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President-elect Donald Trump calls global warming “a hoax” and promises to “drill, baby, drill”, in support of the oil and gas industry. But wait a minute! Exxon-Mobil’s CEO urged him not to take the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement with its promises to reduce carbon emissions, because Exxon is also much involved in a variety of clean energy options.
Today more investment capital is going into alternative energy than into fossil fuels, resulting in huge and rapid improvements in solar power and battery efficiency. For instance, in a little more than a decade, the price of solar power has dropped significantly.
Lithium-ion batteries now power our phones and laptops, as well as electric vehicles of all kinds. If you have solar on your roof, you should consider a battery in your basement to store that solar power. Why sell it to the grid, buying it back at night at a higher cost?
China, despite the unfavorable perception by many in Congress, is now leading the world in clean tech developments. Their electric cars, trucks and buses are expected to soon be cheaper to produce and operate than those with internal combustion engines. One offers a nearly million mile guarantee on its latest EV battery!
So, Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden, and Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, please drill your colleagues with the reality that clean tech is the way the world’s energy needs will be met, sooner than we think. Will we leave it to China, or take the lead?
Peter Garrett
Winslow
