The Energy Consumer's Bulletin- a New England energy news blog

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Get Your Electric Car By September 30

If you are in the market for a new or used electric car, plan to get it before September 30, 2025. The “Big Beautiful Bill” signed by President Trump...

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Electric vehicles/Transportation Climate change

Electric Cars and Mineral Mining

Electric Vehicles & Mineral Mining: What We’ve Learned 

People often ask us about the raw materials in electric vehicle (EV) batteries, their implications on human rights and the environment, and what’s being done to lessen the impact. We are also concerned about these issues. As an organization doing state-based work, we are not experts in the global supply chain questions at the heart of these concerns. However, we are determined to educate ourselves and share what we learn. As a first foray, we’ve taken a deep-dive into one metal – cobalt – since it is the focus of most of the questions we receive. Here is what we’ve found. 

by Adrianna Lovegrove
Energy policy & advocacy Electric vehicles/Transportation

What's Plan B for better transit?

The Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI) is a multi-state effort to phase down our dependence on gasoline and diesel fuels and to kickstart investments for cleaner, more affordable transportation options. In November 2021, the governors of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island pulled out of the program. We're disappointed because without TCI, it's unclear how the states will achieve the emissions reductions needed to meet their climate goals.

The program is not dead – TCI can move forward any time three states agree to move forward – but the delay is a huge setback for climate action. To learn more about TCI itself, check out this webinar from February 2021.

This blog post is the first of a series to explore what's at stake if MA and RI don't come up with a Plan B to fund a cleaner transportation system. 

Picture of Anna Vanderspek Anna Vanderspek 
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Mal Skowron
Electric vehicles/Transportation

Moving from Massachusetts to Colorado in an Electric Car

This summer I moved from Massachusetts to Colorado and decided I was going to make the move in its entirety with just my electric vehicle (EV). I’ve had a 2019 Chevy Bolt for two years now and this was the longest trip I had ever done with it. It was a new experience for me, visiting places I had never been before, and it put the feasibility for long-distance road trips with an EV to the test. Acknowledging the gaps in public knowledge surrounding the logistics of driving an EV, never mind a 1,900 mile road trip, it was evident that sharing this experience could be useful to others. So here we go! 

by Xavier Pereira
Energy policy & advocacy Electric vehicles/Transportation

The Transportation Climate Initiative is on life support. Do states have better ideas for reducing transportation emissions?

Earlier this week, we learned that Connecticut Governor Lamont withdrew his support for the regional Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI). When that news hit, we knew it was going to put pressure on the governors of Massachusetts and Rhode Island to follow suit. On Thursday, a spokesman for Governor Charlie Baker said that Massachusetts will not move forward with TCI because there is no longer a multi-state commitment. We haven’t yet heard from Rhode Island Governor McKee, but we anticipate a similar statement.   

Picture of Larry Chretien Larry Chretien 
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Picture of Anna Vanderspek Anna Vanderspek
Massachusetts Electric vehicles/Transportation Climate change Phasing out fossil fuels

The Public Gets It: We Have to Phase Out Gas-Powered Cars

There’s so much climate-related news right now that it’s hard to keep up: from the negotiations in Glasgow to the details of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the still-to-be-determined future of the Build Back Better Act. But here’s one piece of good news you don’t want to miss: a recent poll demonstrates that the public gets it. We have to phase out gas-powered cars.

Picture of Larry Chretien Larry Chretien 
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Picture of Anna Vanderspek Anna Vanderspek
Energy policy & advocacy Rhode Island Phasing out fossil fuels

Act On Climate was a big step for RI. Now let’s work quickly to implement it

You may be reading more about climate policy in the news because of COP26, the global conference in Glasgow to address the climate crisis hosted by the United Nations. This work is important for the sake of international cooperation and because climate change is a global issue. However, work on the international scale doesn’t replace the need for strong leadership on the local and state level to enact policies that align with the vision of COP26, as I recently argued in the Boston Globe alongside our allies at The Nature Conservancy. 

by Mal Skowron