Earth911 Podcast, Feb. 25, 2019: One Person's Impact -- Buying an EV

Making changes to improve the sustainability of our lives is not easy. Old habits, long-held assumptions, and preferences built over decades can keep us from making the moves that will help to reduce the CO2 and other greenhouse gas levels, as well as reduce water pollution and waste. Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe tells the story of his recent conversation from a gas-guzzling sports car to an electric vehicle, a used 2016 BMW i3. He shares how his doubts about range prevented him from taking action and, ultimately, how quickly the EV proved itself during commutes and longer trips. The change also caused friction in his household and impressed and influenced friends to think about their carbon footprint.In this "One Person's Impact" podcast, Mitch talks about the immediate reduction in CO2 produced during his commute and the potential to do more for the environment. One of the key learnings shared is that examining your electric utility's sources is key to making a change for reduced CO2 emissions. Mitch's utility generates only 1.5 percent of its power from coal, but if he'd been with a different utility, one that uses coal as a major source of power generation, his used EV would have reduced his impact very little. Change takes time and it comes hard. We'll be sharing more stories of personal decisions, how to research them, and what they do for the planet. Stay tuned!