Just four years ago, the end of the Oil Age was considered a crazy dream. Today it is official policy in a growing number of countries, states, cities and corporate boardrooms around the world.
Certainly, there are good reasons to be skeptical that proposed phase-outs and bans will actually take place as scheduled. However, a major conceptual barrier has been crossed—the idea can no longer be dismissed as the ravings of green-eyed lunatics. In 2017, a bill that would phase out the sale of gas burners starting in 2040 was introduced in the California legislature. Matthew Metz, Co-Executive Director of the advocacy group Coltura, published an op-ed calling for Washington state to follow suit. “Crazy” was one of the kinder words used in the media reaction that followed. Mr. Metz was called loony, “moonbatty” and (of course) a commie. “I’d say the reaction is about 99.9 percent negative,” he told The Seattle Times. “But people will get over it.”
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