There is no political argument against cheap

I recently read a picture book version of Moby Dick to my kids and here's what struck me most: all this swashbuckling, keeping a crew of sailors fed for months as they searched for one thing: the cache of oil that lives behind the brains of sperm whales which was inordinately valuable, and was used, in the nineteenth century, to light gas lamps.

All this whaling drove sperm whales to the brink of extinction and guess what brought them back? A cheaper, more plentiful oil was found that could light, not just lamps, but eventually cities, power plants, ships that sailed seas not by harnessing the wind, but driven by a series of tiny explosions in internal combustion engines. The energy transition away from lighting lamps with whale oil had nothing to do with saving the whales. Profits, or lack thereof, drove the practice of whaling, not whales, to extinction. 

Fast forward to 2026 and we find ourselves at the threshold of a similar energy transition. For the first time in my lifetime, the economics have tipped decisively to support, not undermine, ecology, and our movement to remove regulatory restrictions to make plug-in solar available to everyone continues to grow.

As of today, at least 25 states are introducing plug-in solar legislation this year. Red states, blue states, purple states. The country is waking up to what you already know: there is no political argument against cheap.

So what can you do to push us closer to this clean energy tipping point where economic incentives are realigned with ecological ones? If you live in one of the 25 states moving legislation this year, take action, and if you don't, contact your representatives and tell them to join the movement and introduce legislation at the next opportunity.

We have started something big together. Let’s get it over the finish line.