Today, President Biden will visit the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, one day before Ford unveils its brand new F-150 Lightning, the first all-electric truck of its kind.
In response to the presidential visit in support of the electrification of our nation’s automotive fleet, Elizabeth Hauptman, Michigan field organizer for Moms Clean Air Force, shared her experience:
My son has asthma, and his disease is made worse by air pollution. Because of him, I am celebrating the fact that the nation’s best-selling pick-up truck is going electric. This is going to help my son breathe easier.
This new truck is also an important milestone in the fight against climate change. Our transportation sector is the nation’s largest source of carbon pollution. We need to transition all our cars, trucks, and buses to electric vehicles with zero tailpipe pollution, and we need to clean up the electricity that powers those vehicles. We’ve got a long way to go, but today’s visit from President Biden is a signal affirming his commitment to clean up the transportation sector, as laid out in his American Jobs Plan.
Michigan has some of the worst rates of asthma in the country, a respiratory condition that dirty vehicle pollution both causes and aggravates. For my son, whose lungs are still developing, cleaner vehicles will help him breathe better and have fewer days when he needs his nebulizer.
Ford’s new truck is built right here in Michigan. It just goes to show that investing in clean energy is good for our economy and good for the climate. Electric cars and trucks will create jobs, cut air pollution, and help reduce climate pollution.
To make sure that all automakers shift to making more clean vehicles like Ford’s new F-150, our nation needs strong national standards that cut pollution, save us money at the pump, and spur a clean energy economy.
There is no time to spare in transitioning to cleaner vehicles, and President Biden’s American Jobs Plan is a great place to start. The vehicle charging investments and electric vehicle purchase incentives in the American Jobs Plan will help make it possible for more Americans to drive electric cars and trucks. Families like mine in Michigan and across the country want to drive this change.
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