Natural EV capitalism

New Scottsdale chapter president focuses on EV jobs

John Martinson with other Scottsdale EVA members at a recent outreach event

Scottsdale Electric Vehicle Association (Scottsdale EVA) president and co-founder John Martinson has many years of experience as a founder and leader of organizations.  

Back in 1982, along with his friend Dan Schweiker, he launched the China Mist Tea Company in his Scottsdale garage, and over the following 34 years, co-nurtured the firm into a successful national and international foodservice iced tea brand.

Over three decades later, Martinson reinvented himself, earning an Executive Master of Sustainability Leadership (EMSL) from the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. This led to involvement with EV (electric vehicle) advocacy and his present activities as a sustainability blogger and influencer in EV adoption. 

“My philosophy is that of natural capitalism,” Martinson said, explaining that he is for promoting the protection and sustainability of nature's ecosystem services (natural capital) through market-based solutions supported by appropriate policy.

Advocating for the EV workforce 

Martinson brings this natural capitalism perspective to his pro bono activities, from his work on the board of the Arizona Statewide Transportation Electrification Plan, to his stewardship of the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy, and his administration of Tesla Road Trippers, a Facebook community of now 6,000 plus members.

He also brings it to his role as Executive Producer and Advisor for the American Resilience Project (ARP), a nonprofit that produces documentary films to be used as policy advocacy and public education tools. “'Workforce Rising,” a segment of the organization’s Current Revolution energy transition film series, is the latest offering.

“Workforce Rising will help convene utilities and other policymakers to invest in EV infrastructure and maximize bipartisan infrastructure bill spending,” said Martinson. “We need to go all out in building charging infrastructure and developing the workforce required to install and maintain it.”

Martinson first became involved with American Resilience Project in 2018, not long after he completed the ASU executive master program. 

“My first sustainability professor, Dr. Paul Hirt, became a close friend. I even got him to buy a Tesla,” said Martinson, explaining that Hirt was an advisor and co-producer of the ARP film, Nation in Transition, an examination of the coal-to-renewables transition on the Navajo Nation and across northern Arizona. 

“‘Nation in Transition’ is told through the stories of workers, their families and communities, business and tribal leaders, utility executives, policy makers and environmental activists,” Martinson said. “It attempts to provide a just way to accelerate and navigate energy transitions for workers and communities.”

Hirt encouraged Martinson to join the team as a volunteer and executive producer who would help to finance the film. Martinson did join in, and since then, has been working with ARP on a film series about transportation electrification. The first short film in the series is Workforce Rising.

EV1 started it off

Martinson, who was a satisfied Porsche owner in the early 00s, was on a flight from New York to Phoenix when he found himself sitting next to the CEO of Arizona’s largest utility company. 

“We had a conversation about EVs, and I asked him if the grid would ever be ready for all the EVs that would eventually be on the roads,” Martinson remembered. “His answer was that no one was going to buy electric vehicles.”  

Martinson’s GM EV1

This did not stop the CEO from offering Martinson a chance to drive one of the utility’s GM EV1’s. “He loaned me an EV1, and after a week, I sold my Porsche and leased one myself,” Martinson said. 

Upon the birth of their first child, Martinson and his wife were hoping that the EV1 would become available in a 4-door model, but instead, the whole project was killed and Martinson was forced to return his vehicle for destruction.

“I drove that car as my daily driver for 3 years and recognized that this was going to be the future of the automobile,” he said. “It just needed a visionary entrepreneur to make it happen.” 

All these years later, Martinson and his wife both drive Teslas and their daughter drives a Chevrolet Volt PHEV. 

Stepping up to blogging 

Martinson writes about his EV experiences with the hope of inspiring others to drive electric. 

“I take EV road trips and blog about sustainability wherever I go,” he said. “I write about the places I visit, or something relevant to EVs like going far off the charging network, or about forests in decline due to the effects of climate change.”

Martinson founded the Scottsdale EVA after EVA Past President Raejean Fellows, a part time resident of Scottsdale, suggested that he form a new chapter as part of an expansion in Arizona.

Since its formation, the Scottdale group plans to hold many outreach and educational events, many in conjunction with the Phoenix Electric Auto Association.

“There are things we’ll do together and things that are uniquely Scottsdale,” Martinson said. “For example, I believe we can help Scottsdale and adjacent towns and school districts build the case for transitioning their fleets to electric. We can advise planning departments regarding infrastructure and building codes.”

“So, there’s definitely a lot we can do here in Scottsdale,” he concluded. “We’re here to rally folks to the cause.”

Martinson’s Tresla license plate