Not Alabama, But Impact? Oh yea.

 

Some stories breaking this afternoon will likely have an impact in the state, though they happened elsewhere:

1) The Story:

The New York attorney general on Thursday accused the state of drastically undercounting Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes, saying in a stinging new rebuke of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration that the official tally of about 8,500 may be off by as much as 50 percent.

IMPACT: OFFICIALS WILL BE (OR AT LEAST SHOULD BE) REVIEWING ALABAMA NURSING HOME DEATHS.

2) The Story:

Six people were killed and several others were injured Thursday after a liquid nitrogen line ruptured at a Gainesville Georgia poultry plant...a Foundation Food Group plant,

IMPACT: 

There are approximately 3,000 poultry growers in the state, primarily in Cullman, DeKalb, Marshall, and Coffee Counties, though nearly 50 counties have producers. In total, approximately 86,000 Alabamians are employed directly in the poultry industry or in industries that support the poultry industry. 

3) The Story:

GM says it will stop manufacturing gas and diesel engine vehicles by 2035.

IMPACT:

It's not as if Alabama's car makers have been ignoring the oncoming electric vehicle tsunami. They are already adjusting to exist in a much more electric vehicle world. And it will be a major change, considering:

 In 2019, Alabama automakers combined to produce around 1 million cars and light trucks. Toyota, Honda and Hyundai also produced nearly 1.5 million engines in 2019, another sign of the sector's strength in the state. Capacity upgrades will soon take that figure close to 2 million engines per year.

UPDATE:

(From a story in The New York Times)

“We are doing this to build a sustainable business,” Mr. (Dane) Parker, the company’s chief sustainability officer, said in an interview on Friday. “We want to have a business in 15 years that’s a thriving business.”

G.M. has already committed to spending $27 billion to introduce 30 electric vehicle models by 2025, and is building a plant in Ohio to make batteries for those cars and trucks. Mr. Parker said the company was looking at sites for more battery plants and working on future electric models.

“To be ready for 2035, I need to build battery plants, I need to do battery development, I need to develop electric vehicles,” he said.