Experts in national security and conservation are calling attention to dependence on foreign oil, saying it leads to wars, instability, and high gas prices across the country.
The group Elected Officials to Protect America hosted a roundtable in Washington, D.C., last week.
Yetide Badaki, an actress from Nigeria, said allowing fossil fuels to stick around leads to pollution and conflict.
"Policies that double down on fossil fuels do not save money," Badaki contended. "They hike costs, trash our public health, and destabilize nations. Everyday people pay the price at the pump, on their utility bills, and in the air that they breathe."
Badaki pointed to the Iran War, which has so far cost at least $38 billion to $42 billion, according to Pentagon estimates. Foreign policy experts said the situation has given Iran new leverage to choke off energy and fertilizers in the Strait of Hormuz.
President Trump has said the war is necessary to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Paul Foster, a member of Parliament in the United Kingdom and veteran of the Iraq War, says Russia has targeted Ukraine’s oil and gas pipelines, so Ukraine is working toward 100% renewable energy.
"Every wind turbine erected, every solar panel array deployed is a direct strike against the geopolitical leverage of hostile regimes. Unlike gas, nobody can ration the wind. Nobody can turn off the sun," Foster pointed out.
Alex Cornell du Houx is the co-founder and president of the advocacy group Elected Officials to Protect America, a Marine Corps combat veteran, and a former Maine state representative. He said the U.S. needs to build a grid with distributed clean energy, which is getting cheaper every year.
"Batteries went down 45% in cost last year. That's 93% since 2010. Solar has decreased in cost from over $100 a watt to less than ten cents a watt now," Cornell du Houx said.
The cost reductions for battery storage technology and other renewables are cited by the International Renewable Energy Agency and industry groups.
In making its own argument for energy independence, the Trump administration has taken steps to kill offshore wind projects and open up new leases for fossil fuel drilling.
Bonds for oil drilling on federal land may also get much cheaper, which could mean taxpayers have to foot the bill later on.
