Why the Electric Vehicle Revolution Can Benefit Everyone

Electric vehicles (EVs) currently make up around 1 percent of all the cars, vans, trucks, and SUVs on the road in the United States. But that’s about to change. Last year, one in seven passenger vehicles sold around the world was electric. Car shoppers will soon have dozens of new electric models to choose from as automakers add more accessible options to their lineups. And a wave of states—including California, New Jersey, and New York—will phase out the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035. Meanwhile, both the private and public sectors are racing to electrify their dirtiest diesel fleets, from semis to delivery trucks to city buses, in order to meet U.S. emissions reduction goals.

In other words: The EV revolution is upon us, and the benefits could be far-reaching—even for those of us who never plan to get behind the wheel of an EV. Here’s how: 

Cleaner air and better health

Did you know that gas- and diesel-powered vehicles spew health-harming particulate matter into the air, causing tens of thousands of premature deaths in the United States each year? EVs, by comparison, produce zero tailpipe emissions. So the more EVs used across personal, public, and commercial transportation, the better the outcomes for our public health. 

In California, the state with the highest number of EVs, residents are already starting to benefit. In a recent study focused on California’s EV transition, researchers found that increased EV adoption led to measurably improved air quality and fewer asthma-related hospital visits. Another study predicted that, by 2050, EVs would spare Angelenos alone an estimated $12.6 billion in annual related health-care costs. This kind of impact is particularly vital for low-income people and people of color, whose homes are more likely to sit next to freight hubs and within high-traffic corridors because of a long history of racist policies that used highways to segregate communities. As a result, those communities face compounding sources of air pollution, which result in lung and cardiovascular issues. Making EV adoption more affordable and charging infrastructure more widespread will also be important to this shift.