This past August, I had the chance to take a road trip across the country from Burlingame, California to Ithaca, New York in an attempt to see first-hand parts of the country that feel left out of public discussion and public politics. Going to college in a small city in the middle of nowhere, I thought I was familiar with the rural landscape. Yet driving on backroads for thousands of miles provides far greater exposure. Growing up in urban and suburban environments, as I did, often exposes us to singular perspectives on divisive issues—climate change included—and I felt like my trek through flyover country provided ample opportunity to see the flip side of the coin. To dismiss the stubbornness of rural Americans to adopt greener technologies is ignorant at best. Throughout my trip, witnessing the sheer lack of decarbonized within rural counties was jarring, and in turn the gravity of rural America’s contribution to the climate crisis (and decarbonization potential) became abundantly clear. 

Looking broadly, rural America produces upwards of 36% of all domestic CO2 emissions. Many of these communities are based around agricultural practices where adaptation to climate-friendly practices is a slow process at best. Thus, there is now a greater imperative to make changes where the market can efficiently work. This is where electric vehicles come in. Rural drivers consume 25.6% of all light-duty gas despite only constituting 18.8% of drivers in the US, and only 17% of rural Americans live within a mile of an electric vehicle charger. Even worse, rural drivers who drive the most—who make up roughly 3.6% of the US population—consume around 1,950 gallons of gas annually, or nearly 13% of total gas consumption in the United States. This consumption, in turn, leads to a lack

of vertical equity in gas purchasing. Rural “superusers,” as they are called—many of whom earn below the national median income— are spending roughly a quarter of their income on gas alone. In rural America, where incomes are often below the national median, electric vehicles stand to save families large sums of money. 

These numbers suggest that there is a feasible opportunity to expand infrastructure. The question then shifts towards one of feasibility. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 includes tax credits for those purchasing electric vehicles, but public favorability of electric vehicles is still not widespread and public opinion polling suggests a lack of proximity to a charging station is a major cofactor. The Pew Research Center finds that 49% of those who live within a mile of a charging station support phasing out gas cars, but this number drops to 30% for those who live within two miles. 

To facilitate more electric vehicle charging capabilities in rural America, we need to facilitate two paradigm shifts. Firstly, we have to shift our priorities in Congress to consider economic value in rural America. Much of this change will require a dramatic paradigm shift within the Congress to shift their focus to a long-term economic horizon built around the creation of “better” jobs that will remediate short-term job loss in the fossil fuel sector. Economic value won’t be added immediately, but the infrastructure to support it will. This means constructing the charging stations necessary to make EV usage viable. Greater density of charging stations not only incentivizes local usage but also makes longer city-to-city road trips possible. Secondly, we have to convince rural Americans that electric vehicles work. And they do. An average electric vehicle is more expensive than a gas car, but not all electric cars are expensive. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill of 2021 includes $7.5 billion for the fastest direct current (DC) chargers, but state governments need to prioritize rural communities. Private companies such as General Motors have launched major initiatives to boost charging station numbers by 77%, constructing stations at places where rural drivers might park for hours (i.e., stadiums), but more can be done to actually prompt a shift away from gas vehicles. States should also look to leverage popular electricity co-ops present in many rural communities, where chargers can be hooked into local grids. Electric co-ops serve upwards of 90% of impoverished counties in America—an overwhelming majority of which are in rural areas—and thus tapping into their networks could catalyze EV growth. 

Electric vehicles have their flaws, but their potential to decarbonize transportation in rural America truly sparks optimism.