“Over the last 12 months, electricity prices have risen 6%, more than twice the overall rate of inflation. Natural gas has gone up a whopping 14%. That kind of volatility is exactly what happens when a nation relies too heavily on fossil fuels,” Pete Wyckoff writes. Above, the North Star Solar project covers 1,000 acres in Chisago County with more than 440,000 panels. (Brian Peterson/The Minnesota Star Tribune)