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Hello from the resistance from somewhere in California. I say that with a chuckle to keep from crying. Somehow, we believed that Kamala Harris stood a slightly better than even chance of winning the recent US election. There was that initial burst of pent-up energy when Biden dropped out of the race after his face-plant debate performance in June. But the enthusiasm waned, and the razor-thin margins started to shift the other way, at least where it counted.
It was going to be close.
And then it wasn’t close at all. By bedtime on Tuesday night in California, it was clear that Donald Trump would once again become president. After four years of expanding an already vast enemies list, Trump’s total hold on government clears the path for his promised campaign of retribution. The apparatus is in place for him to avoid any accountability for what he has done and what he will do.
Bigger Than One Election
First, the United States will withdraw from the Paris Agreement—again—a signature Trump move. It will take at least one year to become official, but Trump will undoubtedly begin the process as soon as possible. The Paris Agreement is flawed and lacks any enforcement mechanism, and almost every nation has thus far fallen short of its incessant plea for “ratcheting up ambitions.”
Although the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement hampers progress, it does not entirely hobble the effort.
“While the United States federal government under Donald Trump may put climate change action on the back burner, the work to contain climate change is going to continue in the United States with commitment and passion and belief,” said John Podesta, chief US climate envoy. “The fight is bigger than one election, one political cycle in one country.”
Podesta concedes that the Trump administration will zealously dismantle climate action and renewable energy policy as best he can but contends there is a countering force at the subnational level.
This was the case in the first Trump administration, when cities, municipalities, states, and regions adopted climate and energy policy irrespective of the federal government’s stance.
Nonetheless, while Trump’s election in 2016 was a shock, the extent of his malignant narcissism, disregard for the law, and rejection of science wasn’t fully realized. It was a different world eight years ago—the before times. We are now nearly halfway through the “make-or-break” decade, after which the cost and consequences of climate change will quickly accelerate.
We have listened to this tired refrain for at least 16 years. While Trump continues the refrain and will surely pursue a doubling down on fossil fuel development, he may find some unexpected headwinds in his quest to, well, you know, drill, baby, drill.
Drill, Baby, Drill?
Renewable energy is cheaper than fossil fuels in most places around the world and has been for years. Ten years ago, wind and solar energy accounted for a mere 1 percent of the total energy supply. Today, they comprise 15 percent globally. In the US, it’s 25 percent. Renewable energy’s reach expands as the cost plummets. “All the collective work pushing for a greener world for the past 50 years has also measurably altered the trajectory of our civilization away from a worst-case climate scenario and toward a more verdant world,” writes Eric Holthaus in Slate.
“With years of major wind and solar projects in the pipeline and with renewable-friendly policies designed to last, these facts will continue to be even more true in the future, even if Trump tries to undo Biden’s signature climate laws,” Holthaus writes. “Clean energy tax credits are in place until 2030; they will stick. The vast majority will continue going to Republican districts, which will help protect them into the future.”
The energy transition is inevitable, even if Trump and his coterie attempt to prop up Big Oil and its attempt to misinform and deny reality. Surely, they can—and will—slow it down. More lost time and missed opportunities. But the train has left the station on the new energy economy. Let’s see what happens when Trump stands in its way.
The Resistance: We Aren’t Going Back
Make no mistake. Right now, it kind of feels like we are going back, like the worst of human nature is winning: fear, repression, hatred, grift, and willful ignorance. The arc of justice can be maddening, but the light can pierce the void even in the darkest times.
With the light of individual and collective resistance, we can endure the night and prepare for the coming day. These are the times in which we live.
Quoting you: “After four years of expanding an already vast enemies list, Trump’s total hold on government clears the path for his promised campaign of retribution. The apparatus is in place for him to avoid any accountability for what he has done and what he will do. “
Come now, you, with your belligerent hypocritical childish comments…that is exactly what the democrats
did!!!
Umm.. OK. Get down with your bad self.
We will fight for justice, even for those who voted for Trump. That’s how we progressives roll.