In Giant Shifts, The Invisible Becomes Haunting

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The shift away from fossil fuels to clean technology options is so dramatic that I think it can’t even be overrated. But one thing that means is that many “invisible” laws of human society will be ripped up, tossed out, and will create resulting commotion and challenge.

The recent revelations about sexual harassment and even rape in Hollywood brought this matter to my mind a bit more than normal. The thing is, no matter how despicable a thing is, with a bit of socialization and repeated exposure, even highly immoral, dirty, harmful activities can become something humans accept, something humans overlook as “the way things are.” The irreverent behavior becomes so accepted that we basically overlook it as an unavoidable element of modern life. It becomes “invisible” in its acceptance even as it is disturbing and shocking if you give it an ounce of thought.

This is the case with apparently widespread behavioral problems, assault, and even worse that men have imposed on women (and some men have imposed on men) — in Hollywood, in politics, and in the real estate business. It has been ignored and accepted because that’s the way things are.

Air pollution deaths.

And this is also the case with deadly, carcinogenic, baby-harmingbrain-damaging, heart-destroying, kidney-infesting pollution. We accept it. “Hey, that’s just part of life, right?”

However, once that dirtiness starts getting effectively unveiled to the public, and emphasized over and over and over again in public and private conversations, people start to wake up to the idea that things could be different. No, we don’t have to accept such abuse.

With regard to automobile-caused pollution, we’re at a particularly special time. We now have zero-emissions vehicles that are more or less competitive with gas-powered vehicles of the same type and class. We finally do have the option to cut out the pollution with no sacrifice. Actually, forget the freakin’ sacrifice — electric vehicles offer a better driving experience, can offer more convenience, and can offer a lower price (total cost of ownership).

Just as more and more of the dirty deeds of powerful entertainers, producers, and politicians are coming to light, just as others are stepping up in order to shut down contracts that support the people who have committed these dirty deeds, and just as we are empowering other victims to come out and tell their stories, the harmful effects of burning gasoline and diesel to push a car or van along the road are becoming unacceptable to a growing portion of the population. The growing competitiveness of zero-emissions electric vehicles combined with growing health problems from pollution are even inspiring some city and country leaders to propose gas and diesel car bans and zero-emissions driving zones.

What’s important at this stage? It’s to keep highlighting what is not acceptable by speaking up and demanding a societal shift yourself. One voice does not do the job itself, but an ocean of voices can only come from the aggregation of individual voices (or bots).

Now is the time to request, inspire, and require a shift!

Image by Jonik Editorial Cartoons

Related:

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Economic Benefits Of Electric Vehicles

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Zachary Shahan

Zach is tryin' to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director, chief editor, and CEO. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao. Zach has long-term investments in Tesla [TSLA], NIO [NIO], Xpeng [XPEV], Ford [F], ChargePoint [CHPT], Amazon [AMZN], Piedmont Lithium [PLL], Lithium Americas [LAC], Albemarle Corporation [ALB], Nouveau Monde Graphite [NMGRF], Talon Metals [TLOFF], Arclight Clean Transition Corp [ACTC], and Starbucks [SBUX]. But he does not offer (explicitly or implicitly) investment advice of any sort.

Zachary Shahan has 7324 posts and counting. See all posts by Zachary Shahan