We have renewable energy options, so why isn't the US focused on implementing them?

AI picture of a city using renewable energy

Growing up, my parents were focused on financial security and survival. Concerns were mostly about paying the mortgage and putting food on the table. My parents were young when they had children. We didn't talk much about climate change and the environment. When people are focused on survival, they don't think about the future of the planet and the human species. I went to college, got a good job, and became focused on dating and working as most young adults in their 20s. In my 30s, I got married, had children, and finally started to question purpose, my reality, and why I even existed. These fundamental questions eventually led me down a road to doing my own research about spirituality and the world around me. I was shocked by my findings, especially about the state of our environment and planet. I was also ashamed that I wasn't aware of the facts and that I hadn't been paying attention earlier in my life. I can't change the fact that I didn't know this information earlier but I can share what I know now after I've done my research. I understand why people don't have all the facts because I didn't either.

As I did my own research and read books by climate scientists, I found that scientists have known since before the 1970s that greenhouse gases from fossil fuels are destroying our environment and planet. Here's a quote by climate scientist, Kate Marvel in her book Human Nature, "Starting in the nineteenth century, carbon dioxide began to enter the atmosphere at rates unprecedented in at least 800,000 years". Marvel also writes the following, "To cite the 2023 U.S. National Climate Assessment, in the 1980s there was one (inflation-adjusted) billion-dollar disaster in the United States every four months. Now there is one every three weeks."

The following is a quote by Climate scientist, Katharine Hayhoe from her book, Saving us: "In 2016, thirty-one scientific organizations sent a letter to Congress: 'We, as leaders of major scientific organizations, write to remind you of the consensus scientific view of climate change,' they wrote. 'Observations throughout the world make it clear that climate change is occurring, and rigorous scientific research concludes that the greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver. This conclusion is based on multiple independent lines of evidence and the vast body of peer-reviewed science.' By 2020, eighteen scientific societies in the United States, from the American Geophysical Union to the American Medical Association, had issued official statements on climate change and one hundred and ninety-eight scientific organizations worldwide had formally stated that climate change has been caused by humans. That’s how sure we scientists are."

Climate scientists have plans and recommendations to phase off fossil fuels and use renewable energy. Kate Marvel says the following in her book Human Nature, "The transition to clean energy will be difficult, but not impossible. Some of it is already happening. Renewable energy technologies have become good, reliable, and inexpensive: an excellent strategy for taking over the world. Solar and wind, as well as the batteries needed to compensate for their intermittency, are getting cheaper at an astonishing rate. The price of onshore wind power plummeted 70 percent in the last decade, while solar costs fell by almost 90 percent. As a result, renewables are already being deployed at rates forecasters never imagined. If you had told me, even five years ago, how quickly the energy transition would be proceeding, I would not have believed you. It’s more than I ever dared to hope for. Finally, things are beginning to move. But they need to move faster. We know they can. They have before."

So why do some people still not understand these facts about climate change? I've talked a bit about this in earlier posts but I'll provide a quick summary. Despite the very clear evidence in the 1970s that fossil fuels cause climate chaos, the leaders of ExxonMobil created a campaign to deny climate change. This is still very much a problem in current times. For example Rex Tillerson was the CEO of Exxon and President Trump made him Secretary of State in 2017. Tillerson denied climate change.

Here are statistics from 2019 that provide a good overall picture of the situation: "As of Dec. 13, 2019, 134 members of Congress and their spouses own as much as $92.7 million worth of stock in fossil fuel companies and mutual funds, according to an analysis of financial disclosures by Sludge. House members own between roughly $29.5 million and $78.2 million in fossil fuel stocks, while senators have between $3.8 million and $14.5 million invested in oil, gas, and coal interests. Members of Congress generally report the value of their investments in broad ranges, so it’s not possible to know exactly how much their stocks are worth." (reference here)

Here are some statistics for 2025: "The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a Yale Climate Connections review of campaign donations. The industry gave an additional $2 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign, bringing the total spending on the winning candidates to over $26 million, 88% of which went to Republicans. The fossil fuel industry exerts substantial financial power within the U.S. political system, and these contributions are only the tip of the (melting) iceberg." (reference here)

President Trump is known for supporting the fossil fuel industries. The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," passed in summer 2025, created nearly $40 billion in new federal subsidies for oil, gas, and coal, adding to pre-existing subsidies, raising total federal fossil fuel support to at least $34.8 billion annually. At the 2025 United Nations General Assembly, President Trump said the following, "'This climate change, it's the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion,' Trump said. 'All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong. They were made by stupid people that have cost their countries fortunes and given those same countries no chance for success. If you don't get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail.'" (reference here)

Let's talk about the good news! The cool thing is that despite President Trumps' support for fossil fuels, renewable energy is booming. "Since the US enacted the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), manufacturing has emerged as the fastest-growing segment of investment in clean energy technologies. Quarterly investment in clean manufacturing more than tripled—from $2.5 billion in Q3 2022 to $14.0 billion in Q1 2025—primarily driven by the electric vehicle supply chain. Companies have announced 380 clean technology manufacturing facilities since the bill was signed into law on August 16, 2022, nearly half of which were operational as of March 31, 2025." (reference here).

Here's another article talking about the fact that renewable energy is surpassing fossil fuels, "Renewables overtook coal to become the world’s largest source of electricity (in the U.S., they even surpassed natural gas in March 2026), and electrical vehicles (EVs) accounted for 25% of new car sales globally. These EVs displaced 1.8 million barrels of oil per day – equivalent to 13% of U.S. oil production." (reference here)

I want to be clear that I'm not writing this for political purposes or because I care about one party over another. There is corruption on both sides of the aisle. What I want is a future with clean food, water, and air. I want people to care about the planet and each other. I think this is possible but the first step is wanting something better.

In regards to the spiritual perspective, the spiritual purpose for President Trump is that he's a wrecking ball. He tends to tear down walls without thinking much about it. For example, the UFO disclosure files that were just released. He triggers a lot of people which causes anger. Anger can be a good thing if it's put to good use, if we do something positive with it. For example his comments I quoted above about climate change. That is frustrating and it will motivate people to want to build even more renewable energy when they hear him denying climate change still. What is also interesting is that the Iran War is "supercharging" the transition to clean energy (reference here). When we as humans see darkness, we want the light that much more. This is all part of the evolution of the human species, and moving off the archaic dark fossil fuels to renewable clean energy is a big part of that evolution.

What can we individually do? We can talk about this more and we can do our own research to learn the facts. We can also focus on our own self-love, passion, purpose, and joy, because when we love ourselves and find our own joy, we naturally gain compassion, empathy, and love for others and our planet.