Niles Discovery Church will host a public Electric Vehicle Car Show on Sunday, September 21 in their large parking lot. This is part of their celebration of Sun Day, a nationwide celebration of clean energy spurred on by people who remember the first Earth Day in 1970.
“September 21st was picked for two big reasons,” explained the Rev. Jeffrey Spencer, pastor at Niles Discovery Church. “First, because it’s the solar equinox—one of the two days of the year when all of the world gets an equal amount of sunlight, showing how the sun unites us.
“Second, September 21st is right before the UN General Assembly’s annual meeting, which means we have an opportunity to send a message across the country and to world leaders about the urgent need to accelerate and scale-up the just transition to clean energy.”
Pointing out that over the decades since that first Earth Day, scientists and engineers have done their job, giving us all the technology we need to power our lives and our economy with clean renewable energy, Spencer said, “Now it’s up to us…to celebrate the fact that ‘we can do this,’ and to embrace the opportunity to make the transition to clean, God-given, renewable energy a reality, not only for those who can afford it, but for the least of these among us.”
Fremont is doing quite well when it comes to EV adoption. “Specific data are hard to find,” Spencer said, “but as best I can tell, 40% or more of vehicles registered in Fremont are EVs.”
This car show, he said, is for people who haven’t made the switch to EVs. “People will be able to learn more about electric vehicles,” Spencer said. “They can ask owners what they like and dislike about their cars, find out how they overcame range anxiety, and learn lots more. There will be arts activities for all ages. And, of course, we’ll be serving sun tea!”
“EVs are not a panacea,” Spencer explained. “We need more and better public transportation, more bicycle riding, more walking. That said, if you need to get a new car as you wait for that improved public transportation, it sure makes sense to get an EV. Even with our remarkable high electricity costs in northern California, traveling 100 miles in a typical gasoline powered car will cost you one-and-a-half times as much as traveling 100 miles in a typical EV.”
“We’re going to make Sun Day a day that shows decision makers of all kinds—local, state, and federal elected officials, business leaders, civic leaders, labor unions—that Americans of all walks of life, and all incomes want affordable, reliable clean energy for all,” Spencer said. “We want the policy reforms and investments to accelerate and scale-up the clean energy transition. We want a clean and healthy future for ourselves and coming generations.”
Sun Day EV Car Show
Sunday, Sept 21
2 – 4pm
Niles Discovery Church
36600 Niles Blvd., Fremont
