President-elect 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 Accord with its promises to reduce carbon emissions because Exxon is also 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 from $1 to 10 cents per generated watt.

Lithium-ion batteries now power our phones and laptops, as well as electric vehicles of all kinds. If we have solar panels on our roof, we should consider installing a battery in our 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 all cleantech developments. Their electric cars, trucks and buses are now cheaper to produce and operate than those with internal combustion engines. One offers a million-mile guarantee on its latest EV battery.

So, Reps. Pingree and Golden and Sens. Collins and King should drill their colleagues with the reality that cleantech 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