No can doubt human beings’ ability to solve problems, but at the same time, we cannot solve all the problems. You see, our spectrum is pretty much designed to come up against something new every day, and that sort of volume can make anyone’s life difficult beyond all limits. The oversight emerging from this dynamic eventually leads us to some undesirable consequences, so to avoid them; we would bring dedicated regulatory bodies into the fold. The move paid off time, as suddenly, everything looked more organized than ever before. Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t the end of our troubles. With technology taking over the scene, the regulatory authority looked significantly undermined, therefore giving rule breakers every chance at exploitation of various aspects. Such a problem, like you would imagine, set us back by a lot, but it seems like the wheels are finally moving in the right direction. Instead of dueling with technology, the regulators have made an ally out of it. This has helped them in regards to understanding the creation better, and the said knowledge is now ensuring that we use it rather judiciously. The stated clarity was, in fact, what inspired a lawsuit against USPS’ recent actions.
Environmental activist groups, including names like Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club, and 16 US states have officially sued the US Postal Service over its Next Generation Delivery Vehicle purchasing decision. According to the complaint, the USPS violated the National Environmental Policy Act by committing to buy 165,000 delivery vehicles (just 10 percent of them electric) without first conducting a lawful environmental review. Further reports emphasize upon how the Service started its review six months after it had already signed a contract for the new fleet. In case that wasn’t enough, the USPS is also accused of deliberately botching up the estimates about battery costs, fuel prices, and emission levels.
“The purpose of environmental review is to inform the Postal Service’s decision, not rubberstamp a plan it had already made,” said Scott Hochberg, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Postal delivery trucks visit almost every neighborhood in the United States daily. It’s backward and bewildering that the USPS would show such disregard for climate and public health with its decision.”
Filed in California and the New York State, the two lawsuits notably dig into a lack of major difference between the new and old fleet. For instance, while the new gas-powered fleet boasts an improved 14.7 MPG fuel economy without air conditioning, it falls near to the old figure of 8.2 MPG with the air conditioning turned on. From an overall standpoint, USPS’ $11.3 billion splash on over 148,000 gas-driven trucks also comes as a massive blow to Biden Administration’s goal of electrifying the federal fleet and making a 65% cut in gas emissions by 2030.
