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By: Courtney McIntosh Summary. Electric vehicles or EV's would undoubtedly improve health outcomes and poor air quality that current gas transportation emits. BIPOC communities largely are the greatest communities affected by gas emissions and poor air quality associated with motor transportation. Currently the push for EV's as an alternative to gas powered vehicles is paving the way for a more sustainable choice, yet there is an issue to whom the access is available to. One major barrier to EV access are charging stations and to where they are being placed. A majority of charging stations are being placed in predominately wealthy communities, shopping plazas and business. Another notable concern is the price of current EV's and their affordability. To maintain and afford an EV, you typically need to have an house and or attached garage to charge your vehicle. Which is a level of socioeconomic status that is not available to all and our current infrastructure lacks the resources to provide. Expanding access to clean transportation leads to a more environmentally equitable society, but fair and realistic access needs to be brought forth. Why we should care? The push towards the future of environmentally friendly transportation is quickly descending upon us but the accessibility is not equally distributed.  Photo credit: https://www.greenbiz.com/article/3-ways-cities-can-unlock-benefits-electric-vehicles Example Article. https://theconversation.com/how-electric-cars-can-advance-environmental-justice-by-putting-low-income-and-racially-diverse-drivers-behind-the-wheel-158380 This article provides a clear breakdown of numbers and percentages of who are disproportionately affected by air pollution created by traffic, and how EV transportation paves a way to a solution. Also included is a great short youtube video on air quality and consumption from BIPOC communities. Science in Action.
Dr. Maria Cecilia Pinto de Moura is senior vehicles engineer in the Clean Transportation program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Maria conducts research on transportation energy and emissions, and performs analyses in support of regional and also national policy campaigns that aim to reduce oil use and lower vehicle emissions. Dr. Pinto has served in the past as a research associate for the Joint Global Change Research Institute/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Dr. Pinto has a history of being an environmental advocate for over 10 years and I believe her studies and research are very much aligned with being environmentally conscious in terms of concern to communities and to the future of EV.
16 Comments
12/3/2021 16:44:10
This article stands out in so many ways. The poor air quality in people of color neighborhoods goes way back it's way back to the start of the city of Detroit and its suburbs such as Inkster. Inkster, a poor factory town "down river of the pollutants of the factory", was named after the color of ink on paper and the people that worked for Ford factory is factory. After a long day at the factory all races would be covered in black. The "EV" electric vehicle introduction to poorer communities of color that usually works in or live around them is a blessing for all surrounding communities as well.
Hailey Finnen
12/5/2021 16:08:40
Interesting blog post about electric vehicles. I agree that they are a huge advance in green technology. Access to charging stations is definitely an issue when it comes to the possibility of EVs overtaking gas vehicles. I rented a Tesla when I went to Arizona, and I almost got stranded because the route we took (which had a charging station up ahead) was closed and we had to turn around. It is definitely a challenge. I also wonder about the materials it takes to make EVs, I think more research must be done to improve the footprint of manufacturing these cars.
Lindsey Wheaton
12/5/2021 17:57:40
It's really unfortunate to me that we have the technology for a greener option than cars that run on gas but not everyone has access to it. I would like to have a EV one day but it'll be a long time until that is a purchase I can make, not even considering access to a charging station. I hope access to clean transportation becomes an option for anyone, regardless of socioeconomic status, one day.
Lindsey Hazelton
12/5/2021 22:38:38
This was very interesting to read. I am not very familiarized with EV's, aside from the basics. It is unfortunate that an important method of improving air quality is not accessible to everyone. I think that it will be a very long time before EV's are the only option for a vehicle, but we are not any closer to achieving that with them not being accessible to all people. I hope that one day every individual will have equal access to EV's.
Grace
12/6/2021 11:53:29
I think this article puts most oeople concerns about EV in perfectly written words. Our current president is supposed to put a lot of funding into EV’s which would help with charging stations and as charging stations become more common in not only wealthy communities the more widespread Ev’s will be.
Collin Houston
12/6/2021 16:20:43
While I think that electric cars are the future the accessibility and performance of electric cars are lacking. They are getting cheaper but a lot of people can't afford an electric car or they aren't close enough to a charger. Another issues is the ability to drive long distances. My dad would often drive hundreds a miles a day, and he would never have time to stop and get a full charge. Instead it was easier and more efficient to get a gas car when driving alot for work.
Rachel Mangulabnan
12/6/2021 18:17:31
I definitely think that electric vehicles are a step in the right direction. Even though more companies are investing in the technology making it a bit more affordable/accessible, I think cost is still an issue. If family’s are struggling to afford cars as is, then switching to electric is just out of the question. Not to mention the expensive personal charging stations you brought up. I think a push for electric vehicles is good but we have to keep in mind that it is just not a feasible option for a lot of families.
Thomas Cisney
12/6/2021 18:31:54
I think this is a neat take on the electric vehicles situation, however I think that after a bit of having electric vehicles it will start to get cheaper and more accessible once used electric vehicles become more prominent. And on top of that, once electric vehicles become standardized, there will no doubt be cheaper and older models that will slowly become affordable. Once its standardized and normalized I think it EV's will become just about as affordable and accessible to all ranges of life. It will just take some time
Jackson Vosburg
12/6/2021 19:49:48
Electric vehicles are cool but they have some limitations. For starters, they are very expensive, and charging stations are expensive too. This will also lead to an issue where people will steal the parts from charging stations for money just like they do with cars now, except the issue may be worse depending on the prevalance of the chargers. It also begs the question of what will happen if you run out of power? Would you use gas or a separate battery?
Tori Poma
12/6/2021 21:59:28
Electric Vehicles are interesting to me because they are better for the environment but are harder to obtain if you’re on a budget. There are many cars that you can still get that are electric that are cheaper than others, but at the end of the day you can still get a “better car” for less money if it’s not an EV. It’s unfortunate but a lot of people just can’t afford them or choose not to.
Tommy Maloney
12/6/2021 22:16:06
I like this article because we see how the world is moving forward and electric vehicles are very interesting. But its going to take a while to completely integrate them into our society because they are not cost efficient. Far fewer people can afford then than those who can. Plus charging stations would not be able to support the volume to drivers in America today.
Jenin Kaddoura
12/7/2021 03:58:03
This is interestingly the first time I read a post that criticizes how the whole EV system works. It was brought to my attention how factors such as requiring an attached garage, can have a great influence on major decisions, yet are not discussed as much. I believe issues such as not having enough charging stations and high prices will only exist long enough until we are used to electric vehicles. However, the socioeconomic discrimination is a deep topic that should be addressed more often. It is unfortunate that charging stations are only placed in certain communities, in which others are discouraged when considering taking more sustainable approaches. I really like how you stated that realistic and fair access need to be brought forth, which is the only way to attain clean transportation and an environmentally equitable society.
Kamaya Hayes
12/7/2021 11:41:16
I found this interesting and sad at the same time because only the wealthy can have this luxury. If they want things to get better they need to make it accessible for everyone. So if they could find a way to make it to where your average working family can afford it then that would be great.
Briana Carlton
12/16/2021 20:37:45
I don’t think I’ve ever considered the relationship between electric vehicle access and environmental justice -- but Courtney makes a great point here: the push towards eco-friendly transportation is right at our doorstep, however, accessibility is not at all equal. It is true that Evs are becoming more accessible to the average consumer, in part because of government incentives and tech innovation. Yet the future of sustainable transportation will not arrive for moderate-to-low-income individuals because access to EVs and their charging stations is still expensive. The jury is still out on how to address this problem but raising awareness like Courtney did with this article will hopefully help us all consider EV access with equity at its core. Thanks for posting, Courtney.
Ximena Mazariegos
12/19/2021 11:41:31
I actually don't know much about electric vehicles but I found this article extremely interesting, great choice! I might not know much but I know that EV cars on the more expensive side so I always wondered how they could make these cars more affordable for lower income folks. But I'm glad we're on the road to a cleaner mode of transportation.
Hailey Bernys
12/21/2021 21:14:52
It’s crazy how far we have come technologically because now we have the electric vehicles available to us which at one point I’m sure we never thought of. Charging stations would be one of the bigger issues facing people who drive the EVs because I don’t see them as often as a gas station and the time to charge the car is so long it would be hard to travel long distances. Also, the cars are so expensive so they aren’t necessarily as available to everyone as a regular car which has a variety of prices and types of car. It is only the beginning of EVs so I’m sure there will be much more of a variety sooner or later. Leave a Reply. |
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