Range Anxiety a Century Later
The point of the meme here, of course, is that the electrification of transportation (and everything else) is going to run into temporary roadblocks. Will there be enough lithium? Will EV battery recycling become feasible? Will the ubiquity of fast charging stations come to satisfy demand? Will we rid ourselves of hydrocarbons from the grid-mix?
I would suggest that the answer to all these questions is yes, i.e., that we’re going to get there eventually, perhaps in a couple of decades. A more interesting question: Will all this happen in time to prevent our civilization’s experiencing devastating long-term environmental damage?
No one knows, though one thing is certain: there are forces at play that apply great economic pressure and make this anything but a level playing field. The entire fossil fuel industry is doing its damndest to stay in place indefinitely, regardless of how horrific the consequences may be to humanity, and to all life forms here on Earth.