Jesus Christ taught an abundance mentality. He multiplied fish and bread into enough to feed a multitude. He promised that God would take care of us the same way he takes care of the lilies of the field. He even said that he came into the world so that we might have life more abundantly (John 10:10). Joseph Smith echoed this when he wrote “For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare” (D&C 104:17).
Christ warned rich people who try to hoard goods that their riches would condemn them. From the New International Version translation of the Bible, Luke 12:13-20:
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
The point is that an abundance mentality, and not being a greedy miser who hoards more than he needs, is one of Christ’s teachings.
“The world can support billions, but not billionaires” is a slogan I’ve heard and that is spreading. The world has enough. We can feed everyone. There are resources for everyone. It’s a matter of distributing resources fairly. And while there is certainly cause to worry about what billionaires are doing to the planet, there is also cause to rejoice about the abundance and progress all around us.
Do you want to hear something wonderful? We may have already turned the corner on renewable energy and, as we continue working to replace fossil fuels with clean energy, there are glimmers of cautious optimism that we really will avoid the worst of global warming. And this hope comes from a country that was the worst offender until it suddenly burst out with an onslaught of progress — China.
After years of being the biggest polluter in the world, China is now the biggest investor in clean energy worldwide, spending $625 billion USD in 2024 – 31% of the global total of $2,033bn. China has cut its electric emission to record lows in 2025. Not only is China installing solar panels and spreading electric vehicles all through its own country, but it’s massive manufacturing power is turning to renewables, and the export of solar panels and batteries have driven down prices and increased availability worldwide. A lot of the progress in bringing electricity to rural villages in Africa is by using solar panel kits built in China. Electricity is a huge quality of life issue, and providing electricity in remote locations is a lot easier with solar panel kits than running power lines to a coal plant.
There are places in the world where it is already completely economically and technologically possible to meet nearly 100% of electricity needs with solar energy alone. This is due to massive improvements in the technology for solar panels and battery storage. Solar generation worldwide has doubled in the last three years and with China powering the transition (ha! pun intended), it isn’t going to slow down anytime soon.
Despite the Republicans slashing funding for renewables (Trump clawed back $22 billion in funding for renewables) even the USA is forging ahead with solar and wind power.
From the New Yorker: Something approaching a miracle has been taking place in California this spring. Beginning in early March 2025, for some portion of almost every day, a combination of solar, wind, geothermal, and hydropower has been producing more than a hundred per cent of the state’s demand for electricity. Some afternoons, solar panels alone have produced more power than the state uses. And, at night, large utility-scale batteries that have been installed during the past few years are often the single largest source of supply to the grid—sending the excess power stored up during the afternoon back out to consumers across the state. It’s taken years of construction—and solid political leadership in Sacramento—to slowly build this wave, but all of a sudden it’s cresting into view. California has the fifth-largest economy in the world and, in the course of a few months, the state has proved that it’s possible to run a thriving modern economy on clean energy.
Ironically, in 2025, 77% of new solar capacity has been built in states Trump won. Eight of the top 10 states for new installations — Texas, Indiana, Arizona, Florida, Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky, and Arkansas — all went red in 2024. Perhaps people who vote for Republicans will put enough pressure on their elected representatives that green energy can become bipartisan.
And you know what else is making progress? Wave power! Check out this article about wave power prototypes recently deployed in Los Angeles harbor. Harbors produce tons of pollution because of all that heavy machinery running nonstop to unload shipping containers, and the ships running their engines in close quarters — imagine if wave generators can clean up the air around harbors!
(This is a prototype; I’m getting ahead of myself; but the possibilities of wave energy are exciting. Imagine huge shipping container barges powered by wave energy instead of fossil fuels as they cross the ocean. Imagine a world with no more oil spills because oil doesn’t need to be shipped by tanker around the world because wind and solar and wave energy is produced where it’s used.)
From the article I linked above: “Eco Wave Power (NASDAQ: WAVE), a global leader in onshore wave energy technology, has achieved a major breakthrough for renewable energy in the United States: the successful launch of its first U.S. wave energy project at the Port of Los Angeles, developed in collaboration with AltaSea and Shell Marine Renewable Energy (MRE). This historic project marks the first onshore wave energy installation in the U.S., showcasing Eco Wave Power’s patented, award-winning technology and setting the stage for large-scale wave energy deployment along America’s coastlines and worldwide.”
Because the wave energy development is taking place in California, funding for wave energy is likely to remain available even as the Republicans decimate clean energy funding in the rest of the country.
Really, fossil fuels don’t make sense when renewable energy is cheap and available. When I’ve called my Representatives and Senators (all Republicans), I push the ‘energy independence’ line. Wind and solar don’t have to be imported. With the USA’s new focus on isolationism, detaching our power needs from imported fossil fuels ought to be one of the Republicans’ biggest priorities. If Trump wants the USA to become the AI capital of the world, that’s going to require a lot of power. Renewables are a lot cleaner and getting cheaper every day.
I’m worried about the future of my country. I love this country. And right now, I’m finding comfort in the fact that even if we stop leading the world in technological developments and scientific advances, there are a many countries who will step in to fill the void created when the USA decided to slash funding for research, science, and clean energy. Our country alone cannot propel climate change into the ultimate disaster if the planet has China, India, Brazil, and the European Union leading the way to reduce and replace fossil fuels. Renewables are going to be able to meet the power needs of the entire world. Truly, there is enough and to spare.
Viva la world!
- How much international news do you follow?
- How much non-political news do you follow? I’ve really enjoyed my substack subscription to Fix the News https://fixthenews.com/ The “fix” the name refers to is to stop focusing solely on crises and to report more about the solutions. This is where I get most of my information about the exciting progress in clean energy.
- What are your thoughts on renewable energy? Have you made any personal changes for the sake of the environment? No guilt trip if you haven’t – nothing we lowly non-billionaires can do can possibly cancel out the impact of all the private planes that flew to the Superbowl.
Wheat & Tares 
Thank you Janey. I really needed something to hope for that feels reachable. It is nice to see the efforts being made start to pay off.
On international news, I pay pretty close attention to the conflict in Ukraine, including reading Ukraine-based news outlets, because it is affecting a lot of people I care about that I know from my mission.
I’m strongly in favor of renewable energy, and I have solar panels on my roof. This is in fact one area outside of mainstream news that I keep fairly up to date on, in part because I’m an electrical engineer by training. I’m an optimist that we’ll see many continued advances that will continue to make these power sources less expensive. I’m sad to see the current administration go out of its way try to stop progress on this and cede leadership on these critical technologies to other countries. It’s frankly kind of weird that we’re now politicizing sources of electricity, but I think this is temporary. You can get rid of subsidies all you want (and I would say there’s a credible argument that they should always have been thought of as temporary), but the trends are clear that these new power sources will eventually become the most economical ones in nearly all situations regardless of government policy.
It should be said that the switch to these new power sources does have long-term consequences for the power grid that will require new investments and new solutions. This will undoubtedly be weaponized by some in our political discourse, but these problems are solvable. The existence of new challenges posed by large scale adoption of new technologies does not prove we shouldn’t adopt the new technology any more than the early problems posed by automobiles were a credible argument that we should have kept using horses.
We considered solar panels at my house but it turned out that even though we’re in sunny SoCal we have too many trees to get enough sun to justify the cost. That was tough news because we can’t puzzle out whether putting up the solar and eliminating oxygen- and shade-producing trees that reduce our seasonal need for energy was the net positive for the planet.
I follow the international and national news, but I also follow science and technology.
I have solar panels on my home and am on my second EV vehicle, an Equinox. I love it.
I’m sad that our country has ceded its leadership in alternative energy development but also in battery development, medical/drug development and who knows what other kinds of deveolopment. It worries me that we take away funds from research universities, gag their professors, and remove foreign students.
I know that the rest of the world will go on and lead us without us leading the way with science and technology, but it’s sad to see it happen when I know it’s more about “authority” than it is about either MAGA or even getting back to the Constitution.
I follow international news on a regular basis. In fact it helps me keep my sanity and perspective with everything happening in the US. I travel abroad about every year and when abroad it is fascinating to interact with different people. The challenges they face and the perspectives they have are much, much different than those in the US. Sometimes in the US it is too easy to get hung up on the latest media obsession with minutiae. Most people outside the US actually don’t know too much about what goes on in the US let alone the media cycle. I was in Bosnia a couple of years ago. At that time, people were seriously worried about the Republika Srpska breaking off and war breaking out again. Your religion and ethnic identity in Bosnia (Muslim Bosniak, Catholic Croat, Orthodox Serb) define you whether you like it or not. In a way it is nice to live in the US where ethnic and religious identities are more fluid and not so fixed.
I enjoy following non-political news and would like to follow more. I really enjoy following music news, especially news in the rock world. I enjoy interviews with singers and guitarists. Another nice relief from the daily drama of US political news.
Honestly I haven’t made too many sacrifices for renewable energy, although I plan on getting an electric car soon. I don’t consume much beef, so there’s that. But honestly I’m not too sure how much my meager efforts on my own would do to help the energy and climate crises. Although I am aware that individual actions across the collective can make an impact. I believe that these issues are better solved on the policy level. I’m actually encouraged that there is so much effort taken around the world to combat climate change and improve the environment. China and India (in spite of their horrific pollution levels) have become a world leaders in the fight against climate change and the development of renewable energy. More and more countries are powered by renewables. Even the less developed world, such as the DRC, have embraced renewable energy. Honestly I’m puzzled as to why so many Republicans have rejected the notion that climate change is happening. McCain and Romney had climate plans. Utah’s Senator John Curtis formed a climate caucus in the Republican Party. It is a tragedy that climate denying Trumpism has taken over. May this be for but a brief time.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-19/climate-conversation-is-stuck-but-things-are-changing/105787796
I live on the south side of Brisbane 27 degrees south latitude, similar to southern Florida. We have 300 days of sunshine a year, but also cyclones and floods,and other tropical weather. We have 30 solar panels 13kw, and 2 batteries, also a tesla x and 3. Our electricity bill is about $40 a month. But the federal government gave us a $1000 credit 9 months ago(to help with the cost of living) and we have $650 left. So haven’t paid an electric bill for 9 months. Our house walls are made of eco blocks (130mm of polystyrene and 150mm of concrete, and the bedroom roof is 250mm of concrete with 100mm of polystyrene. Whereas the living areas are 250mm cool room panels. Much better insulated than usual stick constructed houses, and stronger, so less cost to heat or cool, with reverse cycle heat pump. When we last replaced our hot water system we replaced it with a heat pump.
It is comforting to hear that there is climate action continuing in america even though trump is no longer supporting it on ideological grounds.Our conservative parties are also reticent on climate action.
Australia is just putting in its climate targets for 2035. I am not sure there won’t be a penalty for America for refusing to follow through on its commitment to help save the world from climate disaster. The poor will suffer most. I had the impression the EU had said they would not trade with a country that did not keep its climate commitments. Perhaps the whole world will boycott America, making trumps tarrifs irrelevant.
Our News media here have not been undermined as yours have. We watch the AustralianBC world news. And planet America. We are horrified that America is still supplying Israel with weapons to kill palistinians and their neighbours. Also Putin in Ukraine.
A huge environmental problem is meat consumption. There is some evidence, especially in western countries that people are eating less meat.
A book that I really enjoyed was “The Rational Optimist.” It gave me hope that as a species we may yet survive and even thrive.
Spoken (Written) by a tried and true, “dyed in the wool”, Leftist.
lefthandloafer — You’re right! What tipped you off? Was it the excitement about scientific progress? Was it the joy about the way we have enough resources for everyone? Was it the optimism? The possibility to solve a problem in a way that benefits so many people?
You’re welcome to put a bumper sticker on your car that says “I heart carbon monoxide”. I will continue to be excited and happy about clean energy.
Janey, I love you.
I am very much in favor of using “clean” energy where it is economically viable. According to our local utility, we have about 1/3 of our electricity generated by renewable sources, primarily windmills. This is well above the average for the US. There are plenty more windmills being installed nearby if the amount of parts I see when driving around the area is any indication. When you look at the merchant electricity markets, there are many times that electric power is sold to the grid at near zero cost (or even negative cost). Also, several coal power plants have shut down or permanently reduced output, even in a fairly conservative and free market state. Yet, our utility bill is rising faster than inflation. As consumers, we have not perceived a big benefit yet. I think many are wondering if it is a green energy scam if it costs us more.
Yes, it seems that China and other countries are doing more with solar power. There is a lot of mining of minerals and development required to produce and improve solar power. The NIMBY propensity in the US makes it less attractive to go all in on new mining and heavy industry. You mention several of the related programs required for high usage of solar to be practical and economical, like batteries and other grid improvements. Hopefully these can also be installed to support the solar power improvements.
Many previous federal government programs for renewable energy have been ineffective if not outright graft. Remember what happened with the billions sent to companies like Solyndra? I think that many people are completely fine with solar energy, especially in desert or low cost land, if they are not forced to pay a lot more for it.
I have followed energy policy in other countries to some degree. It seems that parts of Europe have approached the maximum practical use of some renewables, like windmills. Also, most other first world countries with higher renewables use than the US have much higher electricity costs. We will have a major advantage in AI with lower cost power for all the data centers being built. Global markets favor AI and other tech companies over solar or wind companies.