This month we’re looking back at the most read stories from 2024. Our readers honed in on the climate action made possible by federal investments, states’ clean energy progress, clean school buses, and state democracy wins. You’ll also learn about a recent major clean energy victory in Massachusetts.
The Year’s Most Read Stories
1. Helping IRA Funds Flow to Communities
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) turned two in August, and LCV and ourstate affiliates have helped states, localities, and individuals access its clean energy investments and put those funds to use. Benefits include saving people billions of dollars on home energy efficiency upgrades, launching thousands of clean energy projects in low-income and disadvantaged communities, reducing energy prices, and creating more than 330,000 good-paying clean energy jobs.
From the Northeast to the desert Southwest, critical policies to advance clean energy are reshaping energy production as massive projects come online — boosting economies, cleaning up our air and water, protecting communities, and holding polluters accountable. LCV’s state affiliates have created groundbreaking partnerships to build sizable clean energy progress, joining forces across states, with labor unions, and with local governments — and building and mobilizing a groundswell of grassroots support. As a result, solar and wind energy are powering millions of homes, cleaner transportation solutions are being implemented nationwide, and important investments and other benefits are reaching communities that have historically been underserved and overburdened by pollution.
Related: LCV’s just released our Clean Energy For All: 2024 Clean Energy Success in the States report that details the exciting progress made in 31 states this year. The report offers hope for the future and shows that we are advancing clean energy everywhere, thanks in large part to the advocacy of LCV’s state affiliates. This progress is benefiting people and communities across the country and tackling the climate crisis — even if the federal government won’t. Read about 2024 clean energy progress in the states.
Watch LCV State Policy and Advocacy Manager Alice Redhead share highlights from states’ 2024 progress:
3. Thousands of Electric School Buses Hit the Road
Every day in the U.S., 20 million children ride to and from school on dirty diesel buses, causing an array of issues, including worsened asthma, increased risk of cancer, increased school absences due to related health challenges, and resulting lowered academic performance. LCV’s Chispa program is fixing that, helping to roll out thousands of clean school buses in 280 school districts serving 7+ million students across the country.
From ballot initiatives to the leaders we elect, decisions affecting our health and environment begin at the ballot box. And yet, communities across the country are facing threats to democratic access. Laws limiting voting access and inhibiting the ability of officials to fairly administer elections have been enacted in more than half of U.S. states since 2021. LCV and our state affiliates launched landmark legislative campaigns and supported ballot measures to protect voting rights across the country this year. Together, LCV’s state affiliates havewon more than 254 democracy-related policy victories in 2024.
Despite the losses, there are bright spots to be celebrated in last month’s election results. LCV’s November Top 5 is chock full of insight and contains stories that are among the most read in 2024. In it, you’ll learn about what we accomplished, what comes next, how we helped elect pro-climate U.S. senators and House members in presidential battleground states, and state and local victories. You’ll also get a behind-the-scenes look at some of our dedicated grassroots volunteers.
Trump’s imminent return to the White House has sparked a renewed resolve from state and local leaders to pick up the mantle of climate action. In mid-November, Massachusetts passed a landmark climate omnibus bill, the first state climate action legislation since the election. The package includes major clean energy siting and permitting reforms, commitments to develop energy storage and clean energy including offshore wind, and historic reforms to phase out gas use in buildings — setting the bar high for the level of climate action needed from states in the next Trump administration.
Tell Senators: REJECT Trump’s Anti-Science Energy Secretary Nominee
Donald Trump has chosen Big Oil CEO Chris Wright to be the next Secretary of Energy. If Wright is confirmed by the Senate, it would put a climate change denier in charge of the country’s energy policy at a critical moment. Many senators aren’t aware of Wright’s most extreme views — and we need your help to change that. Don’t let the Senate vote without hearing from you.
Photo by Cameron Smith via The White House Flickr
