Bipartisan EV bill to help U.S. get into the global green car race  

The Better Place blog has a post on efforts to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles in the US - Bipartisan EV bill to help U.S. get into the global green car race.

For two generations, political leaders from both major political parties have identified oil dependence as a major vulnerability, and have asserted the need for the U.S. to break that addiction. But despite all of the passionate rhetoric, precious little has been proposed by way of a tangible strategy.

Today, there is hope that this is about to change.

Democratic and Republican members of the House and the Senate just introduced the Electric Vehicle Deployment Act (EVDA), a plan to speed mass adoption of zero-oil, zero-emission electric vehicles, and to put the U.S. into the global race for sustainable transportation.

Automobile companies around the world are calling electrification of the light-duty vehicle fleet “inevitable.” Countries like China and France are aggressively directing policy to take advantage of what they see as an opportunity to do more than reduce their emissions and dependence on oil, but to capture an enormous economic prize. Now, U.S. policymakers have showed up late to the party – but not yet too late for them to lead.

The bill, introduced by Senators Dorgan (D-ND), Alexander (R-TN), Merkley (D-OR), and Representatives Markey (D-MA) and Biggert (R-IL), seeks to accelerate EV adoption by allowing regions to compete for federal funding to build out model EV ecosystems, including infrastructure deployment and consumer incentives to switch to EVs.

One of the most laudable elements of the bill is its recognition of the multidisciplinary approach required to lead the EV revolution. The “ABCs” of electrification are Automobiles, Batteries and Charging networks – but with relatively low gas prices making dirty driving cheaper in the U.S. than most places in the world, these must also be accompanied by “D” – driving consumer Demand.