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The survey found that 1/3 of people without cars planned to buy one in the next six months, and 45% of those respondents were Millennials.
Why This Matters: The 2008 financial crisis left Millennials with less income to purchase single-occupancy vehicles which coincided with their more sustainable purchasing habits relative to other generations. And now, a new crisis is forcing this generation to rethink the balance of public health, convenience, and affordability.
As public transit faces a ridership crisis, lawmakers must think quickly about how to ensure that transit can be a safe alternative while incentivizing those who insist on driving to purchase electric and hybrid vehicles.
Long-term Effects: Because of COVID fears and social distancing standards, people are opting to rely on ridesharing and public transport much less than before the pandemic. Instead, people are turning to personal cars, motorcycles, bikes, e-bikes, and scooters to meet their transportation needs. Young consumers are even pushing carmakers to offer a subscription-based car model.
This trend, if sustained, could help make vehicle emissions goals around the world more difficult to meet.
The British government banned the sale of new internal combustion engine cars in 2035, which the majority of drivers supported.
Norway has pledged to have all passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, and urban buses to be zero-emission in the next five years.
However, this shift towards car ownership may not last long — in urban areas, rising delays and congestion may force some to go back to public transportation to travel faster once the pandemic is over. Time will tell.
by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer Less than two weeks after being confirmed, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has announced that the Biden administration is resuming an Obama-era program that gave billions in loans to clean energy companies. Granholm, during talks at the CERAWeek energy conference on Wednesday, pointed the clean energy businesses the Department of Energy loan program […]
by Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer The world desperately needs more sources of emissions-free energy, yet as these power sources are brought online, we must also contend with their impact on animals and ecosystems. In California, government officials are trying to rescue California condors, which are critically endangered, from being killed by the blades of […]
In the wake of one of the largest power losses in United States history, the conversation about green energy in Texas is back in the headlines. Emily Holden and two other investigative reporters collaborated on a story that ran in The Guardian, The Texas Observer, and San Antonio Report exposing how the Texas Gas Service was successful in significantly watering down a plan by the city of Austin to reduce the use of natural gas there in the future.
Why This Matters: The oil industry has spent billions to manipulate the national conversation around green energy.
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