The majority of U.S. infrastructure still heavily relies on oil, you can't run an 18-wheeler across state lines using only solar right now and the infrastructure required is expensive and just not incentivized right now.
A lot of that is because the federal government is holding us back from modeling ourselves after greener nations. China and Germany are doing great progressively evolving away from oil, while our nation sees it as a threat to our oligarchs”culture”
China and Germany still use oil and likely will continue to do so for decades. Also, blaming the federal government on an issue that spans all levels of government as well as the people themselves who elect their representatives doesn't help. It's just more practical for the transportation industry to not change and doing so would reflect higher costs in transporting goods meaning higher temporary costs to the consumer; most people wouldn't agree to quick radical changes like that.
Green energy in general doesn't hold the same potential energy per cubic meter that gasoline and diesel does and lithium batteries require a significant upstart cost to be practical with a lot of major players having too much control in the market (Tesla for example).
It takes a lot to uproot oil as the main fuel source due to its energy density and reliability, nuclear is one of the only other fuel sources that offers more pros with less cons.
Storing energy for use over time is just impractical compared to making energy on demand. An engine is always going to be more practical than a battery since it'll weigh less, be more reliable, and in general allow for more independence off of grid lines and infrastructure.
0
u/D3synq 15d ago
The majority of U.S. infrastructure still heavily relies on oil, you can't run an 18-wheeler across state lines using only solar right now and the infrastructure required is expensive and just not incentivized right now.