Imagine, if you will, a world in which Republicans hadn’t repealed the Inflation Reduction Act through President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. 
Dream of a world in which millions of Americans still have access to health care, due to its extension of subsidized premiums for the Affordable Care Act. Domestic production of solar, wind, and battery equipment is booming, creating hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs. 
The health of Americans is improving. The reduction in particulate matter caused by the burning of fossil fuels has put us on track to avoid approximately 63,000 premature deaths by 2035, and prevents up to 100,000 asthma attacks annually.
Demand for electricity is rising, but prices stabilize because renewable energy helps meet that demand, accounting for 80% of new generating capacity, since it is cheaper and cleaner than old-fashioned fossil fuels. Americans frustrated with dealing with utility monopolies have other options as rates rise. Subsidized solar panels with battery backup on homes and businesses decentralizes energy production, also protecting us in case of power outages. 
In the aftermath of Helene, solar power and battery systems played a key role in keeping the lights on for the residents of Western North Carolina. Given an upsurge in interest in renewable energy, subsidies through the Inflation Reduction Act helped build critical residential and commercial infrastructure that will protect us all when the next storm comes our way. 
Affordable electric vehicles are the choice of more and more Americans, which reduces our dependence on the fickle global oil market. With the Inflation Reduction Act incentives in place, we are better insulated from the inflation caused by the war in Iran. Solar energy and wind do not have to squeeze through the Strait of Hormuz.
Alas, the tax credits and incentives that were part of the Affordable Care Act are gone now. While other countries are rapidly pursuing renewables, this president has done everything he can to return this nation to reliance on fossil fuels. It’s as if he has launched a “war on renewables.”
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump called on fossil fuel executives to donate $1 billion to his campaign, calling it a “deal” in consideration of the tax and regulation relief to come under a Trump administration.
The oil and gas industry gave millions, and Trump was as good as his word, taking 145 actions in his first 100 days to roll back rules protecting clean air, water, and a livable climate. He has opened vast tracts of land to oil and gas drilling, and worked to revive coal mining, while calling solar and wind projects “ugly” and “disgusting,”  according to the Guardian. 
Mr. Trump has had nothing good to say about wind energy ever since an off-shore wind farm disrupted views from his golf clubs in Scotland. As President, he paid a French company nearly $1 billion in taxpayer money not to build a wind farm off the east coast that would have supplied electricity to New York and North Carolina. Instead, the money went to invest in a liquefied natural gas plant in Texas — so that gas could now be exported overseas. 
The administration has paused permitting for all off-shore and onshore wind projects and rescinded leases for East Coast wind projects citing “national security.” The Department of the Interior effectively restricted new wind and solar projects on public lands. The IRS attempted to eliminate a commonly-used tax credit for clean energy projects, though that move was recently overturned by the courts, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.  
Here in North Carolina, Duke Energy’s electric rates have risen 22% since 2020, and the utility has proposed an 18% rate hike for 2027. Surcharges for rising fuel costs are also passed along to customers.
Remember “Drill, Baby Drill”? Domestic production of oil was supposed to protect us from international price fixing and bad behavior on the part of oil producers in the Middle East. Even though U.S. daily oil production set new records in 2025 (13.9 million barrels per day) that did not protect us from skyrocketing gas and fuel prices caused by the Iran War. When prices rose, we were told, “Oil is a global market.” 
The health and environmental costs, however, are local. Americans still pay higher prices, while contending with dirtier air, dwindling forests, and polluted water, along with coastal flooding and extreme weather caused by fossil-fuel driven climate change. 
“Drill, baby, drill” serves nobody but the oil companies. 
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CS Chima is a writer and retired health care administrator in Asheville. 

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