Guest column: Iran can't block the sun and wind

First published as a Guest Column, Brunswick Beacon, 05.07.26

As of this writing, global oil supply is down about 12 million barrels per day — more than the combined losses during the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo and the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Trump’s Iran War exposed the folly of his efforts to kill renewable energy and make America even more dependent on fossil fuels.

Trump went to war for regime change. He demanded “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” and said, “I have to be involved” in choosing Iran’s new leaders.

That didn’t happen. The ayatollahs remain in power — and now control the Strait of Hormuz, which carries Persian Gulf oil to the world. Iran blocked Hormuz and began charging tankers millions for safe passage. Shipping experts call it “the Tehran Toll Booth.”

Before the war, 20% of the world’s oil passed through Hormuz daily. Most went to Asia; just 2% to the U.S. — the lowest level in 40 years. So why are Americans paying more for gas?

Because oil is a global commodity. When supply is disrupted anywhere, prices rise everywhere. After Iran blocked Hormuz, U.S. crude skyrocketed from $55 to over $115 a barrel. The national average price for regular gasoline soared from under $3 to over $4 a gallon.

Trump denies that reality when he says, “We don’t need the Hormuz Strait. We have so much oil. Our country is not affected.” Americans know better — the proof is at the pump.

When Trump says “we have so much oil,” he doesn’t mention that “we” don’t own it. Oil companies do — and they sell it to the highest bidder. With Hormuz blocked, buyers around the world bid up prices — and oil companies charge Americans more, even for oil they pump right here.

“Drill, baby drill” is no answer. No matter how much we produce, oil remains a global commodity, leaving us at the mercy of the global oil market — and vulnerable to costly and perverse outcomes.Consider this: Russia is helping Iran target American bases. So far, 13 Americans have died and 381 have been wounded. Even so, Trump lifted sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil to boost global supply and lower domestic gas prices. They are now selling more oil at higher prices than before the war. Trump rewarded them with an economic windfall, effectively trading American blood for cheaper oil.

Trump’s former National Security Advisor John Bolton sharply criticized his former boss: “Thanks to decisions by this administration, when Iran’s own oil transits the strait, it is earning income to wage war against U.S. service members. What sense does that make?” Enriching the very enemies who are trying to kill us makes no sense, except to those trapped by the perverse logic of oil dependence. That’s not energy security — it’s self-sabotage.

How can we escape the oil trap? During the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo, Nixon imposed price controls on American oil companies. They simply cut production, leading to shortages, rationing and long gas lines.

There is a better solution: energy that can’t be blocked or exported.

Our enemies cannot blot out the sun or choke off the wind. Electricity from an Arizona solar panel or North Carolina wind farm is produced and consumed locally, not globally. It can power homes and businesses for decades and shield us from global energy shocks.

Trump weakened America when he killed renewable energy programs. He ended tax credits for wind and solar, blocked nearly completed projects, and paid a French company to kill an offshore North Carolina wind farm. Our governor Josh Stein said, “Our state has the offshore wind potential to power millions of homes with renewable American-made energy. It’s ludicrous and wasteful that the Trump administration is spending $1 billion in taxpayer money to pay off a company to stop it from investing private dollars to create the clean energy we need.”

China, by contrast, eagerly embraced renewable energy. Last year, it built more solar capacity than the rest of the world combined. China became the global leader in renewable energy because it understands what Americans are learning the hard way: oil is not the future — it’s a trap.

Trump’s Iran War proves that as long as we rely on fossil fuels that ship through global chokepoints, our enemies can, and will, hold us hostage. But no enemy can block the sun or the wind. Renewable energy is the best way to guarantee America’s economic security, its energy independence, and its freedom.

Shelley Allen, Chair

Brunswick County Democratic Party