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 attacks on our climate and democracy, and the wins keeping us going.
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“Today is a win for Hoosiers, and a win for our democracy.”
— Megan Robertson, executive director of Indiana Conservation Voters, on the Indiana Senate’s decision not to advance a new gerrymandered congressional map.
“By raising costs with his bans on clean energy, and rolling back dozens of clean air and water protections, Trump is making life less sustainable for regular folks every day.”
— LCV Vice President of Federal Policy Matthew Davis on Trump receiving a medal from the Nobel Sustainability Trust.
“If passed as is, the PERMIT Act will increase pollution in our public waters and strip state and tribal rights to effectively protect their own waters. It will also dramatically increase water bills across the country, particularly in rural communities.”
— Representative Kristen McDonald Rivet speaking on the House floor in opposition of the PERMIT Act.
NEW REPORT OUTLINES HOW WE CAN SLASH ELECTRIC BILLS: A new report from RMI details how the affordability crisis is affecting people’s energy bills across the country, and provides solutions to reduce energy bills for our communities.
RMI TAKE: From the report, “Energy affordability is now a national concern, and many energy experts are saying we’d be lucky to stabilize costs, that cutting bills isn’t even possible. That’s wrong. We can actually cut energy bills a lot.”
HOUSE REPUBLICANS ADVANCE ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION: House Republicans advanced a slew of anti-environmental and pro-polluter permitting bills – including the PERMIT Act (H.R. 3898), H.R. 3668, and H.R. 3628 – that would make it easier for expensive dirty energy projects to get approved while sidelining clean, affordable energy, decimating clean water safeguards, and cutting out the public’s voice while doing nothing to lower energy costs.
OUR TAKE: LCV Vice President of Federal Policy Matthew Davis said, “We need to remove the barriers to building cheap and fast-to-deploy clean energy sources that are best positioned to meet rising energy demand, address skyrocketing costs, protect our communities, and ensure access to clean air and water. That starts with stopping the Trump administration from effectively banning clean energy, which threatens half of all new electricity projected to come onto our country’s grid in the next five years. It also means building transmission, speeding up the connection of clean energy projects, modernizing our grid and more.
“But House Republicans are doing none of these things. Instead, they are, once again, prioritizing handouts to their fossil fuel buddies, over helping support the real solutions to address skyrocketing energy costs for hardworking families. Passing this slate of extreme bills would further advantage expensive dirty energy, while kneecapping cheap clean energy and preventing public input on harmful projects that could impact our communities. Our public lands, waters, health and communities are at risk, as these bills could mean more pipelines, coal-fired power plants, and other projects polluting our air, water, and land.”
REP. QUIGLEY TAKE: Representative Mike Quigley, co-chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition and member of the New Democrats Coalition, said, “This week, House Republicans passed THREE BILLS to raise your electricity costs and abandon cheap, clean energy. Once again, they have chosen to double down on failed policies that have increased electricity prices 13% nationwide since the beginning of Trump’s term.”
INDIANA SENATE REJECTS TRUMP’S MID-DECADE REDISTRICTING PUSH: The Indiana state Senate voted 31-19 to reject a Trump-backed push to redraw congressional maps in the state. The proposed maps would have wiped out the only two Democratic districts in Indiana.
ICV TAKE: Indiana Conservation Voters Executive Director Megan Robertson said, “Today is a win for Hoosiers, and a win for our democracy. Lawmakers listened and made the right choice, and we are grateful.
“By halting this unnecessary and deeply unpopular attempt to redraw Indiana’s Congressional maps mid-decade, the Senate affirmed what people across our state have been saying for months: Hoosier leaders need to be focused on issues that affect our everyday lives, not a misguided plan to redraw maps that were just drawn four years ago.”
NEW YORK ESTABLISHES MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING PROGRAM: New York finalized new regulations that require major polluters including factories, power plants, landfills, and fossil fuel companies to measure and report their climate emissions annually. This data will allow state regulators to develop strategies to reduce pollution and track progress and is especially critical since EPA announced it will no longer require greenhouse gas emissions reporting.
NYLCV TAKE: New York LCV said, “We applaud Commissioner Lefton and the Department of Environmental Conservation for finalizing New York’s Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. With the EPA abandoning their duty to collect this information and protect Americans, this rule could not come at a better time. Reliable, comprehensive emissions data is essential for effective climate action, and this program will provide the information necessary to ensure clean air and healthier communities across New York.
“By identifying the state’s largest emitters, particularly those affecting disadvantaged communities, this rule also strengthens accountability and ensures solutions are directed where they’re needed most through the Clean Air Initiative. NYLCV celebrates this important step forward and will continue to work with state leaders to build a cleaner, healthier, and more equitable future for all New Yorkers.”
MARYLAND GOVERNOR REVERSES COURSE TO FUND CLIMATE CHANGE STUDY: Just months after he originally vetoed a bill to do the same, Governor Wes Moore announced he will approve $500,000 to study the impacts of climate change in Maryland.
SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT TRANSITIONS TO PFAS-FREE GEAR: The San Francisco Fire Department has become the largest fire department in the country to transition to gear that is not made using PFAS, or “forever chemicals.” PFAS are dangerous for human health, and can cause issues ranging from weakened immune system to increased risk for various cancers.
SCOTUS POISED TO ROLL BACK 100 YEARS OF PRECEDENT TO GIVE TRUMP MORE POWER: The Supreme Court held oral arguments in the case Trump v. Slaughter this week. The case challenges Trump’s unlawful firing of Democratic Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, but extreme right-wing justices on the Supreme Court seem likely to rule in Trump’s favor, rejecting 100 years of precedent and handing more power to this president to fire independent agency heads.
OUR TAKE: LCV Senior Director of Judiciary and Democracy Doug Lindner said, “While the Trump administration continues to recklessly grab power from the people, extreme MAGA justices on the Supreme Court appear poised to hand over even more power to the MAGA president at the cost of our freedoms and protections. Giving Trump the green light to fire leaders of independent agencies in defiance of law passed by Congress is anti-constitutional and overturns nearly a hundred years of the Supreme Court’s own precedent. It would endanger our health, safety, freedoms, and protections from corporate abuses at a time when corporate money and power are rising in our politics due to rulings by these same MAGA justices. Preventing abuse of power is critical to ensuring our democracy works for all people across our country. We need judges who will respect the rule of law instead of enabling authoritarianism.”
LCVAF ENDORSES MARK WARNER FOR RE-ELECTION: LCV Action Fund announced its endorsement of Mark Warner for re-election to the Senate representing Virginia. Warner is a dedicated champion for our climate and our democracy.
LCVAF TAKE: LCV Action Fund Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld said, “Senator Mark Warner is fighting for a clean energy future and to protect the health and safety of our communities, while the Trump administration continues their attacks on our environment, government institutions and clean energy, raising utility costs for families. It has never been more critical for members of Congress to stand up for our democracy, our rights, and our climate, and LCVAF is all in to support Senator Warner for re-election.”
WARNER TAKE: Senator Mark Warner said, “I’m honored to earn the endorsement of the LCV Action Fund. I’m proud of my work negotiating the bipartisan infrastructure law and enacting the Inflation Reduction Act, both of which are delivering cleaner, more affordable energy. At a time when our country urgently needs more electricity, the Trump administration’s decision to cancel projects funded by these laws is driving costs up for families. I’m committed to working with partners like LCVAF to hold this administration accountable and repair the damage being done to our energy future and our environment.”
FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER HALTING WIND ENERGY: A federal judge has ruled that Trump’s executive order halting approvals for all wind energy projects on public lands and waters violates federal law. The order, signed on Trump’s first day in office, has slowed efforts to provide clean, affordable wind energy across the country.
ELM TAKE: Environmental League of Massachusetts Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs Amy Boyd Rabin said, “Yesterday’s victory is a victory for offshore wind and for regulatory certainty. It shows that the federal government can’t make arbitrary rules against certain industries and allows offshore wind to start to get back on track, even within this administration and time period.”
ON THE BLOG: Stay tuned for exciting upcoming content on The Power Source Blog!
ON OUR SOCIALS: Our happy place is advocating for clean energy and lower bills, but Trump’s is continuing to side with his Big Polluter buddies to drive up their profits at the expense of our environment and communities. We think we know who might end up on the naughty list this year…
DECEMBER 14: Hanukkah begins at sundown.
DECEMBER 21: First day of winter.
DECEMBER 25: Christmas.
DECEMBER 26: First day of Kwanzaa.
©2026 League of Conservation Voters