Respectfully, data-driven analysis cuts the other way. At this year’s National Auto Dealers’ meeting, Audi of Am.’s CEO described a faster transition than yesterday’s oil giants would prefer: “The technology on this front is moving at a staggering pace. You’re going to be looking at a marketplace in the next seven, eight, nine, 10 years where for 30 or 40 some brands their entire business is going to be battery-electric vehicles.” Audi is not alone. By 2020 there will be 120+ EV models across the price spectrum. Is our infrastructure up to task?

The notion that we can simply let today’s market pick the best mousetrap rests on a false assumption. Our current “market” for fossil fuels is the product of a century of heavy subsidies and pro-fossil policies. Hiding from this reality is one approach. Or, if we want policies that won’t destroy our reefs, flood our communities, hamstring our local economy, and change the dynamics of the planet, we must act–now. Those are the facts.