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I know it feels like there’s a National Anything Day just about every day. And believe it or not, it’s National E-bike Day today. As we celebrate this fun new holiday, it’s important to remember the impact our daily choices has on the environment. One of the most significant ways to reduce our carbon footprint is to reevaluate our means of transportation. In recent years, electric bicycles have emerged as an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional cars and personal vehicles.

First of all, why is it National E-bike Day? Apparently the never-resting team over at Lectric E-bikes was able to make it official. As they explained:

To celebrate the 4-year anniversary of Lectric eBikes, our company has officially registered May 30th as National E-Bike Day! Yep, you heard that right. Look it up if you don’t believe us! The goal for this holiday is to encourage riders everywhere to celebrate the many benefits of eBiking and opt into electric transportation.

That makes today as good a time as any to take a deeper look into the many benefits of electric bikes, some of which may even surprise you.

Lectric XPedition e-bike

Electric bikes help reduce carbon emissions

One of the most compelling reasons to switch to e-bikes is the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), transportation accounts for 29% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Most of these emissions come from personal vehicles like cars and light trucks.

E-bikes produce significantly lower emissions than traditional cars. They run on electricity, which can come from renewable sources like solar or wind power, which is now overtaking fossil fuel-powered electric generation in many areas. You can even charge an e-bike on solar energy that you generate at home, off the grid.

As more countries transition to renewable energy sources, the carbon footprint of e-bikes will decrease further. When used for short trips and commuting, e-bikes can effectively replace cars, resulting in a substantial reduction in emissions.

Charging an e-bike from the sun

Electric bikes are much more energy efficient

E-bikes are much more energy-efficient than conventional cars, using a fraction of the energy to travel the same distance. An average e-bike uses about 0.025 kWh per mile, whereas a traditional car consumes around 0.34 kWh per mile. This means that e-bikes are over 10 times more energy-efficient than cars.

By switching to e-bikes, we can drastically reduce energy consumption and dependence on fossil fuels, promoting sustainability.

Electric bikes help reduce traffic congestion (for everyone)

As urban populations continue to grow, traffic congestion has become a significant issue in many cities worldwide. By replacing cars with e-bikes, we can alleviate this problem.

E-bikes are smaller and more maneuverable than cars, allowing for more efficient use of road space. Additionally, e-bikes can often utilize bike lanes and paths, further reducing traffic congestion. By switching more car drivers to e-bikes, we can create more livable, less congested cities. Even if you don’t personally swap your car for an e-bike, everyone who does so helps to reduce traffic for everyone!

So many health benefits

Cycling, even on an electric bicycle, provides numerous health benefits.

Riding an e-bike can help improve cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, flexibility, and overall well-being.

Even riding a throttle-controlled e-bike without pedaling provides a marginal upper body workout and helps improve balance, not to mention engaging more areas of the brain associated with fine motor controls.

By incorporating e-bikes into our daily routines, we can not only reduce our environmental impact but also improve our health and quality of life.

E-bikes can save you some serious money!

E-bikes are more cost-effective than cars when considering purchase price, maintenance, fuel expenses, parking, and basically every single other associated cost.

Electric bicycles generally cost less to purchase than cars and have lower operating costs because they require so many fewer resources to manufacture. An electric car battery, which is the most expensive part of most electric vehicles, has enough battery cells to produce 100 or more e-bike batteries.

With no need for gasoline, e-bikes eliminate fuel expenses, and their simpler design requires less maintenance. Moreover, electricity is often cheaper than gasoline, making e-bikes a more affordable option for daily commuting and transportation.

Many quality e-bikes are now available for under $1,500, with many good models now reaching the under $1,000 category. We have an entire list of the best e-bikes for every budget here.

E-bikes increase accessibility and inclusivity

E-bikes offer an accessible and inclusive mode of transportation for people of various ages and physical abilities.

The electric assistance provided by e-bikes enables riders to travel longer distances and tackle more challenging terrain without excessive physical exertion. This makes e-bikes an excellent option for older individuals, people with mobility issues, and those who are new to cycling.

By making cycling more accessible, e-bikes can encourage a broader range of people to adopt this sustainable mode of transportation.

gazelle bikes avignon

Supporting local economies

Switching to e-bikes can also have a positive impact on local economies. By reducing our reliance on cars, we can decrease the demand for imported oil and support local businesses that provide e-bikes and related services.

Furthermore, as more people adopt e-bikes, there is potential for growth in the e-bike industry, creating new job opportunities and stimulating economic development.

E-bike specific bike shops have begun springing up in many areas, focusing on specialties such as hub motor lacing, battery repair, and other new e-bike related maintenance jobs, creating more employment in local communities.

Urban planning and livable cities

The rise of e-bikes presents an opportunity for urban planners to rethink the design of our cities.

By prioritizing cycling infrastructure, such as bike lanes and bike parking, cities can become more sustainable, livable, and people-centric. This shift in urban design can also encourage more people to adopt e-bikes and other sustainable modes of transportation, further reducing our collective environmental impact.

While cycling always offered this benefit, the huge increase in two-wheeled commuters created by the influx of easy-to-ride e-bikes has jumpstarted this effect in US cities.

Environmental justice

The benefits of e-bikes extend beyond individual users and can contribute to broader environmental justice.

Communities that disproportionately suffer from the negative impacts of air pollution, often lower-income and minority neighborhoods, stand to gain from a reduction in vehicle emissions.

By promoting e-bikes and improving cycling infrastructure, we can work toward more equitable and healthy urban environments for all.

fuell flluid electric bike

As we celebrate National E-bike Day and consider the future of our planet, the case for switching to electric bicycles becomes increasingly clear. E-bikes offer a sustainable, cost-effective, and inclusive alternative to traditional cars and personal vehicles, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, alleviating traffic congestion, and promoting public health. By embracing e-bikes, we can create more livable cities, support local economies, and advance environmental justice.

The transition to electric bicycles is not only an individual choice but also a collective responsibility. By advocating for better cycling infrastructure and supporting policies that promote e-bike adoption, we can accelerate the transition to a greener, more sustainable future. On National E-bike Day and beyond, let’s commit to making e-bikes a central part of our journey toward a cleaner, healthier, and more equitable world.

They may not be for everybody, but they are for many. And each person who replaces car miles with e-bike miles is having a positive effect on our cities, our society, and our world.

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Global energy giant RWE halts US offshore wind because of Trump

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Global energy giant RWE halts US offshore wind because of Trump

Global renewable developer and energy giant RWE has halted its US offshore wind operations “for the time being” because of the “political environment” the Trump administration has created.

RWE, Germany’s biggest electricity producer, said in March that it had dialed back its US offshore wind activities. But now, CEO Marcus Krebber said in a speech transcript, which he’ll deliver at the company’s Annual General Meeting in Essen on April 30, that its US offshore wind business is now closed (but it wasn’t all bad news): 

In the US, where we have stopped our offshore activities for the time being, our business in onshore wind, solar energy, and battery storage has so far been developing very dynamically. At the start of this year, we reached an important milestone when our US generation capacity hit the 10 gigawatt mark. The construction of a further 4 gigawatts is secured.

He went on to say that renewables have created regional value and jobs, but that the company remains “cautious given the political developments.” RWE has introduced more stringent requirements for future US investments:

All necessary federal permits must be in place. Tax credits must be safe harbored and all relevant tariff risks mitigated. In addition, onshore wind and solar projects must have secured offtake at the time of the investment decision. Only if these conditions are met will further investments be possible, given the political environment.

About half of RWE’s installed renewable capacity is in the US, where it’s the third-largest renewable energy company through its subsidiary, RWE Clean Energy. RWE holds the rights to develop US offshore wind projects in New York, Louisiana, and California.

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RWE paid $1.1 billion for the New York lease area in 2022, where it’s meant to develop the 3 gigawatt (GW) Community Offshore Wind with the UK’s National Grid. Community Offshore Wind was projected to come online in the early 2030s and expected to power more than a million homes.

The developer paid $5.6 billion for the Louisiana lease in the Gulf of Mexico in 2023 as the lone bidder for development rights, and the Canopy Offshore Wind project off Northern California was not expected to be completed for another decade.

Read more: Trump admin halts $5 billion NY offshore wind project mid-build


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Trump’s memecoin dinner contest earns insiders $900,000 in two days

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Trump's memecoin dinner contest earns insiders 0,000 in two days

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump and his allies have raked in nearly $900,000 in trading fees over the past two days from the president’s $TRUMP cryptocurrency token, according to Chainalysis, a blockchain data company. 

The surge came after a Wednesday announcement in which the top 220 holders of the token were promised dinner with the president.

“Have Dinner in Washington, D.C. With President Trump,” reads a message on the front page of the Trump coin’s website. The event, which is black tie optional and hosted at the president’s private club in the Washington area, is scheduled for May 22, with a reception for the top 25 holders. A “VIP White House Tour” will take place the following day, the site says. The website also hosts an active leaderboard displaying the usernames of top buyers.

The $TRUMP memecoin jumped more than 50% on the dinner news, boosting its total market value to $2.7 billion. It was met with fierce criticism from some of Trump’s political opponents who said the move was further evidence that the president was using crypto to enrich himself. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a prominent Trump critic, wrote on X that the sale was “the most brazenly corrupt thing a President has ever done. Not close.”

Roughly 80% of the $TRUMP token supply is controlled by the Trump Organization and affiliates, according to the project’s website. Since its launch in January, trading activity has generated about $324.5 million in trading fees for insiders, Chainalysis found. These fees are generated through the token’s built-in mechanism that routes a percentage of each trade to wallets controlled by the project — wallets that, according to the website, are linked to the coin’s creators.

Memecoins, often referred to as meme tokens, are a subset of digital assets that use blockchain technology and derive their value largely from internet culture, memes and social media hype rather than from an underlying utility or asset. The originators of memecoins can make fees when their coins are bought and sold.

They have grown in popularity in recent years as speculative assets, with some coins including dogecoin and fartcoin amassing total market values in excess of $1 billion.

Most of the $TRUMP supply remains locked under a three-year vesting plan, with coins gradually becoming available over time. Lockups like these are meant to protect investors by preventing insiders from cashing out all at once — a scheme commonly known in the crypto world as a “rug pull.” Vesting schedules aim to give retail buyers confidence that early holders won’t overwhelm the market and tank the token’s value.

Still, the dinner contest is being viewed by critics as an unusually explicit attempt to monetize presidential access. 

As CNBC reported Friday, Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts are urging the U.S. Office of Government Ethics to investigate whether the promotion constitutes “pay to play” corruption.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The company behind the memecoin also did not respond to a request for comment.

Delaney Marsco, the director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit focused on campaign finance and government accountability, told NBC News the coin and dinner contest amounted to an unprecedented ethics breach — though it is unlikely to be illegal.

“Criminal conflicts of interest statutes don’t apply to the President,” she said. “That has allowed him to go against decades of of norms that every modern president since Carter has adhered to, which is to divest your financial interests, rid yourself of your businesses, and kind of go in to the presidency with a clean financial slate so that no one could accuse you of manipulating policy decisions or using your position in order to enrich yourself.” 

“The fact that he is not barred by the law from having these financial interests like this meme coin allows him to engage in a lot of seemingly corrupt activity. It has the appearance of a pay to play, so the President is apparently selling access to himself,” Marsco added.

Molly White, an independent crypto researcher, told NBC News that the leaderboard only shows top $TRUMP holders — and then only by their chosen screen name, making it difficult to identify who is paying to potentially join the dinner.

Schiff and Warren have cited public reports showing that some $TRUMP investors have ties to foreign exchanges or received funds from crypto platforms banned in the U.S., including Binance.

White also noted that at least one top $TRUMP owner has an account on Binance, a cryptocurrency company that doesn’t allow American users.

Trump was elected with significant help from the cryptocurrency industry, which poured tens of millions of dollars into the 2024 election, outpacing corporate donations from traditional sectors like banking and oil. After opposing digital assets during his first term, Trump pivoted in 2024 to campaign as a champion of cryptocurrency, casting Democrats as hostile to innovation and as advocating for tighter regulation. 

The $TRUMP token itself offers no product or service, according to the project’s website. It is part of a broader push by the Trump family into digital assets, despite the market’s volatility and regulatory risks.

In addition to the $TRUMP and $MELANIA meme coins, the family is backing World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance venture that has raised $550 million across two token sales since last October. Buyers are barred from reselling their tokens and receive no share of profits — but a Trump-affiliated entity is entitled to 75% of net revenue, including token sale proceeds.

Together, these projects have created new streams of revenue for Trump and his inner circle at a time when regulatory oversight of cryptocurrency has weakened sharply under his administration.

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Drive Electric Earth Month, continues this weekend, get your EV Qs answered

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Drive Electric Earth Month, continues this weekend, get your EV Qs answered

It’s that time of year again, time for events across the country to show off electric vehicles at Drive Electric Earth Month.

Drive Electric Earth Month is an offshoot of Drive Electric Week, a long-running annual tradition hosting meetups mostly in the US, but also occasionally in other countries. It started as Drive Electric Earth Day, but since not every event can happen on the same day, they went ahead and extended it to encompass “Earth Month” events that happen across the month of April. It’s all organized by Plug In America, the Sierra Club, the Electric Vehicle Association, EV Hybrid Noire, and Drive Electric USA.

Events consist of general Earth Day-style community celebrations, EV Ride & Drives where you can test drive several EVs in one place, and opportunities to talk to EV owners and ask them questions about what it’s like to live with an EV, away from the pressure of a dealership.

This month, there are 158 events registered across the US and 1 in Mexico (including one online webinar about things to consider when purchasing an EV).

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Events have been happening all month, but the biggest weekend is this upcoming one, APril 26-27.

One really neat event was the Asheville event, which showcased the resiliency of EVs in an area devastated by Hurricane Helene, which was made more severe by climate change. That event was attended by the Rivian R1T which famously got dragged 100 feet submerged in mud and came out running fine.

But the bulk of the events happened on the weekends surrounding Earth Day, April 22, so there were several last weekend and will be even more this upcoming weekend.

There are plenty of events in the big cities where you’d expect, but Plug In America wanted to highlight a few of the events in smaller places around the country. Here’s a sampling of upcoming events:

  • Big Island EV – Cruise and Picnic in Waimea, HI on April 26, 10am-1pm – EV drivers will congregate in various places around the Big Island (Kona, Waimea, Waikoloa and Hilo), then drive up Saddle Road to the Gil Kahele Recreation Area on Mauna Kea for a potluck and a chance to talk about the experience of owning EVs on the Big Island.
  • Santa Barbara Earth Day 2025 and Green Car Show in Santa Barbara, CA on April 26-27, 11am-8pm – This is part of Santa Barbara’s Earth Day celebration, which routinely attracts 30,000 participants and is one of the longest-running Earth Day celebrations on the planet. The Green Car Show includes ride & drives and an “Owners Corner” where owners can showcase their EVs and attendees can check them out and ask questions.
  • Earth Day’25 – EV’s role in a sustainable future in Queretaro City, Mexico on April 26, 9am-4pm – The sole Mexican event, this is a combined in-person/online seminar at the Querétaro Institute of Technology.
  • Norman Earth Day Festival in Norman, OK on April 27, 12-5pm – Another municipal Earth Day festival, with hands-on activities for kids to learn about the environment. A portion of the parking lot reserved for an EV car show for EV owners who pre-register to show off their vehicles.
  • Oregon Electric Vehicle Association Test Drive & Information Expo in Portland, OR on April 27, 10am-4pm – This one is at Daimler Truck’s North American HQ, and will have several EVs for test drives, owner displays (including DIY gas-to-EV conversions), and keynote presentations by EV experts. They’ll even have a 1914 Detroit Electric EV available for test rides!
  • And, we at Electrek want to give a shoutout to Rove’s EV Drive Days in Santa Ana 10am-3pm April 28 – ROVE is the company behind the “full-service” EV charging concept that we’ve talked about several times here on Electrek, and we like what they’re doing for EV charging. They’ve hosted a few community events, and this is their contribution to Earth Month.

Each event has a different assortment of activities (e.g. test drives won’t be available at every event, generally just the larger ones attended by local dealerships), so be sure to check the events page to see what the plan is for your local event.

These events have offered a great way to connect with owners and see the newest electric vehicle tech, and even get a chance to do test rides and drives in person. Attendees got to hear unfiltered information from actual owners about the benefits and trials of owning EVs, allowing for longer and more genuine (and often more knowledgeable) conversations than one might normally encounter at a dealership.

And if you’re an owner – you can show off your car and answer those questions for interested onlookers.

To view all the events and see what’s happening in your area, you can check out the list of events or the events map. You can also sign up to volunteer at your local events, and if you plan to show off your electric car, you can RSVP on each event page and list the vehicle that you plan to show (or see what other vehicles have already registered).


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