14 results for tag: EV

Are Electric UTVs the Future of Agriculture?

What comes to mind when you hear the word “EV”? Sleek, shiny sedans plugged into charging stations across the urban landscape? Monochromatic motor vehicles whirring down the highway in near silence? The clean future of commuter culture? If “rugged terrain,” “agriculture”, and “farm work” aren’t words that spring to mind, you aren’t alone. But OEC – and plenty of others – envision a future for electric vehicles that spans far beyond that city-centric view of them that so many of us hold. Meet: the Polaris Ranger XP Kinetic. From a distance, these enclosed four-wheelers might look like the average UTV you’d find on any ...

Electrifying Oregon’s Local Economies

To advance an equitable transition to electric vehicles, OEC recently partnered with several local women- and/or BIPOC-owned small businesses to invest in on-the-ground workforce development, consumer education, job creation, and business competitiveness – all powered by funding from the Oregon Clean Fuels Program via PGE’s Drive Change Fund.

A Clean Cars Win!

Today, Oregon took a momentous step to reduce air pollution and help us meet our state’s transportation emission reduction goals by passing the Advanced Clean Cars II Rule (ACCII). These rules will help us in our transition to 100% zero-emission passenger vehicles by 2035! The Advanced Clean Cars II Rule will reduce tailpipe emissions, one of the biggest sources of climate pollution in Oregon, from new passenger vehicles like cars, personal trucks, and SUVs, starting with the 2026 model year through 2035. This rule strengthens Oregon’s vehicle emission standards (learn more about the details here) for all new light-duty cars sold so that by ...

Clean Cars Are the Future – It’s Time to Update Oregon’s Standards

It is (past) time we break up with oil! Not only do the big changes in the price of gas affect our wallets, but burning fossil fuels is bad for the climate and our health. Oregon has the opportunity to be a leader in the transition to electric vehicles and get on the path to meeting our climate pollution reduction goals by adopting the Advanced Clean Car II Rules. CLIMATE Transportation is the largest climate-polluting sector in Oregon, making up about 40 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions. Over 60 percent of this pollution comes from passenger cars and trucks. As we have seen the past few summers with unprecedented heat waves and wildfires, ...

Getting an electric vehicle just got easier!

Electric vehicles are only becoming more popular and affordable. Though we still need to find ways to drive less, EVs are a great alternative for cleaner mobility.  Thanks to some new policies and state investments, many of them supported by OEC, there are more accessible options today for low carbon transportation.  Transportation is still responsible for nearly 40% of Oregon's greenhouse gas pollution. That means, in order to reach our climate goals, we’re all going to have to both drive less and use less fossil fuels when we do drive. The good news is, this is becoming easier and more affordable every day. If you buy or lease a new or used ...

EVs Are Not Just for Urban Commuters

The transition from gas to electric vehicles is now well underway. From electric cars, trucks, and busses, to e-bikes, e-scooters, and personal wheeled devices of all kinds, there are more and more electric options for getting around town. This transition is exciting to see because it’s essential to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and battling climate change.  But what if “town” isn’t where you’re trying to get around? There are more electric vehicle (EV) models introduced all the time, but many people still have questions about whether an EV makes sense for the everyday needs of Oregon’s rural and agricultural communities which ...

Moving the Decimal Point on the Price of Gas

When I was learning how to drive, back in the middle of the 1973 Arab oil embargo, with long lines and gas rationed on “odd/even” days, everyone was completely shocked when the price of gas rose from 39 cents to 53 cents.  Today, gas is selling at an average of $4.72 per gallon here in Oregon. As the old Bob Dylan song said, “the times they are a’changing” and it may be time for many drivers to consider making a change that can save you a lot of money. If you need to replace your car, think electric. Consider this: for a 25 mpg car, paying $4.72 per gallon, it works out to 18.8 cents a mile. That’s more than four times higher than the ...

A Supercharged EV Road Trip

Ava During Covid, when schools shut down, my teenage daughter’s life was suddenly all online. So it didn’t surprise me when she started telling me about a new group of friends she met on an online forum dedicated to One Direction, an English-Irish pop boy band. Aware of the dangers of the internet, I was more than a little wary. I asked her a million questions and was pleasantly surprised to find that she was just chatting daily with a group of fourteen to sixteen-year-old girls infatuated with One Direction.  Over the next year, these six girls met religiously on Zoom, and became best friends. They lived scattered across the country and ...

Buying a car? Go electric!

Are you considering buying a car? This is a great time to consider your electric options! Before we even get started, though, we have to ask you a tough question. Depending on where you live, do you really need a car? At Oregon Environmental Council we know that we won’t reach our climate and equity goals if we don’t reduce the number of cars on the road or how many miles they are driving, so we will always encourage you to take the time to think about whether you can meet at least some of your transportation needs without a car. (Hint: electric bikes can make a terrific car substitute!) If you really need a car, read on! Why buy (or ...

Time to wine down the Oregon Electric Byway

Being able to access Oregon's public lands is essential to me, and without owning a car, it can be challenging.