This is my observation about countering anti-EV rhetoric. If you find
things are different where you are, I'd like to hear about it!
Maybe 15-20 years ago, when I talked to people about EVs, most didn't know
much about them. When I explained the state of the art (then), the most
common reaction I got was that EVs were a good idea - for someone else. ("I
couldn't deal with that limited range"). I almost never heard today's
litany of anti-EV arguments from anyone.
Today folks I talk to are much more informed about EVs. That makes for a
classical "good news, bad news" situation.
Some of them have generally positive views of EVs, though there still some
misconceptions. A subset of those folks say they're considering an EV or
PHV for their next vehicles. That's a really positive change. The idea
that they might buy an EV wasn't even on their radar back in the day.
On the other hand, some of the "informed" folks have clearly been
deliberatly MISinformed. They've had their heads filled with anti-EV
rhetoric by media. The media people in turn are paid (sponsored) by big-
bucks interests who stand to someday lose a fraction of a percent of their
petro-dollars income, or are otherwise "threatened" by EVs. (In some cases
I don't doubt that they are literally paid to spread these views, given the
ownership of some media conglomerates.)
There's also a whole army of paid "astroturfers" who troll the online
forums, and write to magazines and newspapers, to post anti-EV rhetoric.
The same folks who pay them also pay anti-EV "experts" to appear on radio
and television programs.
But this is really no different from any other product today. Politicians
and advertisers are really two ends of the same sausage. Their game is
sowing discord and division. You're an Apple person or a Windows person, an
IOS or an Android person, a Ford or a Chevy person, a Democrat or a
Republican. Some of these "brands" demand more loyalty than others, but in
every case there's an element of "you're either with us or you're against
us." Drink the Kool-aid, drink it all, or get lost.
Alas, that's just the way things are now; there's not much we can do to
change it. It's the reason that it's become difficult (at least for me) to
argue rationally with the anti-EV folks. They're all upstanding members of
the anti-EV club. Their minds are made up, and they don't want to be
bothered with the facts. I say don't waste your time on them. Instead,
invest it in the folks who still have open minds about EVs. Thank goodness
there are still some.
David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
EVDL Administrator
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