Episode Details

Transitioning to electric vehicles is essential to meeting our climate goals. But there are so many barriers to overcome – from expanding EV charging infrastructure, to updating the power grid, to mining the metals that make batteries go.

In the first of a two-part series on decarbonizing transportation, we try to answer the critical question: is it all happening fast enough to avoid the worst climate impacts?

Featuring: Craig Bentley, Nora Naughton, Sara Baldwin, Thea Riofrancos

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LINKS

EV transition predictive models

• The 2035 report (Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley)
• The long road to electric cars (Reuters)

Consumer education and survey findings

• EV charging levels explained (US DOT)
• GM EV Live
• In a Consumer Report's survey and a Reuters/Ipsos survey, more than a third of Americans say they'd consider buying an EV for their next car.

Charging infrastructure

• The Electric Vehicle Road Test (Wall Street Journal)
• Federal money is now headed to states for building up fast EV chargers on highways (NPR)

The grid

• Why Electric Vehicles Won’t Break the Grid (Scientific American
• An explosion in proposed clean energy ventures has overwhelmed the system for connecting new power sources to homes and businesses (NY Times)

Metal extraction

• Listen to our episode The lithium gold rush, an in-depth look at where lithium comes from, and who’s being affected by mining it.
• Read the Achieving Zero Emissions with More Mobility and Less Mining report by Thea Riofrancos.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Felix Poon

Mixed by Felix Poon and Taylor Quimby

Edite