A Year of Clean Energy Milestones

Clean energy just had its pop-star moment: wind and solar beat coal globally and plug-in cars grabbed more than a quarter of new sales. Batteries are 90% cheaper, China’s emissions are flattening, and Science crowned it 2025’s “Breakthrough.” But the real fireworks are in the comments. Kibwen kicked off with a zinger about an “Energy Space Race” and Trump conceding, which half the thread treated like a mic drop. Skeptic bwestergard waved a coal-industry link and argued the headline doesn’t mean coal is vanishing, sparking a messy debate over “share vs. volume.” Miduil went full geopolitics, asking what replaces energy wars when oil loses its throne. Meanwhile, kachapopopow demanded we “just shove solar on every apartment,” imagining power bills melting away and landlords finally doing one useful thing. Chart-stickler pfdietz nitpicked a caption (“dollars per megawatt-hour”), spawning the nerdiest fight of the day. The vibe: celebration meets side-eye. US rollbacks got dragged as America “fumbles the bag,” while commenters pointed to China’s EV boom—over half of new cars—as proof the future isn’t waiting. The memes? “Sunlight is undefeated,” “Peak gas was 2017, peak cope is now,” and “EVs are eating dealerships for breakfast”