Barrie environmental group advocating for electric vehicles

BARRIE, ONT. -

A Barrie-based environmental group is working towards educating the public about the benefits of electric vehicles.

Living Green Barrie held its inaugural 'Tread Lightly' event on July 31. The event, held at the city's Open Air Dunlop, is part of the group's 10 actions for climate, highlighting July's focus of thinking about how you move around, hence treading lightly.

On Saturday, the group partnered with the Electric Vehicle Society, bringing owners of those types of cars out to answer some of the most pressing questions Living Green Barrie gets.

"People often have questions about range anxiety, how would I charge it, all of these kinds of things," says Andee Pelan, the director of Living Green Barrie. "So it's really great to hear from the people who own the car, the user experience, and then you aren't getting any sort of sales pitch on that and feel good that it's pretty unbiased information."

Pelan says that 55 per cent of Barrie's greenhouse gas emissions are from single vehicles. As part of its month-long push to highlight the importance of evaluating their transportation needs, she encourages many to consider cycling, public transportation or car-sharing options.

Pelan says it can bring benefits in the long run for those with concerns over the cost of electric vehicles.

"So like a lot of things, if you pay a little bit more on the front end, you are going to save money, one, two, three years down the road and then the savings really become significant," says Pelan. "So one of the messages that we really want to get out there is actually something that may be more affordable than people think it's going to be."

The group has been highlighting one of its 10 actions for climate each month. In August, Living Green Barrie will focus on how to power down while at home, providing tips on finding energy efficiencies.