicles for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Walking and cycling, as The Onion’s satire picks up on, would be a much more obvious, and effective, direction for climate change action. Still, biking and walking are not favored in the politics of transportation and land use planning.

Monday, June 13, 2022 in The Onion

courses user

As someone new to the planning field, Planetizen has been the perfect host guiding me into planning and our complex modern challenges. Corey D, Transportation Planner

As someone new to the planning field, Planetizen has been the perfect host guiding me into planning and our complex modern challenges.

Corey D, Transportation Planner

Ready to give your planning career a boost?

Commercial street in small rural U.S. town with storefronts and clocktower.

Progressive Planning in Ideologically Conservative Communities

Planners must work in diverse political environments including conservative jurisdictions that are skeptical of new issues and perspectives. Here are ways to reconcile conflicting goals.

November 7, 2024 - Todd Litman

Amtrak Coast Starlight passenger train passing over bridge in Altamont Pass, California.

Amtrak Expanding Service in California’s Central Valley

Amtrak is planning a major expansion to the passenger rail lines connecting the Central Valley and the Bay Area.

November 4, 2024 - The Modesto Bee

Overhead view of white Waymo self-driving car in San Francisco, California with shared bikes and scooters visible on adjacent sidewalk.

Robotaxis Wreak Havoc on Urban Transit

In cities across the United States, robotaxis, championed by companies like Waymo and Cruise, are a marvel of modern technology and a flashpoint for debate over their place in urban transit.

November 11, 2024 - Cities of the Future

Busy subway station with people walking on platform and train stopped.

How Good Transit Benefits Communities Beyond its Users

Robust, efficient transit networks can have an outsized impact on vehicle miles traveled, even by non-transit users.

1 hour ago - State Smart Transportation Initiative

Solar and Wind Energy

Why Renewables Aren’t Going Anywhere

The worldwide transition to renewable energy sources is already underway as climate change creates more significant impacts on the global supply chain and economy.

2 hours ago - Forbes

Close-up of charging port on yellow electric school bus plugged in at charging station.

Opinion: Supporting Electric School Buses is the Right Thing to Do — and Fiscally Conservative

Why switching school bus fleets to electric vehicles is good for students, the environment, and school districts’ finances.

3 hours ago - Governing

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.