skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, February 27, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Chief Justice John Roberts pauses order for Trump admin to pay $2 billion in foreign aid by midnight; NM Legislature advances appropriations bill with funding for wildlife corridors; Group warns livestock manure making MI Great Lakes not so great; Volunteer lobbyists to press Colorado lawmakers on homelessness.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The House has passed a budget outline. Elon Musk attends first Trump cabinet meeting. And federal workers leave jobs despite litigation allowing them to stay.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

U.S. farmers in limbo due to federal funding freeze worry their projects will go unrealized, mass firings could wreak havoc on tourists visiting public lands this summer, while money to fight wildfires in rural areas is also jeopardized.

Report: EV puts money back into Michigan drivers' pockets

play audio
Play

Friday, February 9, 2024   

Michigan is seeing growth in new electric-vehicle market share, and EV enthusiasts say lower prices are just part of their appeal.

The latest analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund and WSP, an engineering design firm, found 37 EV models can now be purchased for less than $48,000. Another 10 models have price tags of less than $35,000.

Gail Kolstoe, an electric-vehicle owner who lives in Michigan and supports Motor City-native manufacturers, said thinking about the environment doesn't have to be a sacrifice, and she has found the EV experience quite simple.

"It's so easy, it's just like plugging in your hair dryer," she said. "We did go ahead and have the 240 outlet put into our garage. In Michigan, there are a lot of people that already have that."

A report by Anderson Economic Group notes Michigan is slightly below the national average for having enough electric charging stations. As of last year, there were 200 public DC fast-charging stations, with four added in 2023.

Alex Wall, senior advisor for clean-energy economy with the advocacy group Climate Power, said Michiganders should consider all the cost savings available - not only at the time of purchase, but over the years. He said even trucks such as the Ford F-150, which people don't traditionally consider a "clean energy" option, have an EV "Lightning" version. Over a 10-year period, Wall said, it offers a savings of more than $21,000 compared with its gas-powered counterparts.

"A wide variety of vehicle types meet the needs of American workers and families," he said. "And so, whether that's a truck, an SUV, a family sedan, cars at all levels are saving folks significant money, both when it comes to fueling up versus charging - and also, significantly lower maintenance costs."

Ellen Robo, manager for transportation and clean-air policy for the Environmental Defense Fund, said EVs are having an impact on the U.S. economy.

"We are seeing an enormous amount of investment in jobs since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed," she said. "Associated with those investments are 180,000 direct jobs; we could expect 800,000 additional indirect and induced jobs as a result."

The Inflation Reduction Act requires that EVs be assembled in North America in order
to qualify for new vehicle consumer tax credits. The first quarter of 2023 saw an uptick of 39% more electric vehicles manufactured in North American factories than in the first quarter of the previous year.

Disclosure: Environmental Defense Fund contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, Environment, Public Lands/Wilderness. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
National parks such as Yosemite are bracing for the busy season even as they lose staff in the Trump administration's plan to reduce the federal workforce. (Greg Pickens/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A lawsuit to halt the firing of probationary federal workers gets a hearing before a district court judge in San Francisco this afternoon, even as …


Environment

play sound

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has approved a permit to expand Ridge Breeze Dairy in Salem despite hundreds of local objections…

Social Issues

play sound

Environmental projects are restarting as advocates praise Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro for suing the Trump administration, leading to the release …


Social Issues

play sound

Coloradans who want to help move the needle on homelessness can still sign up for a lobbying day next Tuesday at the State Capitol. Cathy Alderman…

The 34 accredited tribal colleges and universities served by the American Indian College Fund have a combined enrollment of nearly 22,000 students across 13 states. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

A new report says North Dakota's five tribal colleges contribute nearly $170 million to the state's economy. But any positive news is overshadowed by …

Social Issues

play sound

More than 14,000 incarcerated people in Washington are not able to vote and two bills in Olympia aim to change it. One bill would make voting more …

play sound

Environmental advocates are waiting for results from legislation passed last year, regulating the use of industrial sludge from flowing into …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021