Let’s be real for a second. Is it too far fetched to believe Donald Trump heard Pope Francis’ words about climate change and thought, “I’m not surprised the leader of one of the world’s oldest religions would co-opt one of its newest?”
Regardless of whether or not man-made climate change is real or a religion, there are many logical reasons for every type of conservative to embrace renewable energy. Here are a few of the reasons you may not have been able to hear over the screaming accusations of being a “climate change denier.”
Conservatives Care about National Security
There are 7,304 power plants in the United States. There are 125,000,000 houses. In order for an enemy state to knock out our energy grid, it wouldn’t be necessary to knock out all 7,304 plants. If every home in America were powered by solar either via rooftop or community solar or community wind projects, it would require the total destruction of all of over 100,000,000 locations to shut down our ability to produce the energy we need to sustain our way of life, making us virtually indestructible.
And in case you haven’t heard, our ole pal Mother Russia is already on the way to developing a weapon designed specifically to knock out power grids, making the conversion to renewable energy possibly far more urgent for national security reasons than climate change reasons.
In addition to grid security, the reduction of dependence on foreign oil carries with it so many national security advantages, there is simply not enough room to discuss them here.
Conservatives Care about Winning Elections
Americans love to be a part of a winning team. Even though Republicans have closed the gap over the last eight years in the young voter department, they still trail Democrats by a large margin. No matter how distasteful you may find this, while you were busy being a productive citizen your kids were being sold on climate change. In fact only three percent of young voters don’t believe man-made climate change is real. As these young people grow up and become voters, this is not an issue on which conservatives can afford to be on the wrong side and continue to remain relevant at the polls.
In addition to the youth vote, there are many single issue voters who would vote conservative as well once they understand it’s actually the conservatives who are most capable of saving the day for reasons we’ll discuss below.
I believe when conservatives embrace renewable energy, the liberals trying to force acceptance of man-made climate change will look like the congregation of Westboro Baptist Church at a military funeral while conservatives actually doing something at an actionable level will look like Christians on a missions trip. Which organization would you rather join: the one screaming about the evils of the world or the one taking individual and community-based action which could actually lead to a solution?
Conservatives Believe in the Power of Individual Choice and Responsibility
The adoption of renewable energy is very much an individual and community movement. There has never been a better time or better way than the mass adoption of renewable energy to show the world how industry, individuals and communities can come together to solve a problem before liberals control the government and waste billions of dollars on failed government programs.
Conservatives Understand Economics
The reason it’s time to adopt renewable energy is simple: It makes great economic sense. This has only become true recently, and many conservatives seem to be too deafened or jaded by the screams of “global warming” to be able to hear this message. By 2016, solar energy will be less expensive than conventional energy grid alternatives in 36 states.
Any conservative who understands economics will quickly realize this means three things:
1. Renewable energy combined with energy storage devices represents a rare economic opportunity in human history: A lower cost, perfect substitute in the most lucrative market sector.
2. The availability of a perfect substitute leads to an increase in demand, which in turn increases competition and lowers prices meaning that it isn’t a matter of if renewable energy becomes a viable alternative, but when it completely takes over the energy market everywhere. This when will be determined by one thing–how quickly the people in places where it already makes great economic sense adopt this way of receiving energy.
Many homeowners in states like New York, California, Maryland, Vermont , Connecticut , North Carolina and New Hampshire don’t realize if they have decent credit they can already switch to solar with zero down and begin saving money immediately because their new solar payment will be less than their energy bill was previously. People becoming aware of this opportunity is one of the biggest factors driving the boom in solar.
3. These factors combined present a once in a lifetime opportunity for entrepreneurs of all shapes and sizes.
Conservatives Believe in the Power of the Free Market to Create Jobs
One of the most endearing facts about renewable energy is electrician, roofing, solar installation and maintenance and other renewable energy construction projects jobs can’t be outsourced to China. If we have over 100,000,000 jobs to do, and people want them done as quickly as possible, we may even find ourselves in the bizarre situation where decide to open our border to Mexico and any other non-terrorist producing country in order to provide the labor needed to fulfill this gigantic demand, which would be a really interesting way to solve the immigration problem.
Thomas Edison, one of America’s greatest inventors and entrepreneurs might have been onto something when he said:
I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that. I wish I had more years left.
If the founder of GE thought solar was a good enough opportunity to wish for more years nearly a century ago, how good of an opportunity is it now that the technology actually exists to make harnessing the power of the sun possible?
Quick Fact: The total combined energy of all the world’s known reserves of coal, oil, and natural gas are less than the energy we receive from the Sun in 20 days.
Conservatives are More Likely to be People of Faith
The Bible may not say anything about global warming, but it’s pretty clear about the responsibility of believers to take care of the Earth and all of the critters who live here. Why wait to find out if man-made global warming is the most important issue of our time or more like the Y2K bug when we know for a fact the way we currently acquire, transport and convert natural resources into usable energy all have very real environmental consequences which don’t require a PhD to see or understand?
Conservative believers already have a moral obligation to act without having to accept man-made climate change as a fact.
And you can let other people argue about whether or not oil and coal is good or evil. You already know the energy from the Sun is “good” if you’ve read the first three verses of the Bible.
Conservatives Control Financial Institutions
People seem to misunderstand what happened with Solar City and what their success really proves. Most solar manufacturers have very little experience operating in the residential and small-scale project market. They don’t yet understand that to a residential consumer affordability is more important than actual cost or ROI. People are used to paying a monthly power bill. When given the opportunity to pay a lower version of the same bill to use a better product, it really isn’t a difficult decision to make.
Solar City was smart enough to realize this and created financing options which made the possibility of going solar a reality for the average American Homeowner.
Understanding this lesson presents an unprecedented financial opportunity for financial institutions with foresight. The actual risk of providing a solar loan is very low in actuality–conventional energy companies will provide energy for a consumer regardless of credit score, even if they do require a minimal deposit.
How many people regardless of income level don’t pay their power bill? Even if someone’s energy is shut off due to non-payment, the first thing they spend their money on is having it turned back on.
Current solar loan options are still treated like any conventional loan given to purchase equipment. In other words, the loan is treated as if it carries the same risk as a loan which adds an additional monthly expense instead of what they actually are–a lower cost, monthly payment alternative for a basic staple of life which provides real savings, immediately increasing a homeowner’s liquid resources and in turn decreases the likelihood of default not just on the solar loan, but also all other loans like cars, mortgages and home improvement loans as well. In essence a solar loan carries with it a negative risk when compared with a homeowner’s financial situation prior to receiving the loan.
The financial company with the foresight to create a simple to understand 30+ year solar loan with very low to no credit requirement will have in actuality given millions of Americans the ability to cut their monthly energy bill by half or more which in aggregate massively increases consumer purchasing power and strengthening our economy.
The creation of such a financial product will make any government program irrelevant to sustain the growth of the industry and allow for returns which far surpass the actual risk of default and cost of capital.
If you are reading this and in a position to create such a product, please contact me and I will have several dozen solar sales organizations ready to business with you by the end of the week.
Right now the financial market for renewable energy is driven by complicated tax credits and government subsidies. All the industry really needs is a great, simple financial product to allow people who don’t have the upfront capital to invest in renewable energy technology to make the switch. Nothing would blow the market wide open faster. I hope a financial institution creates this before Freddie May and Fannie Mac.
A secondary market for these loans would be very easy to establish for people who want a low risk investment in which to park their current assets. The kind of investors who currently invest in government bonds. What is actually a safer investment: betting on the solvency of our government or betting on the rising of the sun and a homeowner’s willingness to pay a lower cost version of their current energy bill?
Conservatives Love to Be Right (no pun intended)
If conservatives believe man-made global warming is indeed a hoax, the best and maybe only way to prove this belief right is to adopt renewable energy. If conservatives lead the adoption of renewable energy and climate change is still an issue afterwards, at least we’ll have far more financial and energy resources to do something about whatever is happening. If it is no longer a problem, conservatives will have saved the day by choosing a logical, actionable solution over fear based rhetoric.
By leading the renewable energy movement conservatives will also gain the credibility to encourage a more sensible approach to any future environmental issue than creating a world government and taking resources from the very businesses which have time and again proven their ability to create vastly superior solutions to nearly every problem than the government to which these resources would be funneled.
It’s Time to Act
Although you may have been turned off to renewable energy by pot smoking hippies who call you evil for denying their truth, it’s time for conservatives to look past the messengers and see the value in the message. You don’t have to believe in man-made climate change to believe in renewable energy.
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