Team Marine protest Toyota's abrupt stop on electric vehicle production
To ride on the heels of the announcement made by Toyota in July against electric cars, Samo students in Team Marine, the environmentalist club at Samo, stood in solidarity before the Toyota dealership on Sept. 19, at 801 Santa Monica Boulevard.
A senior executive at Toyota who oversees government affairs, Chris Reynolds, announced that Toyota is trying to slow the transition to electric cars. The president of Team Marine at Samo, Daniel Thurmond (’22), organized this event, in response to the statement, and spoke on the message they wanted to convey while holding this protest.
“Electrification needs to happen, and it needs to happen quickly. If it’s cars, if it’s electricity, we need to stop using fossil fuels, we need to stop subsidizing these companies that fund injustice, that sponsor injustice and stand by the pollution that they cause,” Thurmond said.
Every other major vehicle manufacturer recognizes the importance of diverting energy use from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and are making more electric cars that will be instrumental in aiding the threat climate change poses.
In 1997, when the first Toyota Prius hybrid was released, it pioneered the way for the future of electric cars. It was immensely popular because it was reasonable in price, did not require gas and was environmentally friendly. The Prius is a hybrid vehicle, meaning it can use gas and electric energy to fuel the car, making it even more appealing for consumers. By not using a gas vehicle, people avoid burning fossil fuels, which, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, is the driving force of climate change and aid the environment by investing in clean energy use.
After the news of Toyota strongly opposing the shift to electric cars was announced, many were upset, especially younger generations. Toyota was influential in the evolution of electric vehicles; so when the news was released, environmentally concerned people were aghast.
The issue at hand, from Thurmond's perspective, disproportionately affects young people. Thurmond discussed his thoughts on the importance of youth perspective and advocacy.
“I think that the youth perspective is in line with what we need to be doing and its because were the ones who are going to be bearing the brunt of the future, our kids are going to be the ones baring the brunt of our future and those who are older are not going to be seeing the same problems we are seeing,” Thurmond said.
Another important voice for Team Marine is AP Environmental Science teacher and faculty advisor for Team Marine, Benjamin Kay, who is extremely involved with activism about sustainability within our community. He had a lot of information about the decision Toyota made with their electric vehicles.
