After years of false starts and unfulfilled promises, we are at the cusp of a transportation revolution. Electric vehicles are leading the charge, and with them comes the promise of a cleaner future. Every day we hear of new vehicles or new models that promise stunning features, longer range and a fast, fluid driving experience.
To deliver on this promise of zero tailpipe pollution, though, we will need the electric vehicle charging infrastructure in place so drivers can put range anxiety in the rearview mirror — and be confident they can fuel up and go whenever and wherever they need to. A fear that there aren’t enough charging stations is the main impediment to the purchase of a new electric vehicle,根据2020年的消费者报告调查.
To address this challenge, we need to make dramatic new investments in charging infrastructure — and, just as importantly, we need to make those investments equitable and effective. That means ensuring public investments focus on building charging stations in low income and historically underserved neighborhoods that have been traditionally ignored — or even harmed — by infrastructure investments in the past.
承诺
In December, the Biden administration established the能源与运输联合办公室好用的买球外围app网站这将努力提供75亿美元的投资，以在全国范围内安装500,000个充电站。这项由最近的基础设施法案授权的历史性投资旨在创造良好的国内工作，使驾驶员安心，以便他们可以购买电动汽车，并通过减少尾管排放并帮助创造更清洁的空气来帮助解决气候变化。
And the federal government isn’t alone.
全国的公共公用事业委员会批准了超过30亿美元的充电站，其中三分之一针对低收入和处境不利的社区。仅南加州爱迪生将投资近9亿美元的电动汽车计划，其中约有3.5亿美元致力于从卡车中归零柴油污染，这使居住在港口和货运走廊附近的人们不安全。
Meanwhile, outside of the utility process, companies such as Volta and Amply Power are making their own investments in charging infrastructure, sometimes with surprising partners or innovative business plans.
The challenge
We need these investments. And we need them to be done right.
Just think back on our investments in the Interstate Highway system, which has delivered massive economic benefits to the nation as a whole. But in cities such as Syracuse, New York; Atlanta; Oakland, California; and Pittsburgh, highways cut through neighborhoods — disproportionately Black, Latino and low-income — ripping apart the fabric of those communities.
超过47.5万户家庭和超过一百万的人被高速公路建设流离失所according to the History Channel：“越过跨越社区的高速公路，破坏并破坏了行人景观，空气质量恶化和鱼雷物业价值。”今天，我们生活在这种糟糕的公共政策制定中灾难性的污染和健康遗产。
As part of theNational EV Charging Initiative, which GreenLatinos and Southern California Edison (SCE) are both a part of, we will be working with the departments of Energy and Transportation to ensure this money gets invested in the majority minority neighborhoods that often have the worst air quality and need these emission-free vehicles most.
And lower-income households face an undue burden because of the wild and unpredictable fluctuations of the global oil market. The price of electricity is more stable because it is not generated from a single fuel that is subject to a global market, and it is carefully regulated by state agencies. Electric vehicles are much cheaper to operate, and they deliver cost savings that households can bank on for the long-term.
我们需要清楚的是，这种更改并不容易。新的电动汽车无法触及许多低收入或中等收入的驾驶员，对于拥有自己的车道的房主来说，安装充电站的逻辑上要比为居住在公寓或公寓中的人们提供充电器而容易。提供增加折扣的政策和计划，例如SCE的二手电动汽车回扣计划，以及满足服务不足社区需求的车辆和充电设备的激励措施对于消除这些障碍至关重要。
In addition, California’s newestCALGreen building code will要求从2023年开始的20多个单元的新型多单元建筑包括40％的停车位。这是一个开始，但这还不够。
Without sustained attention — and sustained pressure from advocates and allies — we will see this trend repeated. We can’t let that happen. Building the clean transportation system of the future requires us to correct the injustices of the past and build a charging network that will serve all, equitably.
我们现在正处于这项努力的开始，我们有机会做对了。没有时间浪费：¡Vámonos!
