Climatize and the Contradiction at the Heart of Trump's Energy Policy
In the rolling fields of Tennessee and the sun-drenched farms of Georgia, a quiet revolution is underway. Climatize, a platform enabling everyday Americans to invest in renewable energy projects, is at the forefront of this transformation. By channeling funds into solar installations for rural farms and battery storage for local businesses, Climatize is not just promoting clean energy; it's revitalizing rural economies and empowering communities.
Contrast this grassroots momentum with the Trump administration’s energy platform: an agenda built around fossil fuel expansion and sharp cuts to renewable energy programs. The administration’s proposed rollback of $15 billion in renewable energy and carbon capture grants, and the attempt to cancel $3.7 billion in clean energy project funding, is a direct challenge to the kind of work Climatize is doing. While Washington debates ideology, Climatize is helping people like Josh Dowdy keep the lights on—and the tractors running.
Dowdy, an Army veteran turned farmer, is a living example of what smart, targeted renewable energy support can do. With the help of Section 48 Investment Tax Credits and the USDA's Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), he installed solar power on his farm, cutting operational costs and building long-term sustainability into his land. For Dowdy, these aren’t partisan talking points. They’re tools for independence, dignity, and staying on the land he fought to protect.
The same is true for the Pulliam family—owners of a trucking and farming business—who shared their experience of transforming their operations into local power generators. These are small business owners making big moves, leveraging federal clean energy incentives to insulate themselves from rising fuel prices and volatile energy markets.
And then there’s Debra Lockard, a third-generation farmer operating in a food desert. For her, these incentives are not about profit—they're about survival. REAP and Section 48 credits have helped keep her farm viable in a time when many small farms are shuttering. Her produce nourishes communities that don’t have access to healthy food options. Without these programs, she says plainly, her farm might not exist.
So why is the Trump administration determined to dismantle the very tools that empower people like Dowdy, the Pulliams, and Lockard?
Waste Not, Watt Not
It comes down to an ideological conviction that government spending on clean energy is wasteful—even when it demonstrably works. “Waste,” in this framework, is anything that doesn’t flow to fossil fuel interests or large-scale industrial players. But watch the Climatize video, and you’ll see people whose lives and livelihoods have been transformed by these programs. What looks like waste from the marble halls of Washington is lifeblood in rural America.
Climatize’s work reveals the deep mismatch between top-down policy and bottom-up reality. While the Trump administration pursues “energy dominance” through expanded oil drilling, rural Americans are voting with their rooftops—and solar panels.
In a country grappling with climate disruption, economic inequality, and rural decline, this isn’t just about energy. It’s about whose future we’re funding.
Watch the compelling video above.