1. Follow us (@CODAautomotive) on Twitter

2. Tweet your own Earth Day pledge, and be sure to include @codaauto

3. Pick up your t-shirt and sign CODA’s pledge wall at the Santa Monica Earth Day on the Promenade event between 10 am and 7 pm this Saturday.

Event Details:  CODA Automotive will be on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade (booth #3, entrance off of Wilshire Blvd) from 10 am to 7 pm this Saturday showing the CODA, the all-electric car from the all-electric car company.

The fear that China is going to “beat” America is a growing concern that seems to cross all industries.  Green technology is no exception.  So it’s no surprise that when President Obama and President Hu Jintao announced the launch of the U.S.-China Electric Vehicles Initiative, those engaging in China fear mongering didn’t report about this collaborative partnership that aims to “reduce oil dependence, cut greenhouse gas emissions and promote economic growth” through various joint activities including:  standards development, demonstrations, a technical roadmap, and public education.

The reality is that we’re addicted to oil, blue skies are hidden behind a film of gray-brown smog, and health issues caused by air pollution are soaring.  We shouldn’t fear that China will “win,” we should fear that we all will lose because we’ve created an environment that is unlivable for future generations.  Consider:

- Together, the U.S. and China posses ~37 billion barrels of oil, less than 3% of the world’s total proven oil reserves, but guzzle nearly 28,000,000 barrels of oil per day, ~33% of the total barrels of oil consumed globally per day.

- Together, the U.S. and China are the two largest producers of carbon emissions, contributing nearly half of the world’s total CO₂ emissions.

As one of the two countries that have played the largest role in accelerating global climate change and environmental degradation, it is our responsibility to find ways to work with China to reverse the collision course we’re on.  The U.S.-China Electric Vehicle Initiative is a momentous step in the right direction for both countries and shows a willingness on both sides to cooperate.

David Sandalow, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Policy and International Affairs, put the issue of U.S.-China collaboration into perspective in Thomas Friedman’s “The New Sputnik” opinion piece when he said, “If they [China] invest in 21st-century technologies and we invest in 20th-century technologies, they’ll win … If we both invest in 21st-century technologies, challenging each other, we all win.”

U.S.-based companies need to partner in mutually beneficial ways with China to develop and bring to market green technologies.  We’re already doing this.  Our focus is on building jobs and an industrial base in both the U.S. and China to speed up the adoption of electric cars.  We think that’s the real win-win.

So, we’re embracing the idea of global collaboration, not competition, at the very core of our business model.  In fact, Kevin Czinger, President and CEO of CODA, participated as one of the U.S. delegates in the U.S.-China Electric Vehicles Forum in September to discuss CODA’s “Invented in America, Built Globally” model.  CODA is existing proof that the U.S. and China are both serious about cutting carbon emissions, and can work together to do it.

In the article, veteran auto industry analyst Maryann Keller said in response to DOE’s announcement, “We’re pouring $1 billion into two companies without a future.  The economics of the industry favors large companies.”

The idea that smaller companies can’t be successful and therefore won’t lead the revolution in alternative transportation is what we take issue with.  Within the past year, two of the three big, domestic auto companies went into bankruptcy and dealer sales tanked.  If that doesn’t say the auto industry needs a fresh breath of air from smaller players with disruptive models that aren’t confined by the bureaucracy of large corporations, then we don’t know what does.

Between rising carbon emission-related environmental degradation, Americans’ anti-oil sentiments, and the lack of alternative options, the market desperately needs innovative, nimble companies, like CODA Automotive, that can move quickly to shift expectations and get electric cars on the market that meet drivers’ needs and are better to the environment.

It’s hard for us to believe that one of the industry giants will do this – especially considering their businesses were founded on and  are still concretely rooted in the production of internal combustion, gas guzzling vehicles.