Photo Credit: Louisiana Clean Fuels
Momentum is as high as ever to eliminate climate-disrupting pollution from the transportation sector.
Last week, the White House released its Build Back Better framework. Sierra Club activists have spent months pushing Congress for a bold infrastructure package that will invest in climate, jobs, and justice. The framework includes over $500 billion in dozens of climate policies that will transform the way we power our homes, our vehicles, and our communities, while creating family-sustaining green jobs.
Clean transportation is a big part of the Build Back Better Act, for good reason - it is our country’s largest source of climate pollution. The framework President Biden laid out for the Act includes a host of our priorities on clean transportation, including expanding public transit, incentivizing car companies to transition to making union-built electric vehicles, and cleaning up passenger rail and dirty ports.
Combined with the investments in the infrastructure package, the two bills include billions of dollars in investments to support the mass deployment of cleaner cars, trucks, and buses, which will help us act on climate and slash air pollution. Along with President Biden’s recent commitments to install over 500,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and to have half of all new car sales be electric by 2030, we are on the verge of some big changes in the way we power our vehicles.
Given these developments, this year’s National Drive Electric Week (NDEW), a global celebration of electric vehicles and clean transportation, has been particularly inspiring. In September and October, community members, environmental advocates, elected officials, and business leaders attended over 200 in-person and 50 virtual events in neighborhoods across the country.
At the national level, NDEW is organized by the Sierra Club, Plug In America, Electric Auto Association, and EVHybridNoire. But the local events are where the magic has been happening for the past 11 years. City captains, who are local volunteers, partner with local organizations to host National Drive Electric Week celebrations in their communities.
Several Sierra Club chapters participated in NDEW this year, offering creative and exciting ways for people to engage with existing local clean transportation initiatives. Over 100,000 people attended a NDEW event in person or online, including 100 elected officials, with the likes of Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) and Representative Madeleine Dean (D-PA).
In Vermont, the Sierra Club was able to participate in SunCarnival 2021. Hosted by SunCommon, the Vermont chapter of the Sierra Club, and Drive Electric Vermont, the mission of the event was to inform, connect, and encourage Vermonters to transition to electric vehicles. Hundreds of Vermonters attended, and dozens even brought their electric vehicles along with them.
Here is an anecdote from a Sierra Club volunteer about the event:
“The best interaction, however, was close to the end of our time at the farmers’ market … A young family walked by us, and the other Sierra Club member asked if they were interested in EVs. The mother stopped for a moment but quickly lost interest. As she began to walk away, we realized her youngest daughter was lingering behind and staring at our tent.
Before we could say anything, she looked up at us and asked 'What is an electric car?' We gave a short explanation and, without skipping a beat, she responded: ‘So they don’t create pollution? That’s really cool!' She immediately ran up to her mother and pleaded to attend the event on their way home!”
The Virginia chapter organized a Drive Electric event in Arlington and reported that hundreds of people attended their event, including State Senator Barbara Favola and Arlington Supervisor Takis Karantonis.
2021 National Drive Electric Week event in Mt. Morris, New York
Photo Credit: David Alicea
In Mt. Morris, New York, an all-star team of Sierra Club volunteers hosted an event with a dozen electric vehicle owners that over 75 community members attended. Many people that came through were in the market for an EV or holding out for the Ford F-150 Lightning. Several people came to the volunteer table not only to check out the cars, but also to find out how they could get more involved with the Sierra Club. In a rural county with less than 200 Sierra Club members, this was a wonderful opportunity to build community.
Our Toiyabe (Nevada) chapter paired up with the Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association to put on an event to showcase over 60 vehicles and 24 different EV models. The event took place just weeks before Nevada will officially become the nation’s 16th clean car state, having adopted standards that will increase the availability of zero-emission vehicles in the state.
During National Drive Electric Week, advocates pushed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Transit Safety Administration (NHTSA) to adopt strong federal standards that would clean up toxic pollution from vehicles. At an event at the EPA in Washington, DC, attended by EPA Administrator Michael Regan and other leaders from other nonprofit organizations, Sierra Club President Ramón Cruz spoke about the need for cleaner cars, while representatives from our coalition delivered over 200,000 public comments in support of a stronger rule.
That same week, five governors in the Midwest joined together in a multi-state agreement to develop EV charging stations to support the deployment of electric vehicles in the region in coordination with one another.
The enthusiasm from this year’s NDEW marks a significant step toward tackling climate-disrupting pollution from the transportation sector. We hope to see you at an NDEW event next year, as there will be fresh EV models as more automakers introduce their new lines. Much more is needed, and we will continue to push for strong policies to advance clean cars, trucks, and buses.