Planes, Trains, and…Electric Automobiles!

Written by Ellie Goldberg
 · July 15, 2024
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Electric Vehicles (EVs) are not just the latest fad in motorized vehicles. The transportation sector is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, which makes electric vehicles an innovation in transportation that can impact climate change both locally and globally. Lauren Weston, Executive Director of Acterra, a San Francisco Bay Area-based nonprofit, notes:

EV ownership is one of the best, more personal-level ways to reduce your day to day carbon footprint. Recent legislation in California has created a new and invigorated push for EV ownership and access, and Acterra is at the forefront of leading the community to a cleaner transportation modality.

Acterra, founded in 1970, has focused on what can be done locally to address climate change. They work to promote and support electrification, both in the home and in transportation, to ultimately support resilience and adaptation in the context of empowering underserved communities through collaboration. Most recently, Acterra partnered with two other California-based nonprofit organizations, RAFT and Ignited, as part of the Transportation EVolved campaign funded by a grant from Electrify America. Together, they are working to encourage and support EV education and the wider adoption of EVs.

To help you better understand Acterra’s impact, let’s go on a journey. Consider Miss Sustainability, a middle school science teacher who knows climate change education is important, but does not have the resources to support her students in grasping just how crucial it is. Through Ignited’s Learning Community, she is introduced to Acterra’s You(th) Be the Change curricular materials, like this First Car Focus Infographic. Through this, she realizes she can also access many of Acterra’s education resources for free, like their curriculum that covers climate change science basics, its impacts, and solutions. Miss Sustainability has some questions, so she signs up for an Acterra teacher training workshop where she learns about the science behind the greenhouse effect and how EV’s can make a positive impact. Inspired, she brings this curriculum back to her classroom to encourage her students to learn about climate science both globally and locally.

Now let’s consider one of Miss Sustainability’s students, Juan Derlust, who loves to travel and has been inspired by his experiences in Miss Sustainability’s class to advocate for more sustainable modes of transportation. He gathers his teachers, family, and friends together to attend one of Acterra’s EV Expos and Financial Incentive Clinics (FICs) where they learn the basics of EV ownership, see real EVs on display, and hear about the financial assistance programs that can make purchasing an EV a reality. Juan and his family see there is an EV to suit every budget, and head straight to a dealership to bring one home!

 

Miss Sustaibility’s impact and influence on her students, like Juan Derlust, is just one example of how education is the gateway to creating a better future–and how Acterra supports people to become agents of change through several unique entry points. Together, we can make sure that the evolution of transportation not only benefits us personally, but impacts the climate and the planet for the better! 

Teachers, sign up to receive Acterra’s free curriculum and to learn more about teacher training, and spread the word about upcoming EV expos and FICs near you.


Ellie Goldberg

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