I just became the proud owner of a 2019 Chevy Bolt. I charged it last night using the solar panels installed on our roof this past August. (Rooftop solar has been a dream of mine since the 1970s). We traded in our daughter's 2001 Honda Civic. She will inherit our Ford C-Max hybrid. Our other daughter drives a Prius.
Next steps in our personal green revolution (we already compost, grow our own veggies, and have low-flow toilets and shower heads, energy-efficient washer/dryer and ‘fridge, and a solar-powered tankless water heater) will include helping the daughters to upgrade from hybrids to EVs as they transition from college to good-paying jobs. Also, hopefully within 5 years, we’ll change our central heat from natural gas to geo-thermal.
Personal responsibility is not a substitute for public policy. But this is what we can do without waiting for our state (coal loving KY) or federal govt. to catch up.
As we push for a Green New Deal, we can tell our politicians that we practice what we preach—and that their actions can make it easier for people poorer than us to do the same.