Leading an equitable transition to clean transportation
Educating and advocating for drivers
Impacting state and federal policy
Cool the Earth in the News
We focus our advocacy on drivers in priority communities, who often rely on public charging stations due to limited home charging options. Our efforts extend to engaging with agencies and legislators, aiming to ensure that EV infrastructure is both reliable and equitable.
Recognized for our expertise, we are frequently called upon to provide insights on the national EV network and strategies for its improvement, highlighting our role in shaping a sustainable future.
The Washington Post
“VW spent $2B to build America a charging network. It’s ranked dead last.”
Message from our Founder
At Cool the Earth, we enable actions to fight climate change. We are an independent nonprofit and over the past 15 years, we’ve empowered 500,000 people to reduce their carbon footprint and put 10,000 households on the path to electric vehicles through Ride and Drive Clean, the collaborative EV education campaign we launched in 2019 . EV’s reduce carbon emissions and air pollution which have disproportionately impacted low-income communities.
We have found that as more drivers switch to EVs, they have encountered some issues with public charging stations. To understand the extent of the problem, we developed the Reliable and Equitable Transportation Initiative, and collaborated with a Professor Emeritus from UC Berkeley to test stations in the Bay Area. Our study found that about one-quarter of them had functionality issues. We have been successful in advocating that state and federal funding require a 97% uptime and are now working to ensure the new standards include stringent rules for uptime, field testing and maintenance.
Easy, reliable public charging is crucial not just for road trips but importantly from an equity perspective for folks who live in apartments or condos. We have developed a white paper with recommendations for ensuring all communities are included in the EV transition.
Carleen Cullen
Founder and Executive Director
Working on Equitable EV Transition
Press and Speaking
Cool the Earth in the news
The New York Times
A Frustrating Hassle Holding Electric Cars Back: Broken Chargers
San Francisco Chronicle
Wired Magazine
Broken Charging Stations Could Be Stalling the EV Movement
More Cool the Earth in the news
Experts Agree on Health and Climate
Dr. Brandy Beazley, DPN, RN, interviews Carleen Cullen, Founder and Executive Director of Cool the Earth, about improving public health and fighting climate change.
This 10-minute video podcast includes an update from Carleen about Cool the Earth’s co-sponsorship of a recent study on EV charging infrastructure.
Climate Change Programs: Scaled Behavior Change Solutions
Our programs are based on Community-Based Social Marketing strategies. We focus not just on the “what and why” but also the “how and now.” We are data-centric and produce tangible results.
Two national grassroots programs:
Ride and Drive Clean is a national campaign to accelerate EV adoption. With over 100 partners, including cities, agencies, utilities, regional NGOs and national NGOs, our collaboration has influenced thousands of drivers to switch to electric. Cool the Earth is the architect and backbone of the collaboration.
Adopt a Polar Bear is a K-5 schools program educating kids about climate change and motivating families to take specific actions to reduce their carbon footprint.
Educated
500,000+ people
Engaged
323,000 carbon-saving actions
Reach
31 states, 5 countries
Ride and Drive Clean
In 2019 Cool the Earth established Ride and Drive Clean, (formerly Drive Clean Bay Area), a nonprofit collaboration committed to clean air, a cool planet, and a just and equitable future for all. Cool the Earth is the backbone for the campaign, providing services such as database management, communications and marketing, program development, and partner collaboration. Through education, behavior change programs, car shows, test drive events and peer-to-peer programming, we motivate individuals replace their gas car with an EV.
The EV transition must be inclusive of all communities. We offer programming, such as financial workshops, for those in our communities of concern, and expert advice on how to charge at home if you live in a multi-family building.
Our work doesn’t stop when a car is purchased. We offer advanced workshops for new EV drivers, with expert advice on utilizing clean energy and charging at home, work or on the road.
Adopt a Polar Bear
Our online program is an adaption of our in-person school assembly program that has been running for 13 years. Our free program is run by school volunteers and is open to all. It is available in English and Spanish and for all communities, including low income and disadvantaged schools.
