Opponents of progress can be relentless! Some are downright villainous — unkind, well-organized and intentional.
Others are simply misinformed or just plain terrified of change. We’ve heard it all, from the usual suspects of noise or aesthetics, to the ridiculous such as “These solar panels are going to suck up all the sun’s rays and I won’t be able to grow my tomatoes,” and, “I’m concerned the wind turbines will cause a constant breeze,” and, “biofuels will cause riots to break out over soaring food prices”.
Silly and serious alike, opponents of such topics are sure to have their say in a democratic setting. Pointing out the nice features of our approach is sometimes not enough to neutralize negative messages. This requires us to do more than repeat positive arguments time and again by working to anticipate, preempt and debunk concerns and falsehoods.
More frequently, we find it necessary to dig in and expose paid opposition by pointing to their lack of credibility and ulterior motives.
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