Dutch politicians move to ban gas, diesel cars by 2025

Of course, that involves loads of wishful thinking. In fact, Digital Trends wrote that lawmakers from another party called the proposition "overambitious and unrealistic," and "the wishful thinking of a headless chicken." Even some PvdA party members have shied away from the idea, despite it passing the Dutch parliament's lower house, because not everybody is on board with EVs yet, and they don't want to send voters running.

When it comes down to it, it's far too early for many (or any) countries to put these ideas in motion. EV infrastructure is finally coming around, but hydrogen is still sorely lacking, especially in the giant car market known as the USA. I haven't seen a single projection that would put EV market share above 50 percent by 2025, never mind nearing 100 percent. And there's no better way to turn a person against an idea than by, quite literally, forcing them to do it.

But it's still an interesting idea. EVs and fuel cell vehicles have better "well-to-wheel" figures than gas vehicles, and autonomous vehicles have the chance to send accident rates into the basement. These concepts are slowly proving themselves on roads, but we're still more than a decade away from seeing massive shifts in public opinion -- or from seeing infrastructure fleshed out.