While Maya was working to help communities nationwide protect their right to pure water, clean air, a safe climate, and a healthy environment as founder of Green Amendments for the Generations and in her role as the Delaware Riverkeeper, her family started asking what more they could be doing in their home. They started with geothermal (ground source heat pump) and solar, then added an electric vehicle (EV). Fifteen years later, they are all driving EVs and living in their second all electric home. 

I first dipped my toes into the world of electric cars in 2014 with Chevy Volt’s PHEV (plug in hybrid electric vehicle). The Volt was nice and sporty, I loved it! I was able to charge at home and my first 40 miles of driving were all-electric before the car switched over to gas. I drove the Volt for several years. My commute to my office was 55 miles, and my job as the Delaware Riverkeeper regularly took me to DE, NJ, NY, and PA, so most days I wasn’t able to do all my driving on electric. When I founded Green Amendments in 2014, I sometimes had to drive even farther, including Connecticut, and even New Mexico. I was sold on electric, but was burning more fossil fuels than I wanted, so we started searching for an all electric car with more range. 

In 2017, we test drove and purchased a Chevy Bolt. It is a very practical car, it is easy to load boxes and supplies into the car, is great to drive, and the range shown is true to reality. I always knew how many miles of charge I had left on trips. I was now able to do most of my travel for work fully electric, and most of my charging at home. But when I did travel beyond the Bolt’s 180-220 miles of range in a variety of cities, states, and rural areas, I was frustrated by the disparate charging network and needed a growing number of apps and payment methods to charge at each location. And the range was a stretch when I needed to drive to Harrisburg, PA or Washington DC, let alone to states in the center of the country. I once had an overnight trip to DC and was able to book a hotel with EV charging – great! But the overnight charge didn’t happen, and when I found a nearby supercharger, it didn’t work. So I had to make it on the power I had. I had a 3 hour drive home, and arrived with just six miles left. It was stressful. I didn’t want to spend so much time worrying and thinking about charging on my long distance trips.    

My supportive and tech-minded husband was on it! In 2019 he called me from the Tesla dealership. They were having a deal on the Model 3, which has a range of 300 miles. The car would navigate me to the closest charging network and with the federal and PA-state rebates that we qualified for, plus the trade-in price they offered for the Bolt, it was affordable. The ability to travel longer distances and access a strong charging network requiring just one app was a relief. I was no longer stressed out, and have been able to do several Pennsylvania to New Mexico road trips for work with ease. Yes, you still have to plan ahead and I still prefer to leave myself extra miles to avoid the stress. But it works well and is easy. I stop, use the restroom, get a coffee, and the car is charged and ready to go. 

I now drive a Tesla Model Y, my son got the Model 3 when he moved to New York, and my daughter has the original Volt I started with. My husband, a recently retired school teacher, drives a Ford F-150 Lightning for his pool business, and just last month bought a used Bolt for his day to day driving. 

Of all of these EVs, the Chevy Bolt was my favorite. The sight lines are great, and I enjoyed more manual controls in the Bolt. I personally don’t love the all electric center consoles and regular software updates in the Tesla. Choosing the EV that’s right for you really depends on your daily drive, how you’ll use the car, and where you charge. There are a growing number of makes/models available, making it easier than ever to find the right fit. 

My favorite thing about driving electric is when I get in my car I feel good about the environmental impact. I do 90-95% of my charging at home where we have solar, so it runs on the sun. And that’s been the case with all of the EVs I’ve driven. I also love that EVs have almost no maintenance to deal with, there are no oil changes or trips to the gas station.

For each of our car purchases, the incentives were quite helpful, they made the pricing competitive. And, you actually save time and money throughout the life of the vehicle. The federal EV incentive going away on Sept 30, 2025 will impact someone who is in the ‘pondering to purchase’ stage for an EV. But I think the rollback of EV rebates will be most disruptive for car manufacturers who produce and market EVs, which means Americans will have fewer options. The loss of federal solar incentives in December 2025 will also be harmful. The ability to access residential solar to power your EV is a great combo and federal incentives are an important piece of this transition. I am hoping that states step up and offer incentives, recognizing the many benefits of EVs and clean energy for the environment, but also for creating and supporting jobs and economic development.

My advice to others looking to drive electric? You should just do it, it’s enjoyable in so many ways. If you care about your community, children, friends, pets, an EV is one decision where you can make a huge impact. The air quality implications from gas exhaust and diesel vehicles are critical public health and climate concerns and EVs provide cleaner air for all! They are a beautiful way to make a positive impact.