In the past two decades, U.S. natural gas and oil production has increased to the point that America is now a net exporter of these commodities. This change is due to a new technology, hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. How does fracking fit into the debate over climate change?

Production and use of electric vehicles (EVs) has increased dramatically over the last decade. In addition to an increase in overall popularity, this trend is also due to government incentives to drive costs down for both manufacturers and consumers. A widespread move to EVs could help address climate change because actual driving of EVs does not produce greenhouse gasses like traditional gas and diesel vehicles. However, while internal combustion engines have around 200 parts that need to be maintained and possibly repaired as compared to EVs which utilize only around 20 parts, current EVs have unique environmental problems related to sourcing, disposal and other aspects of these parts, and require nationwide installation of appropriate charging infrastructure and a significant increase in demand of the power grid. So, do these problems outweigh the benefits of a transition to EVs? Note: this brief is a general introduction to the issues surrounding EV infrastructure. For our analysis of how many EV charging stations are needed and where they would be located, see https://tinyurl.com/28fcn2ts.

As discussed in our brief on Decarbonization (linked in Further Reading), reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a key strategy for reducing global temperature increases. There are many ways to achieve this goal with new technologies, such as requiring Americans to use electric vehicles instead of those powered by gasoline. Cap and trade offers another strategy, one that leaves it up to individual decision-makers to decide when and how they will reduce greenhouse gasses. Is cap and trade a good alternative or complement to government regulations?