Did You Know The Big Ugly Bill Is Also An Environmental Crime Scene… And A Climate Death Warrant?

Did you see Roland Emmerich’s 2004 climate change blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow? It starred Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sela Ward, Ian Helm and Emmy Rossum and was a huge box office hit that grossed over half a billion dollars. It depicts catastrophic climatic effects following the disruption of the North Atlantic Ocean circulation, in which extreme weather events brought mankind face to face with Climate Change and led to a new ice age. I remember the fury I felt towards the Dick Cheney character— who claimed climate change was fake news— and how I felt every corporate-align conservative lawmaker, plus the lobbyists and staffers, should be tried and suffer as ultimate a punishment as the world was suffering because of their actions. It’s over 2 decades later and I still feel that way— only stronger. (At least President Blake dies in a snowstorm but the Cheney character escapes to Mexico and sets up a new U.S. government in the U.S. embassy there.) Watch the trailer… feel the hatred conservatives deserve, not the conservatives in the movie, the conservatives in DC… and in your neighborhood.

The Senate’s version of Trump’s Big Ugly Bill does a lot of terrible things but one we haven’t talked about is Climate. It would roll back billions in green energy tax credits that will wipe out wind and solar investments nationwide, potentially disrupting the renewable energy sector's growth trajectory and affecting related jobs and economic activity… and the Senate’s version is a more measured approach than what Trump and the House wanted, but still fundamentally shifts federal energy policy away from renewable sources toward traditional and nuclear energy. If passed it will result in higher energy costs for consumers as the competitive pressure from subsidized renewable energy diminishes, while also eliminating direct consumer incentives for energy-efficient purchases and home improvements.

It goes right after the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 because Trump is a psychopath and his allies in Congress are sociopaths— certainly anyone who votes for the monstrosity. The bill modifies, scales back, or just outright eliminates several key tax credits and incentives that have driven the growth of clean energy in the U.S. It was designed to reduce the financial viability of new solar and wind projects, or, at the very least, slow deployment, while discouraging investment in renewable energy and reducing U.S. generation capacity by 300 gigawatts over the next decade, equivalent to multiple times the capacity needed for new AI data centers:

• Phase-Out of Tax Credits for solar and wind energy, reducing their value to 60% by the end of 2026, 20% by the end of 2027, and eliminating them entirely for projects beginning construction after 2028. This is a more gradual phase-out compared to the House version, which required projects to start construction within 60 days of enactment to qualify for credits.

• New Excise Tax on wind and solar projects, estimated to increase project costs by 10-20%, starting construction after June 16, 2025, through 2036, and to projects placed in service after 2027, even if already under construction. The American Clean Power Association estimates this could add $4-$7 billion in additional costs to clean energy businesses by 2036.

• Foreign Entity of Concern Restrictions tightens restrictions on projects using components from "Foreign Entities of Concern" (China), complicating supply chains, since China dominates critical mineral and component markets, and will increase costs on projects.

The Republicans also decided to target, albeit less drastically,  energy storage (batteries— like the ones being manufactured in Henderson and Sparks, Nevada; Salt Lake City; Holland, Michigan; Queen Creek, Tucson, Coolidge and Buckeye, Arizona; Weirton, West Virginia; and, worst hit of all: Tennessee— Chattanooga, Spring Hill, Clarksville, Etowah, Jackson, Stanton, Franklin and Vonore), with a 75% phase-down starting in 2034 to zero after 2035. This is how the Republicans are wreaking havoc across the country with the energy-related provisions of the bill:

• Elimination of the $7,500 tax credit for Electric Vehicles and the 30% credit for home EV chargers within 180 days of enactment, accelerating the House’s timeline. Obviously, the loss of these credits will make EVs less affordable and slowing adoption.

• Termination of Consumer Credits for energy efficiency and rooftop solar within 180 days of enactment. These credits supported energy-efficient upgrades like heat pumps, insulation and rooftop solar installations. Homeowners will lose financial incentives for energy-saving upgrades, reducing adoption of efficient appliances and rooftop solar and slowing the transition to electrified homes, while increasing reliance on Trump’s campaign donors in fossil fuel-based heating and electricity industries.

• The IRA’s green hydrogen production credit is only available for projects starting construction in 2025, ending immediately thereafter severely limiting the development of hydrogen hubs, which were expected to attract $40 billion in private investment and create thousands of jobs, bringing the whole sector to a standstill until Republicans are voted out of government, undermining efforts to develop low-carbon fuel alternatives for heavy industry and transportation.

• The Senate bill postpones the Waste Emissions Charge (WEC) for methane pollution from 2024 to 2034, rendering it ineffective for a decade, reducing incentives for oil and gas companies to mitigate methane leaks, a potent greenhouse gas while encouraging fossil fuel development by reducing royalty rates for coal leasing on federal lands and speeding up approvals for oil and gas projects, locking in long-term reliance on non-renewable sources.

The changes to green energy incentives in the Senate bill will likely lead to higher consumer energy prices in the medium to long term, driven by reduced clean energy deployment, increased reliance on fossil fuels and supply chain disruptions. The loss of renewable capacity, particularly in high-demand regions like Texas and California, will lead to grid reliability problems, especially as demand grows from AI data centers and electrification, which will result in higher prices during peak demand or blackouts. 

Overall, the bill’s rollback of clean energy incentives will increase energy prices by 8-10% by 2035, with some projections suggesting a 50% rise by 2035 due to reduced efficiency and renewable capacity. On average, households will face annual increases of $250-$415, with low-income families hit hardest due to the loss of efficiency rebates. The reduction in clean energy investment will lead to as many as 830,000 job losses (by 2030) and reduce economic activity in renewable-heavy regions, indirectly affecting consumer costs through lower wages and economic growth.

Ironically, Republican districts, which received 81% of IRA investments, will face significant economic disruption from canceled projects, potentially leading to higher local energy prices and job losses. On top of that, clean energy advocates argue that the bill cedes U.S. leadership in renewables to China, which dominates supply chains. 

When it comes to the Climate Crisis, the GOP’s Big Ugly Bill is a suicide pact disguised as policy as much as it is a betrayal of science and a sop to fossil fuel donors. Republicans like Mike Lawler are declaring war on the planet and the people who will suffer first and most from its collapse. And for what? To punish a solar panel manufacturers in Pataska, Ohio;  Dalton and Norcross, Georgia; Mesquite and Wilmer, Texas, Lawrence County, Alabama and Fort Mill, South Carolina? To own the libs? To preserve ExxonMobil’s quarterly earnings?

Yesterday I was discussing this with progressive Democrat Tanya Lloyd, whose district runs along the very windy Texas Gulf Coast and which will be facing severe economic distress if the bill passes, something neither Texas senator— Monday night, both Ted Cruz and John Cornyn voted against maintaining parity for wind and solar facilities in an amendment to Trump’s Big Ugly Bill— nor the district’s MAGA incumbent, Michael Cloud, has said a word about. You can help her replace Cloud here. Tanya told me that “Trump wants to tax wind energy at punitive rates to help pay for his tax cuts for the rich. This bill is the most significant transfer of wealth in U.S. history— from millions of the poorest people to a few of the wealthiest. The bill directly threatens Texas's clean energy leadership and the broader energy transition in the U.S. This legislation would cripple our state's wind energy sector— which currently provides 28% of Texas' electricity and supports 26,135 high-wage jobs averaging $109,826 annually. By retroactively terminating tax credits for projects not operational by 2027 and imposing a 50% excise tax on wind farms using components from "foreign entities of concern," the bill would increase project costs by 10-20%. This overlooks the reality that Texas's grid reliability is already strained by AI data centers demanding power equivalent to 30 nuclear reactors by 2030. Slashing wind investment now would force greater reliance on fossil fuels, risking blackouts during extreme weather while abandoning $1.7 billion in annual economic contributions from wind. This bill prioritizes fossil fuel subsidies at the expense of our climate stability and economic future. It undermines U.S. energy independence by stifling domestic wind manufacturing— a sector projected to create 455,000 jobs in Texas through 2046— while accelerating climate disasters that disproportionately threaten Gulf Coast communities. The Rhodium Group estimates these provisions could raise electricity prices by 19% by 2030 and 61% by 2035, hitting working families hardest. As ERCOT warns of needing 149 gigawatts to meet surging demand, this legislation would sacrifice affordable, reliable wind power to benefit polluting industries. We must reject this dangerous reversal of progress and invest in upgrading our grid and workforce instead of sentencing Texans to higher bills, fewer jobs, and a destabilized climate.”

New Deal Democrat Lukas Ventouras is running for the Long Island congressional seat Nick LaLota managed to win. Ventouras believes we need to be good stewards of the environment. No idea what LaLota thinks but his votes indicate that he doesn’t care about the environment— or the climate crisis— one bit. “LaLota has once again put Suffolk County at extreme risk,” said Ventouras. “He often talks a big game about protecting our shores, and our waterways, but he essentially just voted to put the final nail in the coffin with regard to Climate Change, and new Green energy. We are already past the point where we cannot reverse the damage done to our planet by greedy CEOs and sociopathic politicians like Nick LaLota. A person's character can be judged quite easily, when they are prone to saying one thing, and doing another behind closed doors. We see the tsunamis ripping through coastal towns, rising sea levels, raging wildfires and so much more, and Nick LaLlota, who is more cynical than stupid, knows all of this. That's what makes it worse. We are relying on the party of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nick LaLota, and “Big Balls,” to protect and defend our country, and our safety. It's laughable. Climate change will forcibly displace billions of poor people across the globe. The International Organization for Migration has cited estimates ranging from 1 billion to 1.2 billion climate migrants in the coming decades. Many will be forced to leave their homes due to extreme weather events, and other climate-related disasters such as rising sea levels. Long Island is a small and relatively unprepared place to deal with the catastrophic excesses of our billionaire class. Think about how we have all been gaslit. We were always told by politicians that if we recycled and did our part, things could progress. This was always bullshit. Everyone should recycle, and try to limit their ‘carbon footprint,’ but if every person on the globe did their part, it would barely mitigate the damage that billionaires, politicians, and the war machine do to our planet on a daily basis. Nick LaLota is too dangerous, and too radical for Suffolk County. The issue is, the crop of Democrats we have put forward in this district have been woefully inadequate, and are completely unable to articulate the issues of our day in a way that makes sense. It is time to put in a transparent and hard working, fed up, patriotic American to do the job.”