[orclev]

On the plastics front, just look at the news from earlier this week of Lego working to replace all of the plastics used in their toys with bio-plastics (or other non-oil based polymers). A few more efforts like that and plastics won't be anywhere near the driver of oil consumption they are now. That doesn't address shipping (which is horrendously polluting), but if that's the last one standing that's still a massive improvement.

[dotancohen]

Commercial aviation as well will never be electric. It would require two orders of magnitude energy to weight density, and quadruple flight times.

[tpolischuk]

People also thought we would never get man into space :)

[dotancohen]

There is a big difference between simply thinking that something is too hard and having numbers to back it up.