Electrifying transportation in the US isn’t a fad for wealthy, urban communities - it’s a necessity for the safety and well-being of rural and so-called frontline communities, writes Congresswoman Yvette Clarke and EVHybridNoire director Terry Travis. 

In a joint op-ed in The Hill, the New York congresswoman and electric vehicle booster argue that historically disadvantaged communities will bear the brunt of severe weather brought on by climate change. 

“Drought, wildfires, torrential downpours, heat waves and other extreme weather events are battering communities from California to New York, wreaking havoc on our cities, rural communities and everywhere in between,” they write. “Frontline communities - those impacted first and worst by climate change - are comprised of majority black and brown populations and are far more likely to be harmed by these extreme weather events due to generations of institutional inequities and disinvestment. These are unnatural disasters and, if recent history serves as an indicator, this is just the beginning.”

Clarke and Travis call on Congress to pass a $3.5 billion infrastructure bill wending its way through Congress, which contains a host of EV tax incentives and charging infrastructure boons, Kallanish notes.

“To decarbonise, we will need to rewire many aspects of our economy, transportation system, and infrastructure. In other words: to save America, we must electrify,” they write. “We have one opportunity, now, to decarbonise, electrify, and save America. If we don’t address transportation electrification boldly, swiftly, and equitably, we face a certain future of increasingly severe climate disasters, exacerbated disparities, and economic devastation that reverberates from sea to shining sea.”