Elizabeth Lynch: How China Beat the U.S. and Became the New Green Tech Giant: "China no longer needs to worry about the U.S. as a serious green-technology competitor because the U.S. just left the race. After a year-long impasse, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid confirmed on July 22, 2010 that the Democrats would not be able to secure enough votes to pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act and, thus, would abandon any further efforts to do so"