Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016 | 2 a.m.
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View more of the Sun's opinion section
After dispiriting rancor that nearly sent the second presidential debate off the rails completely, a question about the future of American energy, jobs and the environment brought viewers welcome relief.
Here, at last, was a chance for the candidates to lay out a clear and hopeful vision and to show who had the better plan to power our growth, fight climate change and lead the country in the global contest for clean energy prominence.
What we got was a tale of two American futures: clean power promise or dirty fuels nightmare.
Hillary Clinton pledged real action and real leadership on climate change, the greatest environmental challenge of our time.
“And I support moving toward more clean, renewable energy as quickly as we can,” she said, “because I think we can be the 21st century clean-energy superpower and create millions of new jobs and businesses.”
Donald Trump fulminated over the fiction that someone is somehow “killing our energy business.” His plan: Make big oil, coal and gas companies so profitable that “they’ll pay off our national debt.”
Not clear how that works, particularly coming from a man who may not have paid his taxes in nearly two decades.
Trump offered no specifics, naturally, but he has stressed on his campaign website, and to the oil and gas executives he spoke to last month, that he would roll back nearly every environmental regulation he could get his hands on. Beyond that, he would hamstring the agency we depend on to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink.
Trump can’t decide whether climate change is a hoax or a joke. He has no plan for fighting it and would, instead, roll back the climate progress we’re making. Trump wants to bet our future on the dirty fuels of the past and slam the door on the economic play of our lifetime: the epic global shift to clean energy.
There are already 2.5 million Americans working each day to build the next generation of energy-efficient cars, homes and workplaces; create better transportation options; and help us get more clean power from the wind and sun. Thousands of those jobs are in Nevada, where Tesla and Panasonic are teaming up to build the largest advanced battery plant in the world, expected to employ up to 10,000 workers building batteries for electric cars and other purposes.
Just last week, California-based SolarReserve announced plans to build the world’s biggest solar power plant northwest of Las Vegas, a $5 billion project that will generate as much electricity as the Hoover Dam. With state policies that promote, rather than discourage, clean energy, Nevada could attract even more jobs in this fast-growing sector.
How fast is it growing?
Nationally, wind power has grown five-fold in just nine years, while solar power is up by a factor of 40. Costs have dropped so fast that, dollar for dollar, wind and solar power is the best bet for electricity generation across more of our country.
Globally, the clean-energy industry is set to grow even faster once the Paris climate accord takes effect Nov. 4. It sets the United States, China and more than 185 other countries on the path to shift away from the dirty fossil fuels that are driving climate chaos and toward cleaner, smarter energy options.
With tens of trillions of dollars in business and millions of jobs at stake, countries are already competing over which will win the global clean-energy sweepstakes. Clinton wants American companies and workers to win.
That means stepping up wind and solar power at home to help position us for success abroad. It means modernizing our transmission grid and pricing policies to handle and support that growth. And it means making U.S. manufacturing the cleanest and most efficient in the world.
Trump doesn’t think we can do it. He wants to dig us deeper into the fossil fuel pit instead and lock future generations into oil, gas and coal — and all the hazard and harm they bring
But we’re not stuck with dirty fossil fuels, and neither are our kids. Let’s tap the real power of this country: the innovation and enterprise of people determined to find a better way.
Climate change is a threat to our children’s future. We must turn away from the dirty fuels that threaten our health and our planet. Instead, let’s power our future with cleaner, smarter options. And we’ll create millions of good-paying, middle-class jobs.
Rhea Suh is president of the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund, an environmental advocacy organization.
