How States Are Planning To Power The Electric Vehicle Boom
33:13 minutes
California and New York recently adopted regulations which ban sales of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035. Several other states are likely to quickly follow suit. But the uptick in vehicle demand will also require new infrastructure, and increase demand for mining metals used to produce car batteries.
Jessika Trancik, professor at the Institute for Data, Systems and Society at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and David Reichmuth, senior engineer for the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Clean Transportation Program, join Ira Flatow to discuss the future of electric vehicles. Plus, Eric Gebhardt, chief technology officer at Wabtec, an industrial locomotive company, discusses the challenges and promise of battery-electric trains.
Further Reading
- Learn more about California’s decision to ban electric cars by 2035, via The Washington Post.
- Read an open letter from Indigenous leaders to Princeton about their holdings in lithium mining, via The Daily Princetonian.
- Learn more about if the electric grid can handle electric vehicle charging, via the Union of Concerned Scientists.
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Segment Guests
Jessika Trancik
Jessika Trancik is a professor in MIT’s Institute for Data, Systems, and Society in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
David Reichmuth
David Reichmuth is a senior engineer in the Clean Transportation Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Oakland, California.
Eric Gebhardt
Eric Gebhardt is Chief Technology Officer at the Wabtec Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Segment Transcript
The transcript is being processed. It will be available the week after the segment airs.
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About Shoshannah Buxbaum
@Shoshannah_BuxShoshannah Buxbaum is a producer for Science Friday. She’s particularly drawn to stories about health, psychology, and the environment. She’s a proud New Jersey native and will happily share her opinions on why the state is deserving of a little more love.
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@iraflatowIra Flatow is the host and executive producer of Science Friday. His green thumb has revived many an office plant at death’s door.