Hydrogen For Energy Types Are Getting More And More Angry

Over the past year or so, as the hype around hydrogen for energy has been deflating, a clear indicator of the impending collapse of hydrogen energy proponents has surfaced, manifesting as anger and hostility. This surge of antagonism can be seen as a strong forecast of the end times for enthusiasts of hydrogen energy. But why is this a clear indicator?

Let’s reflect on events from eight years ago. Before that, I had crafted the continuum of climate change denial positions, from complete refusal to accept reality to a tiny category of people who believed that the reality was actually worse than anticipated. As I pointed out at the time, Climate Change Deniers Are Getting Angrier & Here’s Why.

I noted that it was all about cognitive dissonance — the mental stress or discomfort experienced when beliefs, ideas, or values conflict with new information. When individuals are confronted with information that contradicts their biases, they feel stressed and uncomfortable. If they do not resolve this by embracing and accommodating reality, it builds up. This phenomenon was occurring among climate change deniers a decade ago, and their increasing anger became obvious even to me, someone not typically attuned to such dynamics.

This is a pertinent time to address the anger of denialists. Esteemed climate scientist Michael Mann, who I had the privilege to converse with for a CleanTechnica podcast a few years ago, is currently experiencing PTSD relapse in a courtroom as his slanderers cross-examine him or squirm in their seats. Mann and his family underwent significant stress and anguish due to the unreasonable anger of climate change denialists, and he eventually decided to sue the worst offenders for defamation.

Although not as severe as what Michael Mann endured, my experiences with hydrogen for energy advocates have displayed similar patterns. I’ve observed that there has been a considerable amount of hostility directed at people who have been presenting realistic assessments of hydrogen for energy. The cognitive dissonance of the hydrogen for energy crowd is growing daily, and individuals who are upholding reality and rational analysis, are receiving backlash. This is reminiscent of the experiences faced by Mann and other climate change researchers, wherein individuals are lashing out in anger due to an inability to accept reality.