@*Beth*, you're right that it definitely is no joke.

I'm sorry you've been suffering through those continuing 100+ F days. I would freak out if I was there, as I feel extra sensitive to heat. At least most in the US have air conditioning. Most houses in European countries do not. They never really needed it in the past, but now not having it is hurting people. The thickness of the usually brick or stone walls in Europe always kept houses at a reasonable temperature, but not continuous 90 and 100+ F degree days!

Just like in parts of the US, there are horrible droughts in Europe. Pictures of dried up rivers in France's Loire Valley are particularly scary. Spain, Germany and other countries are similarly affected. The heat is also a factor. Czech Republic also has a drought, but we're luckier, in comparison, particularly because the heat hasn't been as bad as elsewhere, but is still hotter than in the past. And like on the US west coast, said countries have struggled with wildfires, something rarely ever experienced on the continent in the past. Last year southern Czech Rep had severe tornadoes. Again, never experienced before.

I hope the temps ease for you soon. You don't want to know the temps in Czech Rep.

Hopefully nothing will stop the progress in CA in terms of electric cars in the future. Other states will be the losers looking at that progress. The EU has set a goal to become a carbon-neutral continent by 2050. They want to ban sales of new gas and diesel powered vehicles by 2035. The countries standing in the way of this are currently Italy, Portugal, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia. I worry that as leaders change throughout the continent, more obstructionism may crop up. In any case, the infrastructure for EVs still needs work throughout Europe. There are even some EV stations that charge almost as much as gas for charging. That needs to change, but of course the private station providers always want to make money, money, money. Hopefully in the near future the distance on the charge will increase so much that few charging stations will even be needed and the charging will take just a minute or two. Or some other energy method (even better) will be added, by those thinking further outside the box.