Turn an ear to the west and listen. Do you hear it? Can you hear the tremulous sound of Jay Leno warbling in disgust?
That's because California is considering following in the footsteps of France, China, and the U.K. by implementing a ban on the sale of fossil-fuel powered cars in the state. That decision would create an immense ripple across the entire auto industry, California being the sixth largest economy in the world.
Chairman of the California Air Resources Board Mary Nichols said Gov. Jerry Brown has advocated for the ban, asking why something hadn't already been done to address the amount of pollution produced by new vehicles in the state. The threat is especially dire, with the effects of climate change becoming more and more pronounced.
The ban on sales of internal-combustion powered cars would push California significantly closer towards it's eventual goal of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 80 percent from 1990 to 2050.
Now before anyone gets upset, think about previous switches in technology that brought tons of new benefits to people around the world. After all, society eventually had to choose between the car and the horse. This sea change just requires more of a push.