Your weekly resource to learn what the environmental movement is saying about the news of the day and the political fight of our generation. This week, we’re covering legislative action at the state and federal levels to combat climate change and the Trump administration’s dangerous agenda.
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“We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental. Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature.”
— Pope Francis, who passed away earlier this week, in his 2015 encyclical on climate change.
“Trump and Republicans have chosen polluters over the American people. They’re rolling back critical protections that keep our water clean, air safe, and communities healthy. This #EarthDay, we must fight back to protect our planet and the future of our children.”
— House Democratic Whip Representative Katherine Clark on the Trump administration’s rollback of protections for the environment and public health.
“We have a moral responsibility to future generations that supersedes any ultra wealthy executive’s desire to line their pockets.”
— Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) on reports that the Trump administration is considering shrinking several national monuments to allow for mining claims on currently protected lands.
MICHIGAN GOVERNOR LAUNCHES STATEWIDE HOME ENERGY REBATE PROGRAM: At the 2025 MI Healthy Climate conference in Detroit, Governor Gretchen Whitmer reaffirmed her commitment to achieving the goals outlined in the state’s 2022 climate law, including reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, amidst attacks on state-level climate action from the federal government. To help achieve those goals, Whitmer also launched a statewide home energy rebate program that aims to lower energy bills for Michigan residents. The program will benefit up to 15,000 Michigan households, with each household eligible for up to $34,000 in rebates.
MONTANA LEGISLATURE AUTHORIZES COMMUNITY SOLAR: Montana lawmakers passed a bill to allow shared solar projects in the state with an overwhelming 46-4 bipartisan majority. If signed into law, the bill would allow individuals and businesses who are unable to install rooftop solar to buy into and benefit from shared, offsite solar projects. Increasing access to solar can lower energy costs and improve public health.
OREGON HOUSE PASSES CLIMATE SCIENCE EDUCATION BILL: Legislators in the Oregon House passed a bill to require climate science and sustainability education to be a standard part of the curriculum in Oregon schools. Making climate science mandatory for Oregon students will help ensure they are climate literate and ready to take on complex climate-related challenges.
CHISPA EARTH DAY CELEBRATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY: Chispa organizers hosted and joined several events throughout Earth Week to celebrate and inform the important work they are doing on the ground nationwide.
CHISPA AZ: Chispa Arizona and over 50 community partners participated in the People’s Earth Day Festival, which brought together more than 500 people to celebrate Madre Tierra. The festival aimed to celebrate Earth by elevating the collective fight for environmental justice in Arizona, while fostering action-oriented education, leadership, and solidarity in a vibrant and safe space. The event featured speakers, workshops, music, activities for people of all ages and free food!
CHISPA MD: Chispa Maryland showed up across the state to celebrate Earth Day. In Langley Park, Chispa MD partnered with Asociación Cívica for local outreach; in Montgomery County, volunteers celebrated the 10th anniversary of GreenFest; and in Baltimore, organizers joined forces with Mis Raíces for a Día del Niño for an event centered on youth voices.
CHISPA NV: Chispa Nevada gathered members in Las Vegas for their April community meeting featuring campaign and legislative updates as well as a member-led yoga and meditation session to reflect, organize, and celebrate Earth Month together.
CHISPA TX: Chispa Texas hosted a week of events blending advocacy, creativity, and skill-building. This included a postcard party and succulent planting activity, a legislative lunch and learn, a digital storytelling training, and an in-person community event.
NCLCVF LAUNCHES ENERGY FUNDS FOR ALL CANVASS: North Carolina LCV Foundation’s (NCLCVF) Power the Vote program launched a canvassing effort that aims to knock on over 300,000 doors by August. Canvassers will be speaking to North Carolina residents about utility bill increases and sharing NCLCVF’s Energy Funds for All toolkit which provides information and resources to help people access federal energy assistance programs created by the Inflation Reduction Act. The canvass will also help register eligible voters.
DEMOCRATIC SENATORS INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO PROTECT OCEANS FROM OFFSHORE DRILLING: Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Jack Reed (D-RI) introduced two bills, the Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism (COAST) Anti-Drilling Act and the West Coast Ocean Protection Act, to protect the wildlife, ecosystems, industries, and communities that rely on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans from the dangers associated with offshore fossil fuel drilling. The bills would permanently ban the Department of the Interior from issuing oil and gas leases off the east and west coasts.
BOOKER TAKE: Senator Cory Booker said, “This week marks both Earth Day and the 15th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. I’m standing alongside my colleagues in the House and Senate to reaffirm our commitment to protecting our communities and our environment. Offshore drilling endangers our coastal communities – both their lives and their livelihoods – and threatens marine species and ecosystems. The COAST Act, along with this critical package of legislation, will ensure that marine seascapes along the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, and the wildlife, industries, and communities that rely on them, are protected from the dangers of fossil fuel drilling.”
SENATOR SCHATZ, REPRESENTATIVE CASTEN INTRODUCE BILL TO ADDRESS CLIMATE RELATED FINANCIAL RISK: Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Representative Sean Casten (D-IL) introduced a bill to require the Federal Reserve to conduct tests to measure the resilience of large financial institutions to climate-related financial risk, such as floods and wildfires.
SCHATZ TAKE: Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) said, “Risk is risk—we should not be treating some risks different from others just because they’re hard to quantify. Federal regulators are legally obligated to ensure a stable and efficient financial system, and that means reducing the risk of a climate-driven financial crisis. Instead of taking steps to reduce the risks facing communities across the country from increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather and disasters—including significantly higher costs for homeowners insurance—the Trump administration is trying to roll back our progress in the climate fight and gut the programs that will make us safer.”
WHITE HOUSE ISSUES EARTH DAY RELEASE: On Earth Day, the White House released a distinctly Orwellian (even by this administration’s standards) article on how President Trump’s policies are “helping” the environment. Examples of key actions the administration has taken to protect the environment included “pausing restrictive emissions rules for coal plants,” “opening more federal lands and waters for oil, gas, and critical mineral extraction,” and “pausing certain wind projects,” leaving all of us at LCV scratching our heads.
OUR TAKE: LCV Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld said, “On this 55th Earth Day, we reflect on the progress we’ve made, and the progress still needed to ensure that everyone has access to clean air, clean water, and safe and healthy communities. We recognize the fragility of what Carl Sagan referred to as the pale blue dot. Many people participate in acts of service to make their own community a little bit brighter. Unfortunately, the only thing Donald Trump is recycling this Earth Day are his own reckless policies that are hurting our wallets, making us sicker and less safe, and making our air and water dirtier.”
RUBIO SHUTTERS STATE DEPARTMENT’S CLIMATE OFFICE: Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he would be eliminating the office responsible for managing international climate change negotiations for the U.S. in order to comply with orders from President Trump to end U.S. participation in international agreements.
LCV ACTION FUND ENDORSES 62 HOUSE CANDIDATES: LCV Action Fund announced its endorsement of 62 climate champions for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections. View the full list of endorsements here.
LCVAF TAKE: LCV Action Fund Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld said, “With recent climate progress, bedrock environmental protections, our democracy, and our economy on the line, our first round of House endorsements this Earth Week is just the beginning of our work to ensure that a pro-environment majority wins the House in 2026. Fifty five years after the first Earth Day, these Congressional champions are fighting back against relentless attacks from Trump and his Big Polluter allies and working to protect our clean air and water, public lands, clean energy jobs, affordable energy and democracy. We are with them at every step and all-in to ensure they win reelection and to help flip the House in 2026.”
SENATOR DURBIN AND REPRESENTATIVE SCHAKOWSKY ANNOUNCEMENTS: Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced this week he will not run for re-election at the end of his term and Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09) announced she will be making a public decision on May 5 whether she will seek another term in the U.S. House.
OUR TAKE: LCV Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld said, “Senator Durbin and Representative Schakowsky are tremendous leaders for our communities, our climate, our democracy, and so much more, and we are so grateful for their longtime leadership. A healthy environment and a healthy democracy go hand in hand, and we applaud Senator Durbin’s leadership protecting voting rights and confirming judges who work for the people, not Big Polluters. Additionally, we commend Durbin’s commitment to national monuments, including his support for the designation of the Springfield Race Riot National Monument to confront our nation’s violent history towards Black communities. We also applaud Representative Schakowsky’s leadership as a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to advance clean energy, good-paying jobs, and the health and safety of our communities.”
IEC TAKE: Illinois Environmental Council Executive Director Jen Walling said, “Senator Durbin and Representative Schakowsky have anchored Illinois’ Congressional delegation and consistently represented the best interests of Illinoisans and our environment during their years of service and leadership. We have turned to them time and again for their partnership in our shared work to protect people and the environment from deep-pocketed oil and gas polluters’ anti-climate agenda. Senator Durbin’s support for the designation of the Springfield Race Riot National Monument, climate-smart agriculture programs and the inclusion of SNAP funding in the Farm Bill and Representative Schakowsky’s stalwart support for climate policies that create good jobs and healthier communities, among so many of their accomplishments, will leave a lasting legacy across the Prairie State for generations to come.”
COALITION CALLS ON EPA TO REINSTATE RISK MANAGEMENT DATA TOOL: The Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters, which LCV is a part of, sent a letter to EPA urging the agency to reinstate the Risk Management Program (RMP) Public Data Tool that was recently removed from the agency’s website. The RMP tool, which was introduced in March 2024, helps protect our communities and environment from dangerous industrial chemical releases.
COALITION TAKE: From the letter, “Costly and life-threatening emergency releases of chemicals at RMP facilities are an ongoing problem in areas where millions of Americans live, work, travel, shop, or go to school. For years, a fatal or life-threatening incident has occurred on average every two and a half days. Workers are often hurt first and worst in these incidents, alongside first-responders and community members living nearby… Access to safety information is a critical part of the solution. We urge EPA to restore and maintain the valuable RMP data tool on its public website.”
ON THE BLOG: Stay tuned on The Power Source blog for upcoming new content!
ON OUR SOCIALS: We wished our followers a happy Earth Day with a powerful video featuring an excerpt from Carl Sagan’s “Pale Blue Dot,” celebrated the life and legacy of climate champion Pope Francis, and uplifted climate champions in the House with our first round of endorsements for the 2026 midterm elections.
APRIL 29: House Committees begin markup of Republican’s Budget Reconciliation Bill.
APRIL 30: 100 days, 100 harms of the Trump administration.
MAY 1: May Day.
MAY 11: Mother’s Day.
MAY 26: Memorial Day.
©2025 League of Conservation Voters