TOLEDO, Ohio — Part of the national effort to improve the environment is a dedicated push to make the country more friendly to electric vehicles.
President Joe Biden took a big step toward that goal on Wednesday, announcing a $900 million dollar plan to install 50,000 electric vehicle chargers across the country.
On Thursday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took some time during his visit to Cleveland Cliffs in Toledo to talk about the Biden administration's plan for thousands of new electric vehicle chargers on the road.
"The electric vehicle revolution is coming with or without us," Buttigieg said. "But we have to act to make sure it reaches everybody, to make sure it happens quickly enough to help with climate, and to make sure, and this is especially relevant to this region, to make sure it is a made-in-America EV revolution. This is all part of that vision."
He also said the plan is the first step in a larger $7.5 billion dollar plan over the next five years to make EV chargers as accessible as gas stations.
"When you go out on a road trip, we want to make sure every 50 miles or less, you can find a charging station," Buttigieg said.
That's music to the ears for Jason Bloomberg, an electric vehicle owner who drove all the way to Maumee, Ohio, from Cheyanne, Wyoming.
Bloomberg has been behind the wheel of electric vehicles since 2007, and he said they are not only fun to drive and good for the ecosystem, it now seems to be the U.S.'s next big industry.
"This is the way to go," Bloomberg said. "These vehicles are low maintenance, low cost to operate, and there's a lot of American jobs. Billions of dollars are being invested in battery production plants, and we need to pay attention to things that create more jobs in the United States."
With the federal government now working to make it easier than ever to use the vehicles, and automakers across the world promising to scale EV production, Bloomberg said those that reject electric vehicles are only trying to delay the inevitable.
"We invested in building the interstate highway system, there were people against that," Bloomberg said. "There were people who were against cars and wanted to keep horse and carriage. So, there are people that are either going to move forward with the future or people who are going to be kicking and screaming as they're dragged into it."