A few months ago, I was at a dinner party. Ten people around the table, wine glasses clinking, polite conversation humming along. Someone said something about climate change, and that’s when I did it — I said the words “fossil fuels.”

The room froze. Forks paused mid-air. Within seconds, voices sharpened, sides formed, and whatever chance we had for a real conversation evaporated. And then it struck me — the sinking realization that I would never again be invited back to one of this group’s dinner parties. Ever.

Really though, we’ve been talking about eliminating fossil fuels for decades now to the point that people are sick and tired of it. If I’m with a group of new people, I won’t even use the term for fear of it turning into a tense, awkward exchange instead of a meaningful, construc

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