I don’t want to be a sore loser, but sometimes being No. 2 really stings, especially when you know you could have been No. 1 if your team had tried just a little harder, worked together a little better and truly wanted that No. 1 position.

The United States is not acting like a leader or a winner when it comes to clean energy.

Since when are Americans OK with coming in second?

Losing because the team can’t work together is embarrassing, and it is criminal that America is not the No. 1 leader in the clean energy industry that is booming in parts of the world.

The time is over for talking about creating clean energy jobs, ending our dependence on foreign oil, implementing carbon caps and reclaiming our international leadership position.

The U.S. Congress needs to pass comprehensive clean energy legislation this year, because I don’t want to be No. 2. I don’t want to see what the U.S. could have been. I want to fill our mills back up, not tear them down or watch them burn.

I want to have pride in a country that knows how to be the best and is best. Settling for less is unacceptable. The benefits are too numerous; the potential for disaster too great if we don’t act.

I want to be part of the generation that leads America into the 21st century where clean energy economy is No. 1.

No one wants to fight to be No. 2.

Katie Glencross, Sabattus