National Community Deployment Challenge

President Obama announced a plan last week to advocate for the mainstream adoption of electric and alternative vehicles. The $1 billion National Community Deployment Challenge is designed to entice individuals and businesses to buy advanced cars and trucks through a $10,000 tax credit--which is up from the $7500 allowed under the current tax law (Starr, 2012). There is also an additional contest that will award grants to states with communities that invest in infrastructure that is designed to support electric vehicles--like charging stations or natural gas corridors (Starr, 2012). Environmental groups and advocators are calling this new program a groundbreaking initiative, expressing hope that this will ease U.S. dependence on foreign oil and improve the environment (Koenig, 2012).

This is a giant step in the right direction. It’s fantastic that the President is showing that he knows that changes need to be made, and adding additional enticement to ease the country out of our oil dependence is evidence that he knows that we can't wait any longer. A lot of us aren't familiar with alternative cars, but just like generations before us, we'll get used to them eventually. Especially if we know that these sacrifices are essential for the world as we know it to continue to thrive. It's time for all of us to start seriously considering these alternatives as viable options to replace our oil dependency.

Resources:

Koenig, Brian (2012). Obama unveils new $1 billion alternative-vehicle initiative. The New American. Web. Retrieved from <http://www.thenewamerican.com/tech-mainmenu-30/environment/11123-obama-unveils-new-1-billion-alternative-vehicle-initiative>

Star, Penny (2012). Obama calls for new $1B program to promote ‘alternative’ vehicles. CBS News. Web. Retrieved from <http://cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-calls-new-1b-program-promote-alternative-vehicles>