In the days before Microsoft existed, I recall a huge billboard in Seattle during one of the recessions that hit Boeing especially hard. It said, “Will the Last Person to Leave Seattle Please Turn Off the Lights.”

With Google and Microsoft having both left the sinking ship of ALEC, one wonders who will be the last one to turn out the lights of this major climate change denier known as the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Rounding up the usual suspects like Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries, Duke Energy, Peabody Energy, Chevron and the like, ALEC struggles to question the validity of scientific research conducted by what at last count were more than 9,000 scientists worldwide who concur that global warming is largely man made. The self-described purpose of ALEC is to promote “freedom of speech and opinion,” but a glance at what’s left of their membership would lead a casual observer to believe that they attribute global warming to just the natural tail end of an ice age — nothing that should prompt a turn away from fossil fuels.

Eric Schmidt, Google’s executive chairman, however, was quoted on National Public Radio as saying that ALEC was “literally lying” and that it had been a mistake for Google to be a member in the first place.

The current administration has made some major investments of our tax dollars in alternative energy projects that certainly offer hope for the future. However, the amount of money sloshing around in politics can subvert what most would consider common sense. Think about the time that President Reagan made a show of removing the solar hot water panels that President Carter had installed on the roof of the White House.

If Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma assumes the chairmanship of the Senate Environment Committee, the same sort of rollback of progress could be forthcoming. In his book on the subject, for example, he explains global warming as “God’s will” and that we are powerless to do anything about it. Not surprisingly, the fossil fuel industry continues to be one of his major campaign contributors.

Meanwhile, with regard to our portfolios, the rest of us can walk the walk that has been much of our talk. A handful of mutual funds have formed to meet the needs of investors who want to support alternatives to fossil fuels. To pick an example, Shelton Green Alpha Fund is a new fund launched by Shelton Capital Management as recently as March 2013. Since its inception, it has gained roughly 50 percent over the past year and a half.

As might be expected, the fund’s major holdings include the darlings of the alternative energy sector — SolarCity, First Solar, Canadian Solar, Tesla, and so on. … The wind behind the back of the alternative energy sector continues to be the fact that we may have reached the tipping point wherein people recognize the value of solar and wind power — especially solar thanks to its adaptability on a small scale — like personal computers.

Since panel costs have been substantially reduced over the past few years, the economics have become increasingly positive.

A reader asked if I had any advice as a substitute for bank CDs and my first thought was that rooftop solar created a guaranteed return in dollars equal to what the buyer no longer sends to the power company. The comparative value dwarfs what would have been a CD interest rate. If a $30,000 panel installation saves $2,000 in electric bills per year, the equivalent rate of return is 6.6 percent.

But it gets better. Since we pay for electricity with after-tax dollars, most of us would have to earn 10 percent on a guaranteed investment to net (after taxes) the equivalent of 6.6 percent. Remember, earnings on investments are taxed at everyone’s highest marginal combined state and federal tax brackets — the tax we pay on the last few dollars of income. The 6.6 percent return cited above is equivalent to earning that income on a tax-free municipal bond. Forget how long it takes to “get your money back.” That assumes that the panels would be useless to the next buyer of the house.

The Germans have figured this out. At more than 30 percent, they are way ahead of us when it comes to adopting alternative energy. Maybe this has happened because there are no oil wells or coal mines in Germany that can become feeding troughs for their politicians.

Steve Butler can be reached at 925-956-0505, ext. 228. His email address is sbutler@pensiondynamics.com