If you're listening to our political leaders like Gov. Phil Murphy or President Joe Biden, you might be convinced the gas prices are out of control due to Vladimir Putin. That's what they've been peddling for the last week or so.

The truth is that gasoline prices started to climb steadily long before Russia invaded Ukraine. We were energy independent before Biden took office and his policies shut down oil and gas exploration and extraction.

Since their climate change agenda is stronger than any religious devotion we've ever seen, they would rather see prices skyrocket to encourage more people to buy electric vehicles.

In the video below, you see cars lined up for 50 yards or so waiting to be charged. It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 12 hours to charge an EV. It might not be a practical choice for everyone to get one now, even if you can afford the $50K-and-up price tag, if you can find one.

They are less of a fire hazard than gasoline engine cars, but if one does catch fire, it is much more difficult to extinguish. Take for instance the ship carrying expensive EVs that caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean last month. After 13 days of not being able to put out the fire, the vessel sank about 250 miles off the coast of the Azores. You need special chemicals to extinguish lithium battery fires.

Many condo buildings are putting charging stations in the parking areas, some in the basements of these buildings. If anything goes wrong with multiple cars charging and there is a fire, many fire departments aren't equipped with the materials necessary to put out these fires.

When you charge an electric vehicle, you're using energy from a power plant that is more than likely using fossil fuels, so is it saving the planet or just expensive, trendy virtue signaling?

Electric cars may be the future of individual transportation but clearly, we are not set up for them to be used by everyone.

Instead of punishing the middle and working class by not using our natural resources and relying on hostile governments for oil and gas, it's clear we should use our own and not make it too expensive or ridiculously complex with regulations.

Even Elon Musk wants us to drill for more oil and he's in the EV business. It may get even more expensive to make and buy those vehicles with the skyrocketing cost of nickel. That is a major component in the production of EV batteries.

So, while it may look cool and responsible to drive an electric vehicle, we just may not be ready for everyone to have one.

They are amazing pieces of technology and could be the wave of the future, but in the meantime, we rely on fossil fuels. We have plenty that we use more efficiently and cleaner than any other country on the planet. We need smarter planning from government and less emotional and religious fervor in getting where we're going.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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NJ freedom trucker convoy on March 5 — What Bill Spadea saw

It was a chilly Saturday night and a rainy Sunday morning but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of the hundreds of vehicles participating in the New Jersey Freedom Convoy on March 5-6, 2022. Here are some pics of the event, from the crowds lining the overpasses and roadways, to the trucks to the line of vehicles heading south.

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