The Green Energy Revolution is here to stay, even as the Trump administration promotes the fossil fuel industry. As environmentalists move through stages of denial and grief at the defunding of clean energy projects across the nation, the fact remains that solar energy is the cheapest and most accessible energy in the world. Other nations are awake to this technological reality and will continue to accelerate the pace of solar, wind, and battery technologies and infrastructure because it simply makes financial sense- independent of benefits to the global climate and human and ecological health.
Bill Mckibben writes in the New York Times, the cost of solar panels has dropped 99% since 1980. . .“Last year almost 96 percent of new electricity generation globally came from sun and wind technologies and batteries. . . China installed almost 100 solar panels a second in May, smashing its record.” While the United States remains mired in a fossil fuel oligarchy, in 2024 China’s BYD rolled out 4.3 million $10,000 electric vehicles driven by happy customers all over the world. As expressed in a recent New York Times Opinion, we are practicing “economic idiocy” that will leave America as a loser in future clean energy technology.
Increasingly, renewable energy is no longer considered “alternative energy,” rather it is the first choice in many developed and developing economies. Even when unsubsidized it is cost efficient and quick to install relative to fossil fuel plants (McKibben, Solnit).
Energy demand is soaring as rising temperatures increase the necessity for air conditioning and by the voracious demand for power "for IT datacentres, including for AI.” The UN secretary general, António Guterres, called on big technology companies to commit to sourcing 100% of their electricity demands from low-carbon generation by 2030. San Francisco is the center of the AI boom and we should lobby these companies to ensure they use ONLY renewable energy to power data centers.“If even a proportion of this energy increase is devoted to fossil fuels it will become impossible to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C above preindustrial levels, as "countries have vowed to do,” (The Guardian, International Renewable Energy Agency). California can and must set the standard for AI powered by green energy. This would put high tech companies in the beneficial business of clean power generation, free from the whims of the government.
Unless U.S. policies change in the next election, America will not be leading the green energy revolution. But there are still things we can do as individuals in a climate friendly state.
On September 21, 2025—the Fall Equinox—you can join people across the country to celebrate solar and wind power and push for a cleaner, healthier future. Hear from Bill McKibben, inspiring storytellers, and community leaders showing how solar is transforming lives—from Navajo Nation to Utah to the Gulf South.
Check online for local events closer to the event date.
Thank you—
Jackie
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©350 Contra Costa Action
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