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grundar t1_is306ib wrote

Reply to comment by mynextthroway in A breakthrough in electric vehicle battery design has enabled a 10-minute charge time for a typical EV battery. The record-breaking combination of a shorter charge time and more energy acquired for longer travel range was announced today by Wagamaga

> I am realizing the oil companies are seeding the public with thoughts that we can't change, so why bother.

You're right -- that is the new face of climate change denial::
> "Doom-mongering has overtaken denial as a threat and as a tactic. Inactivists know that if people believe there is nothing you can do, they are led down a path of disengagement. They unwittingly do the bidding of fossil fuel interests by giving up.
>
> What is so pernicious about this is that it seeks to weaponise environmental progressives who would otherwise be on the frontline demanding change. These are folk of good intentions and good will, but they become disillusioned or depressed and they fall into despair. But “too late” narratives are invariably based on a misunderstanding of science."

Their efforts are very much just a delaying tactic, though, as the economics have shifted decisively in favor of clean energy, with renewables now virtually all net new electricity generation worldwide and EVs projected to be a majority of the global car market by 2034 or even 2030.

Still, each year of delay is that much more cumulative emissions and warming, so pushing to accomplish the transition to clean energy sooner rather than later will still have tangible benefits.

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40for60 t1_is5pj3e wrote

I don't think they are really delaying anything, when the major US automakers are all in on EV's its a lost cause.

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grundar t1_is61j0y wrote

> I don't think they are really delaying anything, when the major US automakers are all in on EV's its a lost cause.

I largely agree -- EVs started getting mainstream when batteries started getting cheap. No amount of online astroturfing is going to change the fact that EVs will be cheaper than ICEs in most major markets within a few years (source), or the fact that wind and especially solar are increasingly cheaper than fossil fuel power generation.

The economic forces propelling our transition to clean energy are almost inevitable at this point.

Their delaying tactics -- doomism and hopelessness -- are causing significant psychological distress to vast numbers of people, especially young people. As a result, even if their propaganda is not causing any delay in the energy transition it's still worth combatting for the mental health benefits alone.

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