I post a lot more often on Facebook and LinkedIn than here, mainly because I can quickly respond to news items without all the formatting required for a blog. Today, I want to share an observation.
When I post EV- or renewable-positive news pieces on those platforms, I invariably get flooded with anti-EV comments. There are many who have a knee jerk reaction to anything “green.” They’ll bring up environmental issues with lithium mining (although they seem unphased by oil exploration and drilling). They’ll bring up child labor in Congo (while ignoring the same, when it comes to the batteries for their laptops, mobile phones, tablets, lawn mowers and power tools). Of course, they never mention child labor in diamond mining and I assume they own at least a few pieces of jewelry that have diamonds. No, it’s just a result of our politically polarized society.
Many of those opposed to EVs are staunch conservatives and watch Fox News or listen to conservative radio, both of which have a steady drone of anti-EV and anti-renewable energy articles. Many of their comments are based on their having been misinformed by their trusted news source or conservative politicians. Many of them quote other social media posts that even a cursory search could be proven to be false.
How did we let political discourse get so damaged?
I have many conservative friends with whom I can carry on a reasonable discussion about any subject. The neighbor with whom I have the closest relationship was in the special forces and has a 30 foot flagpole, in his front yard, that flew a large Trump flag, during the 2020 election cycle. (After January 6th, the flag came down and never went back up, as he not tolerate what happened that day.) He and I agree on many issues, but disagree (respectfully) on many, as well. We consider one another friends.
I believe the reason we are so messed up, as a society, is due to the political media. Back in 2013, about six months after I leased my first Chevy Volt, I got very frustrated with the lies spread by Rush Limbaugh, regarding the Volt and wrote a post about it. Then I saw the photo of President Obama, sitting in a Volt. (see images above)
Suddenly, it all made sense.
However, this negative reaction to anything “green,” ignores the fact that President George W. Bush was a champion of “the hydrogen economy” and spoke about it at a hydrogen vehicle refueling station. (see images above) While Governor of Texas, he pushed for the development of wind energy, as did the previous Governor Ann Richards, a Democrat. Their work resulted in Texas building a wind energy system that produces twice the electricity that California generates from wind. Don’t believe me? It is documented in the book, “The Great Texas Wind Rush – How George Bush, Ann Richards, and a Bunch of Tinkerers Helped the Oil and Gas State Win the Race to Wind Power.”
In the book, there’s a moment that occurred shortly after Governor Bush met with wind energy executives. Afterward, one of his aides made a snide remark about renewable energy and was immediately admonished by the Governor to learn more about wind energy. A Republican championed renewable energy and he is one of the politicians we, in Texas, can thank for wind and solar keeping us from a complete grid collapse during the winter storm that killed an estimated 426 to 928 of my fellow Texans in February 2021. During that storm, renewables outperformed natural gas, as the water in the gas lines froze, shutting down gas-powered generation. The current Republican Governor and Lieutenant Governor tried to place the blame on solar and wind energy, but the report the Governor commissioned told us the truth. Why they lied, when there was a report coming that would tell the public the truth, was a mystery to me.
Now, I understand.
We focus on the sound bites that reaffirm our preconceived notions, spread the information to others and never follow up to get to the truth. In fact, as evidenced by social media posts, we actively ignore information that does not conform to our viewpoint. What we experience when we’re faced with evidence that our beliefs are not accurate is called “cognitive dissonance.” I played horns in the high school band. For the uninitiated, dissonance in music occurs when two notes are slightly out of tune with one another. Think of listening to a pianist playing a song you love and they get a few notes wrong. It’s like fingernails being raked across a chalkboard and makes you uncomfortable. Apply that to concepts to thoughts and you have cognitive dissonance, which makes you equally uncomfortable.
For years, I’ve seen the same misinformed memes pop up from time to time. They are usually met with a barrage of truth bombs from those who are informed, but in a month or two, those same old memes pop up again (and are debated, again). Of course, I wrote about those memes in a blogpost, back in 2021.
I saw a new one recently, so I’ll show it here as an example:
The person posting went on to write a diatribe (I know, this post is running long…) about “The Hard Truth About EVs.” He went into how environmentally damaging lithium mining is (according to him) which displayed the photo shown here. Embarrassingly, the image is not a lithium mine. A quick Google search showed me it is actually a Russian diamond mine. I responded to his post, pointing out the error, but that didn’t stop others from reposting or commenting with other, unrelated comments (like child labor in the Congo).
My response to the “Won’t somebody think of the children?” comment, was to refer to multiple articles about recent discoveries of rare earth minerals and/or lithium outside of Africa, like these in:
- Norway
- United Kingdom
- United States (California)
- United States (Nevada)
All the countries, mentioned above, have strong child labor laws, so again, not an issue. On top of the child labor issue, the Russian-aided political instability in Africa as well as the supply chain issues we’re experiencing in all industries, I expect each region will select lithium sources near to where the lithium will be used.
In summary, if posting about the major issues of the day, please check your sources (not your personal viewpoint) to ascertain their veracity. If you won’t do your due diligence, there is an army of FUD Fighters who will. No more Fear, Uncertainty or Doubt!
As for politics, EVs are actually not political at all. There’s something for everybody, when it comes to electric vehicle.
| Conservatives | Liberals |
| National Security (see Dept. of Defense website) | Reduce carbon emissions |
| Energy Independence | Prevent worst aspects of climate change |
| Out from under the thumb of OPEC, Russia, et al. | No need to send Americans to war for oil |
| Makes strategic petroleum reserve truly strategic | Possible to fuel with renewable energy |
| Brings jobs back to the U.S. | Brings jobs back to the U.S. |
| Very high MPG equivalent | Very high MPG equivalent |
| Low maintenance costs | Low maintenance costs |
| Performance: Acceleration, Handling | Performance: Acceleration, Handling |
| Comfort: Smooth, quiet ride | Comfort: Smooth, quiet ride |
| Safety | Safety |
Consumer Reports’ survey of drivers has shown that with zero knowledge of EVs, 40% of Americans say they’ll never buy one. After just a few test drives, that resistance (pun intended) drops to only 4%. It is my expectation that the last 4% of resistance is due to the unsuitability of EVs for the task (heavy towing, over long distances on a regular basis) or the preferred form factor is not in production (convertible, roadster, three row SUV). Believe it or not, I talked people out of an EV, if after a discussion of the buyer’s driving needs, I realized they’d be miserable in one. Hey, they’re not for everyone…just almost everyone.
If just a test drive can reduce EV dislike by 90%, why haven’t you taken one for a spin? Pride? Fear of commitment? You were told not to like them? Fear that you’ll fall in love?
The proof is in the pudding. Time to take a taste, my friends.
