China’s Alt Energy Blitz Exposes Trump’s Fossil Fantasy
Coming up Friday on Hitting Left: EPA workers and scientists fight back.
Trump at the UN: Fossil Fantasies and Windmill Rage
“Immigration and the high cost of so-called green, renewable energy is destroying a large part of the free world and a large part of our planet,” Trump said, warning his fellow leaders that, if they don’t emulate his policies restricting migration and expanding the use of fossil fuels, it would “be the death of western Europe.” — The Guardian
For almost an hour on Tuesday, Donald Trump stood at the podium of the UN General Assembly, where presidents, kings, and statesmen have delivered some of the most important and moving speeches in modern history. But Trump delivered a long and humiliating rant, filled with personal grievances and attacks on the UN, European leaders, migration policies, and clean energy.
Trump launched a full-throated attack on green energy during his speech, calling climate change “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world” and labeling renewable energy a “green scam.”
Key Moments
Climate Denial Redux: Trump spent about a quarter of his speech undermining UN-led efforts to address climate change and ridiculing renewable energy policies. He denied the scientific consensus that humans, through the burning of fossil fuels, are causing global warming, calling it “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”. Trump added that warnings of severe floods, widespread droughts, extreme heat waves, and other climate-related disasters “were made by stupid people”.
Renewables as “Joke”: He derided wind and solar as ineffective and expensive, claiming they’re “the most expensive energy ever conceived”.
Europe Under Fire: Trump accused European nations of “suicidal energy ideas” and said their climate policies were “destroying a large part of the free world.” He also celebrated his decision to withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement, which committed nearly all countries in the world to reducing greenhouse emissions and limiting global warming below levels that could lead to catastrophe.
Praise for Fossil Fuels: He promoted “clean, beautiful coal” and touted executive orders that “unleashed massive energy production”.
China as Foil: Trump blamed China for global emissions and mocked Europe’s carbon reductions as meaningless in the face of China’s fossil fuel reliance.
By the conclusion of his meandering and unhinged speech, Trump tried to advance a dark narrative: that immigration, along with reliance on clean energy sources, posed an existential threat to western nations.
* * *
‘Revolution Wind’
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge ruled Monday that a nearly complete offshore wind project halted by the administration can resume, dealing Trump a setback in his ongoing effort to restrict the fledgling industry.
In August, the Trump administration issued a stop-work order on Revolution Wind, a $5 billion offshore wind farm off the coasts of Rhode Island and Connecticut, citing vague “national security” concerns. In fact, the Department of Defense had previously signed off on the project, stating it posed no adverse impact to military operations. The project was 80% complete, with over $5 billion invested and 1,000 workers on site.
Developers Ørsted and Skyborn Renewables sued, joined by both states, and on September 22, Judge Royce Lamberth granted a preliminary injunction, calling the administration’s actions “arbitrary and capricious” and warning of irreparable harm if work didn’t resume.
Why It Matters
Revolution Wind will power 350,000 homes and deliver 704 megawatts of clean energy—about 2.5% of the region’s electricity needs. The ruling is a major blow to Trump’s broader campaign to dismantle offshore wind, which included revoking permits, canceling federal funding, and freezing new leases.
Sidebar: Block Island, a beloved summer destination for many in our family, off the coast of Rhode Island, is home to about a thousand year-round residents. It’s known for unspoiled beaches, dramatic bluffs, and charming Victorian inns.
And, more recently, for the nation’s first commercial offshore wind farm.
* * *
China vs. Trump’s Fossil Folly
While Trump clutches his coal and chants “drill, baby, drill,” China is quietly rewriting the global energy script. The numbers aren’t just staggering—they’re humiliating for any nation like the U.S., still tethered to fossil-fueled delusions:
China now produces two-thirds of the world’s electric vehicles, over 60% of its wind turbines, and more than 85% of global battery capacity. In 2024 alone, China invested $940 billion in clean energy—nearly matching the total global expenditure on fossil fuels. Chinese firms filed 75% of global clean energy patents, while U.S. policy debates still revolve around whether climate change is “real.”
* * *
This Week on Hitting Left with Mike Klonsky & Friends
EPA scientist Colin Kramer joins us from AFGE Local 704—where collective bargaining was declared a national security threat.
Colin Kramer is an EPA scientist, unionist, and frontline witness to Trump’s quiet purge of labor rights. When AFGE Local 704 was stripped of its bargaining power under the guise of “national security,” Kramer and his colleagues organized the resistance—from union rights to environmental protection.
Tune in for a sharp look at federal labor under siege, environmental workers under pressure, and the legal fight to keep unions alive.
Hitting Left airs Fridays at 11 a.m. CT on Lumpen Radio 105.5 FM and streams worldwide at lumpenrdio.com.
