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The media are often slow to catch up with reality. In decades past we could talk about addressing global warming as a trade-off where we would spend more on energy and cars, in order to avoid destroying the planet. This meant that people who didn’t care about the planet we leave to future generations could argue that it was not worth paying the costs associated with slowing global warming.

But that was in the past. The cost of solar and wing energy has plummeted, as has the cost of electric cars. The cheapest and quickest way to get new energy online is now solar and wind, not building new coal or gas fired power plants. Also, contrary to what our energy secretary seems to believe, there is something called a “battery,” that allows wind and solar energy to be stored for use at times when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining. And new electric cars can be purchased for less than $10,000. 

While most folks may be aware of these facts, Donald Trump does not seem to be, or at least chose to ignore them, in his UN rant on Tuesday. He warned the countries of the world away from wind and solar power and told them to use more oil and natural gas. 

Trump has never cared much for reality. He may just be looking to pay back his campaign contributors from the fossil fuel industry. But for those interested in the real world, here’s the relative cost of electricity in the United States and China.

We are currently paying more than twice as much for our electricity as China and the gap is likely to increase in the years ahead. Our electricity costs seem almost certain to go higher as Donald Trump’s campaign contributors use massive amounts of electricity for AI and crypto. 

The increased demand for these purposes would pose a problem in any case, but with Trump working hard to shut down wind and solar power, the gap between growing demand and stagnating supply is likely to worsen. Meanwhile, China is building up its wind and solar generating capacity at an incredible pace. They already account for more than a quarter of the country’s electricity production. The cost of these clean energy sources is already low and getting lower, as is the cost of battery storage.

The point here is that if we want cheap energy, we want clean energy. This may all be over Donald Trump’s head, but it should not be over the heads of the ostensibly serious people who tell us that people care about “affordability,” not climate change. 

Clean energy is affordability and anyone who doesn’t acknowledge that fact should be assumed to be on the payroll of the fossil fuel industry or looking for a job in the Trump administration.  

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