Postal Service Will Buy More EVs

The U.S. Postal Service announced a plan on Tuesday to dramatically (further) increase the number of electric-powered mail delivery trucks and other vehicles it will purchase. After substantial pressure from the Biden administration and outside groups, it also pledged that virtually all vehicles purchased in 2026 and beyond will be electric. The Postal Service accounts for the biggest portion of the U.S. government vehicle fleet (itself the biggest in the world). The new mail trucks will also include air conditioning, key for mail carriers, who are especially vulnerable to heat stress brought on by extreme summer temperatures.

Also Tuesday, the EPA finalized substantially stronger long-term emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles like semi and garbage trucks. Though some argued the agency should have enacted far tighter restrictions, pushing for the adoption of electric trucks, the new standards will cut NOx pollution by nearly half by 2045. (USPS: Washington Post $, E&E News, AP, Vox, Gizmodo, The Hill, New York Times $, CBS, Ars Technica, MarketWatch, CNBC, Electrek, Bloomberg $, The Hill, CNN, The Verge, Fast Company, Jalopnik, CNET, NY1; EPA: Washington Post $, E&E News, The Hill, CNBC, Politico Pro $)