The arrival of spring brought what felt more like scorching summer weather in much of the U.S. Thirteen states set temperature records in March, peaking at a record-shattering 112 degrees in parts of Arizona and California. As with the other, now-frequent extreme weather events around the globe, this March heat wave is virtually impossible without climate change.
Extreme weather is scary. If you have lived through an extreme weather event, as I have with Hurricane Helene, you want to find ways to avoid or mitigate the experience in the future; you want solutions. Which brings us (again) to electric cars, trucks, and buses that address climate change head-on by eliminating tailpipe emissions and reducing transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions by upwards of 80%.
EVs are a technological solution to climate change and much more: they are affordable, better-performing, and clean. The posts below share stories that exemplify these EV benefits, benefits that consumers and fleets are accessing today, and that you can too!
As the Price at the Pump Rises, so Does Interest in EVS
It’s no secret that the war in Iran has thrown oil and gasoline prices into turmoil — the national average has topped $4.00 for a single gallon of gasoline, which is $1.00 higher than it was a mere month ago. Perhaps, then, it’s no surprise that as the price at the gas pump continues to climb, so has the number of consumers looking for a reprieve. Edmunds found that 22.4% of its searches were for electrified models at the start of March, up from 20.7% at the end of February. It’s a smart switch. Electricity prices rise slowly relative to gas prices, which are subject to wild swings in the face of wars, pandemics, oil spills, bad weather, political battles, and pirates. Electricity prices, on the other hand, are subject to state regulatory processes intended to decide whether price increases are warranted. But the real power consumers have is in their choice of vehicle. Choose an EV, and you never think about the price at the pump again. Read more.
Electric USPS Mail Trucks Finally Hit the Road
Speaking of choosing EVs…USPS is going electric! Electric Oshkosh Corporation USPS mail trucks are finally hitting the road to deliver the nation’s mail after a long and bumpy ride. The trucks’ 120-mile range well exceeds a delivery vehicle’s average daily mileage of 18 to 24 miles, making mail trucks the perfect EV use case. It’s no secret that electrifying personal vehicles save consumers money. Over the past decade, I’ve saved over $15,000 by driving electric vehicles instead of gas cars. But the same can also be said for electrifying fleets. A 2021 report by the Electrification Coalition and Atlas Public Policy demonstrated that if USPS electrified its entire light-duty fleet, it would save a whopping $2.9 billion over the life of those vehicles. Thanks to these savings, the final contract between USPS and Oshkosh specified that 70% of these next generation vehicles would be electric and only 30% would be gas. Read more.
EV Outperforms Gas Cars on Snowy Mountain Roads
Spring may have sprung, but I’m still thinking of snow. I love it when snow wallops the mountains of Western North Carolina that I call home. But the roads in Southern Appalachia are steep, winding, and sloped to shed summer thunderstorm runoff—a combination that often makes driving on local snow-covered roads treacherous. I’ve made the drive in an old Ford Bronco II, a small Toyota 4×4 pickup, and a Subaru Forester before making it in my Tesla Y. Hands down, the Y handles the snow best, especially in off-road mode, where the low center of gravity, torque, and regenerative braking grip the road remarkably well. Read more.
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