Column: Hurry up with the electric cars, Disneyland. There’s no time to waste

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1. Hey all, I hope you’ll read my latest L.A. Times column and let me know what you think! Here’s how it starts:

   >*When I* [*broke the news*](https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2024-04-02/column-disneyland-is-ditching-gas-cars-at-autopia-its-a-great-first-step-for-tomorrowland-boiling-point) *last week that Disneyland is planning to ditch gas engines and make a long-overdue switch to electric or hybrid cars at its nearly 70-year-old Autopia attraction in Anaheim, I got two main questions from readers.*

   >*The first, typically from fellow Disney fans, was this: What about Autopia’s counterparts in Florida and Paris?*

   >*Alas, I don’t have anything to tell you on that front. When I asked Walt Disney Co. spokesperson Melissa Britt if electric vehicles are coming to Tomorrowland Speedway at Walt Disney World or Autopia at Disneyland Paris, she didn’t offer much.*

   >*“While we don’t have anything to share specifically about plans for [those attractions], we are always looking at ways for us to achieve our sustainability goals and do have other future projects in the works,” Britt said in an email.*

   >*She added that the company “has operated under a long-term vision to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions” since 2009.*

   >*The second question I’ve been getting: If Autopia is part of Disney’s Tomorrowland, supposedly all about building a better future, why has it taken so long to replace oil-fueled vehicles that we’ve known for decades are spewing deadly greenhouse gases?*

   >*That one I can answer.*

   >*The ride’s* [*original sponsor*](https://www.yesterland.com/richfield.html) *was Richfield Oil, which later merged with another company to create ARCO. In 1998, Disney and oil giant Chevron Corp. inked a* [*13-year marketing deal*](https://www.yesterland.com/chevronautopia.html) *that included Autopia sponsorship — dashing any hopes that the ride would go electric, even as scientists sounded the alarm over global warming and electric cars began to enter the public consciousness.*

   >*Then in 2016, Honda* [*became the ride’s sponsor*](https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-theme-park-sponsors-20160521-snap-story.html)*. Good time for an electric overhaul, right?*

   >*Nope.*

   Again, I hope you’ll read the whole piece and let me know what you think! If you’re interested, you can sign up to get my twice-weekly Boiling Point columns and news roundups in your inbox here: [latimes.com/boilingpoint](http://latimes.com/boilingpoint)