walking through stockholm in the early evening, it is nearly impossible to avoid the herds of bikes that come barreling down the roads, traveling in swift fleets each weeknight. rush hour in this city is in stark contrast to rush hour in other cities such as new york and los angeles, as cars drift easily down the street, obstructed by bikers and pedestrians instead of by thousands of other cars. this can be attributed to a multitude of factors, such as sweden’s effective public transportation, swedes’ preference for biking as a more active mode of transportation, or the cost-effective nature of avoiding car ownership. one common goal, however, unites swedes in their quest to avoid fossil fuel-powered vehicles: the desire to diminish carbon emissions. in fact, stockholm plans to be fossil fuel free by 2040.

this goal comes with strong motivation, as reuters reports that in 2018 humans added 33.1 billion tons of carbon into the air, 14% of which came from transportation according to the epa. carbon emissions are responsible for 64% of global climate change, the european commission reports, as they contribute to the greenhouse effect which warms the planet. this means that decreasing the amount of fossil fuels that we burn each year could have an immensely positive impact on the global climate crisis.

stockholm is on track to achieve a maximum of 2.3 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents emitted per resident in 2020, according to a strategy report prepared by the city. reports from the world bank show that in 2016 — the most recent year available — the u.s. produced 15.5 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per capita, while all of sweden was at just 4.4 tons.

my classmates and i were first introduced to stockholm’s plan to become fossil fuel free by our guide, zennid, on a walking tour around the city. he outlined how the metro system in stockholm is electric and how the public buses run on biofuels. additionally, most car owners power their vehicles with electricity or biofuels. one challenge that he identified was making this work for tourism, as large tour buses and cruise ships that bring people to stockholm are still powered by fossil fuels.

the determination of the swedes to reduce their fossil fuel emissions was tangible in the amount of people biking, walking, and taking the train around the city. i was shocked when another tour guide who showed us around a sustainable living development at the royal seaport told me that she refuses to travel in vehicles powered by fossil fuels. i was shocked by this statement, as completely avoiding fossil fuels has never been something that i could even dream of achieving. to get to the grocery store, school, or the train station from my home in rhode island, it is necessary to drive. this could still be fossil fuel-free with the use of an electric or biofuel-powered vehicle, but the lack of affordable and versatile versions of these cars on the market in the u.s. has left my family with classic gas-guzzling american cars.

so this leaves me with the question: is there a future in which americans can avoid fossil fuels as our tour guide could in stockholm?

electric cars

of course, electric and hybrid vehicles have already reached the u.s., the toyota prius and the tesla model 3 being two prominent varieties. while people can charge these cars at home, charging stations in parking spaces have become noticeably popular in sweden, and their implementation in the u.s. could convince more consumers to go electric. a challenge in implementing electric car culture in the u.s. seems to be the looks of electric cars, as most models, such as the toyota prius and the bmw i3, are smaller, less american looking cars. getting over our obsession with large pickup trucks and suvs may be a major hurdle in this transition. even i have trouble with the idea of my family having only small cars, as american road trip culture gives us the ideal of driving down country roads from state to state in a big comfortable car.

biofuel cars

i had always heard that biofuel technology was not efficient, so i was shocked when i heard about its popularity in stockholm. it turns out that biofuel is less expensive than typical fuel in sweden, as diesel costs 16.08 swedish krona per liter — or $1.83 a liter, as of publication time, which is the equivalent of about $7 per gallon. and biodiesel for a truck costs 14.24 krona ($1.62) per liter.

biodiesel, a popular form of biofuel, is made of hydrogenated vegetable oil (hvo), which according to one hvo company is compatible with all diesel engines and “does not release any new carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.” a study published by the proceedings of the national academy of sciences in the u.s. found that “biodiesel yields 93% more” energy than the energy used to manufacture the fuel. moreover, the study found that biofuel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 41% when replacing fossil fuels. consumer reports found that using biodiesel works just as well as fossil fuels, but the lack of access to this type of fuel in the u.s. makes it unsuitable for everyday use.

ethanol is another type of biofuel, usually made from corn, that “yields 25% more energy than the energy invested in its production” and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 12%, according to the national academy of sciences report. in the u.s., a mixture of 90% gasoline and 10% ethanol is usually used to fuel cars. the u.s. is the world’s top ethanol producer, but as national geographic reports, this fuel is controversial because of the amount of energy necessary for its manufacture.

next steps for the u.s.

overall, stockholm’s fossil fuel free ambitions were noticeable and inspirational. the government and the residents of stockholm are both taking prominent roles in reducing carbon emissions, and i left stockholm with a new understanding of sustainable transportation. i think that the first step to freeing ourselves from fossil-fuel powered transportation is to make the alternatives more accessible. if we can make these alternatives normal, hopefully their economic and environmental advantages will encourage americans to follow in the footsteps of the swedes.

but electric vehicles are not expected to face the same financial impact as internal combustion engine vehicles. according to one new york consulting firm, ev markets in europe and china are doing surprisingly well, with ev sales in europe up 25% just within the first business quarter of 2020. 

although american ev figures are not as reassuring, experts believe that if the u.s. begins implementing similar measures as found throughout europe and asia, american ev markets are expected to rebound and increase over the next several years. but this requires u.s. policy to stimulate both ev supply and demand.

why european and chinese ev markets are doing fine 

according to colin mckerracher, the head author of bloombergnef’s 2020 ev outlook, ev markets in europe have largely have stabilized because of pre-pandemic ev policies and the development of more efficient and inexpensive technology. 

“while the internal combustion engine vehicle market is on a downward trajectory, despite covid, evs are on an upward trajectory,” mckerracher said. 

he added the most prominent mechanisms that have cushioned the ev markets are shifting national and sub-national policies that now focus on influencing the supply of evs. in addition to already existing tax incentives for new ev owners, european countries have pushed for strict fuel economy standards. 

“the policies are really saying ‘we don’t care how you do it, but you really need to bring down your emissions,’” mckerracher said. “the most compelling ways for a lot of automakers to do that is by selling a lot of plug-in vehicles.”

unsurprisingly, european automakers have generally expressed economic optimism. volvo ceo hakan samuelsson said at a conference earlier this year that he predicts the pandemic will accelerate future demand for evs, echoing volvo’s commitment to sell an all-electric and hybrid fleet by 2025. and unlike american automakers, volvo’s stock price was higher than it was at pre-pandemic levels.

likewise, as battery technology improves, evs have become more affordable in europe and china, making them fierce competitors with traditional vehicles. chinese automakers have introduced updated lithium iron phosphate batteries, which are cheaper to produce because they do not require metals like cobalt or nickel, according to one analyst from roskill, a london-based global metal trade consulting firm.  

supply localization efforts also have helped avoid tariffs and trade costs that accumulate on ev price tags. according to mckerracher, there is no significant difference between battery production costs among geographic locations, which also means that the overall carbon footprint made as a result of ev production has actually improved.

but more importantly, localization efforts have also helped drive the economies of europe and china. according to marine gorner, an energy and transport analyst at the international energy agency, localizing battery production and the deployment of ev infrastructure has a higher employment multiplier for every dollar invested compared to conventional vehicle manufacturing. 

“i think this particular point will be a key piece of information for governments to have in mind when they think of this shift,” gorner said. “this shift comes with more economic growth prospects.” 

what the u.s. is doing wrong

the same narrative cannot be told in the u.s., largely because the pandemic continues hammering the americas while europe and asia already have flattened the curve. 

even so, a lack of ev implementation and recovery efforts have reduced national ev sales by 33%. according to genevieve cullen, the president of the electric drive transportation association, this figure may only increase if federal and state governments leave automakers uncertain about what standards their fleet must meet. 

“what global governments do and what the u.s. does as part of their pandemic responses, i think it’ll have a major impact on what that means going forward,” she said.

besides tesla, which has a higher stock price than one year ago, american automakers are more concerned about cash flow and have cut back on ev research and development. when demand for automobiles returns to pre-pandemic levels, many american consumers will not find as many competitive evs in the market. 

recent federal guidelines also have stunted the development of america’s ev market. in march, the trump administration revised fuel economy standard goals by reducing 2026’s goal of 54 mpg to 40 mpg, further disincentivizing automakers to develop ev technology. 

cullen said that the electric drive transportation association has modeled a multi-prong recommendation plan that would reinforce manufacturing, strengthen retail incentives, and construct more ev charging infrastructure to help boost the ev market in the united states, but local governments largely have ignored these suggestions. 

“with these things together, we could essentially grow the entire ev ecosystem,” she said. “providing both that market signal for manufacturers and that accessibility for consumers is key, but we’re not seeing that in the u.s.”

not all that bad

although not as many americans are switching over to evs as fast as in europe and china, the future of the american ev industry remains optimistic. 

if predicted ev adoption rates are not drastically altered by federal litigation, american ev sales are expected to rise and continue rising starting in 2021, according to the bloombergnef outlook.  

moreover, mckerracher said replacing an ev in the united states has more of an ecological impact because current internal combustion vehicles in the american market have lower fuel economy standards than those in europe and china. bloombergnef forecasts that u.s. carbon dioxide emission levels are expected to decrease by more than 25% in the next two decades. 

however, the approach to these figures may decelerate if the federal government continues pushing automakers away from ev production. 

“if trump wins the 2020 election, the u.s. will almost certainly fall behind in ev purchases,” mckerracher said. “if democrats win, that gap will close.”

others also believe that federal and state governments must increase ev demand by enacting innovative policies that entice consumers to purchase new evs. sean mitchell, the president of denver’s tesla owner club, said state governments should enact policies like a carbon tax that make fossil-fueled vehicles less economically viable for the average american.

“i think in a free market it’s important to let products and industries survive on their own,” mitchell said, “but, when you’re talking about a market that is directly related to pollution and emissions, there’s got to be another factor that’s considered there.”

mitchell added that state governments should remove policies that complicate ev sales. for example, texas prohibits customers from purchasing vehicles directly from the manufacturers. removing this policy would increase ev demand because customers would not be forced to shop online for such a large product, mitchell said.

“making it easy for people to purchase electric vehicles is key,” he said. 

but experts also point out that like buying in bulk, the price of ev batteries are expected to decrease as more americans trade in their cars for evs, according to marine gorner of the iea. 

“what’s really important is to get more vehicles on the road so that production and sale volumes are higher,” she said. “this is how we will get an ev’s cost parity — it’s up-front cost — comparable to a conventional vehicle.” 

here are five takeaways from the salon:

1. owning an electric vehicle (ev) has never been more affordable

from the cost of batteries to the sticker price of the car, the economics of buying and operating an electric vehicle has never been as enticing as it is in 2018.

in 2010, the price per kilowatt hour was about $1,000 for ev batteries, but that number has dropped by almost 80% to around $200 per kwh today, cullen said. when translated to the price of gasoline, she said electricity is equivalent to about $1.10 per gallon — a number not seen anywhere across the country for years.

at the same time, the sticker prices of electric vehicles have been dipping with recently released models from chevy, tesla, and other car companies being marked in the $30,000-$40,000 range, or the equivalent of a non-electric vehicle of the same size once you take into account subsidies.

2. politics can’t change the long-term trend

while governmental incentives, such as the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles, can be altered or scrapped (as it has been proposed), cullen characterizes this as a “setback” rather than a threat to the viability of an electrified future.

adoption and planning for the technology by individual states, other nations and private companies have become so widespread that evs are becoming cost-competitive with their fossil-fueled counterparts by other means. however, cullen said it could displace the united states from its century-long position on the front lines of innovation in the transportation sector.

3. new infrastructure plans in the works could mean further accessibility to evs

among bipartisan agreement that u.s. infrastructure needs a renovation comes an opportunity to acknowledge electric vehicles’ growing presence today and in the nation’s future.

“i think there’s really an opportunity to educate folks about what transportation infrastructure looks like now,” cullen said. “it’s not just concrete. in fact, it’s charging stations, it’s how you accommodate ride-sharing and new means of mobility and automated trucks.”

4. ev batteries have gained an after-life

once an ev needs a replacement battery, its old battery still contains 80% of its charging capacity, cullen said. but does this just create another waste stream from the discarded batteries that power evs?

using planet forward digital media editor dylan trupiano’s video on the subject as a stimulus for the conversation, sesno and cullen discussed how ev batteries can be “strapped together” after they’ve been displaced from the vehicle for energy storage in municipalities and individual homes, essentially being “used to clean the grid,” cullen said. once the batteries have been used past their usefulness, they can be recycled.

5. the market for used hybrids and evs is growing stronger

rob stewart, manager of smart grid and technology at d.c.-area utility company pepco and the chairman of the edta board, said the “incentives that come out for these new vehicles make people who drive (electric) vehicles want to have a newer vehicle. that provides a whole new layer of used electric vehicles that are out there — at a much lower cost…” you might not be able to afford a brand new electric vehicle, but now you’ll be able to take advantage of cars that “still have plenty of life on them,” stewart said. “and at that point they are driving a vehicle that’s very low cost to drive and maintain.”

cullen said that used car value books used to estimate hybrid cars’ resale values really low — with the anticipation that the batteries would expire and be costly to replace. but the batteries actually performed twice as long than expected, which has helped with the hybrid resale market. bottom line: if you’re in the market for a hybrid or electric vehicle, make sure you check the used lot, too.

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in 1901, 115 years ago this week, andrew riker’s electric powered race car broke records as the fastest electric car of its time. reaching speeds of 57 miles per hour, the “torpedo racer” wasn’t the first riker machine to win a race. in 1896, a riker car also won the first official u.s. automobile race. 

in the early 1900s, electric cars made up a third of all the non-horse-driven transportation. as more people gained access to electricity, their popularity was on the upswing — that is, until ford’s model t was introduced in 1908.

before the release of the model t, cars varied widely between steam, gas and electric power. however, the model t was much cheaper to make than the standard electric car — $650 vs. $1750 in 1912, according to energy.gov. this, as well as improved road systems and cheap fuel, resulted in gasoline powered automobiles dominating the market for the better part of the century. the late 1960s to early 1970s brought us a gas shortage, prompting congress to pass the electric and hybrid vehicle research, development, and demonstration act of 1976. but it wasn’t until the clean air act of 1990 and the energy policy act of 1992 that interest in electric vehicles truly was revived.

despite the renewed demand for electric cars in the decades following the environmentally conscious acts of the early ’90s, the auto industry struggled to create electric cars on par with the current gas-powered models. unfortunately, the costs outweighed the expected profits and many attempts were scrapped, inspiring the 2006 documentary “who killed the electric car.”

despite the problems with electric cars, including a lack of infrastructure for long trips, the demand for cleaner vehicles only grew stronger. because of this, the first widely sold electric vehicle was actually the toyota prius, a hybrid car. released in 1997, the prius was the first mass produced hybrid electric automobile, running on both conventional gas and an electrically charged battery. the prius has since sold so well that the market for hybrid and electric cars has only grown since it’s release.

it’s certainly evident in the current pricing of cars. despite the difference in price between the average electric car and the model t back in 1908, the gap has narrowed since the release of the prius. the price for an electric vehicle can range from $23,000 to $35,000, while the average gas-powered vehicle falls within the high side of that bracket at $33,500. further, the u.s. government offers a rebate (though there is a cap on the number of rebates offered per model) to those who buy electric cars purchased in or after 2010, driving the price even lower.

though the sustainability and efficiency of electric cars was neglected for more than 60 years, the market has returned full force. as auto companies sell more electric cars, they will build more to meet demand and the market will only keep growing. a cleaner future with fewer gas-based engines on the road is certainly on the horizon.

(image at top: facebook has an area in the parking lot at their menlo park, calif., headquarters with electric vehicle charging stations. photo by jimmy baikovicius / creative commons)

to make this happen, acc prepared the foundation by collecting one dollar from each college student for each credit hour, this green fund set austin community college on our way in 2009 to implementing sustainability initiatives.

being that acc is a commuter college with no on-campus housing and campuses scattered throughout central texas, transportation was identified as a good place to start, also 2010 greenhouse gas inventory showed that the commuting is responsible for 41% of the college’s ghg emissions.

since 2009, the college has rolled out a series of interlocking tdm (transportation demand management) strategies, there is no single solution to this challenge.

acc’s first initiative was to reduce single occupant vehicle miles. encouraging carpooling was a no-brainer, but increasing mass transit ridership was important.

so, the green pass was born! electric car charging stations are fast becoming a hit with staff, students and the public, as are incentives for driving fuel-efficient cars.

since the green pass program started, there’s already been a shift in how people commute to the campuses, with a greater percentage using alternatives to single occupant vehicles. bus ridership is up, and indications show a positive impact on overall greenhouse gas emission.

our students are helping acc go green one dollar at a time.