Massive transformations of human society begin with decisions made by individual humans, and particular companies sometimes play outsize roles. A century ago, Henry Ford’s manufacturing innovations launched the modern auto industry, which ended up changing the map of the world and affecting almost every aspect of society.

The San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) have partnered to provide Envision’s EV ARC fast charging system at a rest area in Shandon, east of San Luis Obispo on California Highway 46. The Monterey Bay Air Resources District funded a similar deployment at rest areas on US Highway 101, north of San Luis Obispo in rural Monterey County.

No, lithium isn’t going to become “the new oil,” regardless of what the pandering pundits of the popular press say (it’s a raw material, not a fuel, and it’s one of the most abundant elements on Earth). However, there’s no question that demand for the light white stuff is growing quickly, and that much of the current supply comes from outside the US. Tesla is believed to import much of the lithium it uses from Australia and South America. There are strong economic and environmental reasons to develop more domestic sources.

Consumer Reports recently delivered its annual Auto Issue, and it includes a record amount of material about EVs. Tesla’s Model 3 is on the cover, and both Model 3 and the Toyota Prius made the “Top 10 Cars” list. There’s also a two-page spread about the new plug-in vehicles scheduled to hit the market this year.

The croakers and clickbaiters just keep trotting out the same old “EVs will never work” bugaboos again and again. Fortunately, the scientists and engineers keep producing new studies and new products that prove them wrong.

Electric utilities are keen on electric vehicles these days — they see them as a future revenue source. Utilities from California to Florida to Michigan are sponsoring the installation of public charging stations, and some are offering rebates to customers for installing home chargers. To date, at least 50 utilities in 25 states have launched or proposed programs to encourage the buildout of charging infrastructure.

If there’s one thing the legacy automakers can agree on, it’s that nobody wants to buy electric vehicles. In June, when BMW Director of Development Klaus Frölich said, “There are no customer requests for BEVs – none,” it made a splash in the press only because of the ironic fact that he said it at an event where the company announced plans to build 25 new plug-in models by 2025 (as reported by Forbes). Execs at major automakers express similar sentiments on a regular basis.

We all know there’s a lot of misinformation about electric vehicles out there, but this is ridiculous. A recent survey found that 12% of UK motorists believe that electric cars cannot be driven in the rain!