The American People Want Clean Energy, But….

Over the years here at 2GreenEnergy, we’ve repeatedly made the point that the will of the American people is almost always frustrated by special interests.  In fact, we in the U.S. suffer under a political machine that systematically ignores the will of the people, as suggested here: a few facts that came from a recent presentation that Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig gave to a large and earnest audience.

• According to surveys of thousands of Americans, we almost unanimously agree on two things: a) money has too much influence on politics, and b) there is nothing that can be done to change this. 

• 5.4 million Americans (a little under 2%) made cash donations to a politician in the last election, but the top 100 gave more than the bottom 4.75 million. 

• A study from Princeton University shows an almost 100% correlation between Congressional votes and the interests of these Top 100. 

• The same study shows that the decisions that Congress makes on the variety of issues are completely independent of the will of the people. Whether 20%, 40%, 60%, or 80% of the electorate supports a certain subject, this has no statistical bearing whatsoever on how the Senate and the House will vote on the matter.

Now, let’s ask ourselves this: How does that translate into energy policy under the Trump Administration?

A Pew Research survey published Monday found that 65 percent of Americans “give priority to developing alternative energy sources, compared with 27 percent who would emphasize expanded production of fossil fuel sources.”  This, to say the least, seems a bit out of step with the new regime’s obsession with oil, gas, and even coal.

If we thought our government was indifferent to the will of the people before the 2016 election, just watch what happens when ExxonMobil and the State Department become one, and both the Department of Energy and the EPA are eviscerated (or eliminated entirely).