The Jan. 17 news article “White House, governors confront rising electricity costs” underscored a rare moment of bipartisan agreement aimed at lowering energy costs for American families. Though the effort is commendable, it doesn’t go nearly far enough to help states across the country meet rising energy demands.
Nationwide, we have an enormous opportunity to take steps at every level of government to incentivize nuclear, wind, solar and natural gas energy generation. In addition to cost-distribution reforms, we need to implement policies that maximize our nation’s energy portfolio by tapping reliable and cost-effective power sources, like gas-fired power plants.
With the midterms fast approaching, Democrats must recognize the public’s embrace of any and all energy solutions. They need to act decisively and expeditiously to turn on as much power as possible to reduce utility bills and unleash economic expansion in every community.
Let’s build on recent momentum and bring to bear all types of reliable and affordable energy sources. Ushering in a clean-energy future requires “all of the above” — and more.
Terry McAuliffe, McLean
The writer is a former governor of Virginia and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
The right path for energy affordability
The Jan. 21 editorial “Massachusetts punts a green promise” suggested that Massachusetts residents should feel relief because the commonwealth is being more deliberate in developing its “Clean Heat Standard,” and infers from that step a larger retreat from climate commitments to address affordability. To the contrary, climate leaders like Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) know that doubling down on fossil fuels will not protect households saddled with high energy bills and compromised health from dirtier air.
Energy bills are high in New England and across the Northeast because the region is excessively dependent on natural gas, more and more of which is being diverted to overseas markets, driving prices higher.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts a nearly 30 percent rise in the Henry Hub natural gas price from 2025 to 2027. Liquefied natural gas exports are projected to increase by 9 percent in 2026 and 11 percent in 2027. Gas prices will rise even more as the massive expansion of LNG export capacity comes fully online and diverts more of our gas supply overseas.
A gas-dependent future is not the path to affordability. Thoughtfully planned investment in renewables and energy efficiency is that path. Forcing homes and businesses to subsidize new pipes and plants only deepens dependence on a commodity whose volatile prices spike every winter.
Pretending fossil fuels will suddenly become cheap, stable and reliable despite sending more of our production overseas is a fantasy. The real “chilling” policy is Washington’s effort to sabotage clean energy while asking taxpayers to foot the bill for more fossil fuel subsidies.
Brad Campbell, Boston
The writer is president of the Conservation Law Foundation.
Climate organizations are essential
Jan. 21 online editorial “How the United Nations alienates half of America” described the United States’ withdrawal from U.N. climate organization as deriving from a notion that the U.N. embraces “policies that alienate a significant portion of U.S. voters.”
One example was the assertion that the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has “long advocated” a more plant-based diet. As the former IPCC point person for the United States, I can say that this assertion is not correct.
The IPCC does not engage in advocacy; it merely synthesizes and highlights findings from scientific studies that are pertinent to the climate response.
More fundamentally, U.N. climate organizations don’t alienate half of America — not even close.
According to a November 2025 Yale-George Mason University survey, 77 percent of registered voters support U.S. participation in the Paris climate agreement, and 64 percent oppose the decision to withdraw the U.S. from the agreement.
The IPCC, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and other international climate institutions serve an essential role in addressing one of the critical issues for our children and grandchildren. And most Americans recognize their value.
Trigg Talley, Bethesda
The writer is a former director of the State Department’s Office of Global Change.
I’m still dancing
Contrary to the assertion of the Jan. 26 Style article, “Rest in peace to busting a move?,” dancing is alive, and in fact thrives, in the DMV. You just have to know where to find it. I have been dancing at local clubs for 25 years, most recently at the Black Cat in D.C., Metro Baltimore, the Renegade in Arlington and a dozen clubs in between. I won’t stop until my legs give out.
I dance with Gen A and Z patrons as well as Gen Xers and boomers. It’s sad to see patrons standing on the dance floor on their phones or talking rather than being in the music, feeling the energy, laughing with old friends and making new ones. Whether I dance alone or with a partner or friend, I let the beat and the lyrics carry me away, sometimes singing or shouting along to songs that transport me. I take note of new-to-me tunes to listen to later.
I hope we don’t lose this wondrous social interaction and connectivity to sedentary isolation. I agree that the inertia wave can overwhelm us, but only if we let it. So, don’t! I urge everyone to dance, dance, dance. What is more life-affirming?
Valerie Kirkwood, Arlington
The post Democrats must learn to say ‘all of the above’ on energy appeared first on Washington Post.
