Fossil-fuel-free future is here already

Our future is here, but our leadership seems unaware, judging by the campaign coverage. Only a few months ago, Elon Musk and his Tesla companies unveiled now-available products that are revolutionizing the world we live in.

Ultra durable and attractive roofing tiles that transform a roof into a solar panel. A $8,750 “Powerwall” that stores and manages electricity to run a house. Couple them, and a house can be off the grid indefinitely. Plug a $35,000 US Tesla 3 electric car (with a 350-kilometre range per charge) into the system, and our future is here.

In B.C., more than 40,000 new houses were built in 2016. About 15,000 new cars are purchased each month in B.C. Imagine if these all were being built with solar roofs and on-site energy storage. Imagine if existing houses were retrofitted. The cars were all electric.

China recently announced it is investing $360 billion US in renewable-energy facilities over the next two years, and creating 13 million jobs.

In B.C., we hear support for oil-pipeline expansions. We are told transitioning from fossil fuels will take time, but we see the products exist now. Affordable, practical and attractive.

Shouldn’t we be hearing about incentives to encourage B.C. builders and consumers to invest in the clean future? Shouldn’t B.C.’s leadership be switching fossil-fuel supports and subsidies in favour of these technologies?

They speak of “innovation.” What are they waiting for? Tyler Ahlgren Fairfield