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 climate programs moving forward in the states, environmental attacks from the administration and Congress, and the latest on Cabinet nominations.
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“I am very concerned that this illegal action will force state and local governments to pause construction, lay off staff and slow their work to provide cleaner air and water.”
— Zealan Hoover, former director of implementation at EPA under President Biden, on the ongoing funding freeze for EPA programs.
“I’ve only got 24 hours a day, but I plan to spend as many of them as humanely possible fighting back against Trump, Musk, and the billionaires who have taken over our country to promote themselves at the expense of everyone else.”
— Senator Elizabeth Warren on the Senate floor during Senate Democrats’ 30 hour floor takeover in protest of the nomination of Russell Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget.
“Shuttering the environmental justice office will mean more toxic contaminants, dangerous air and unsafe water in communities across the nation that have been most harmed by pollution in the past.”
— Matthew Tejada, former EPA Office for Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights employee, on EPA placing 168 environmental justice employees on administrative leave.
NORTH CAROLINA ESTABLISHES STATEWIDE ELECTRIFICATION INCENTIVES: North Carolina launched the Energy Saver North Carolina program, which utilizes federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to offer rebates to low- and moderate-income homeowners who make energy efficiency upgrades to their homes, including switching to electric appliances and adding insulation.
NCLCV TAKE: North Carolina LCV Clean Energy Campaigns Director Meech Carter said, “Every time I present on the website (NCLCV’s guide to funding available for energy projects) and what resources are out there, I get so many questions on the rebate program, especially for replacing gas appliances, propane heaters, and transitioning folks to cleaner sources and more energy-efficient sources. Considering North Carolina’s energy landscape, we are very optimistic about this program.”
MINNESOTA GREEN BANK RAMPS UP: Minnesota’s Climate Innovation Finance Authority will lend at least $25 million for climate and clean energy projects that help advance clean energy solutions across the state. Eligible projects include construction of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, installation of heat pumps, battery manufacturing, solar and hydrothermal projects, and more.
BOSTON APPROVES NEW NET ZERO ZONING REGULATIONS: The Boston Zoning Commission approved an amendment to the city’s zoning code, which will require most new large buildings to have net-zero carbon emissions starting this summer.
ELM TAKE: Executive Director of the Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund Casey Bowers said, “We greatly appreciate the work done by the Wu Administration and the members of this Commission to provide the best outcome for resilient and efficient housing. To this end, we need to address the largest source of emissions in Boston, our buildings. While we are working to decarbonize, an efficient place to start is new construction. Beginning with this Amendment, Boston can take a step to safeguard its future.”
SLATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL BILLS INTRODUCED IN ARIZONA: State Senator Priya Sundareshan introduced four bills aimed at protecting Arizona’s environment, including a goal to achieve 50% clean, renewable energy by 2035, a ban on utility lobbying with ratepayer funds, a measure to track greenhouse gas emissions, and the establishment of clean water standards for harmful chemicals. Stay up to date on the legislation’s progress — check out Chispa Arizona’s latest post and follow along with their work!
INTRODUCING CONSERVACIÓN COLORADO: Protégete Colorado has officially rebranded to Conservación Colorado, a name that reflects their ongoing commitment to the Spanish-speaking and bilingual communities in Colorado. This rebrand marks a new chapter in their fight for a healthier, more sustainable future for all Coloradans. Stay connected by following them at @ConservationColorado and visiting conservationco.org. —
EPA PLACES ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE STAFF ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE: EPA has placed 168 members of the Office of Environmental Justice on administrative leave. This is the first step toward the administration’s goal of dismantling the office altogether.
OUR TAKE: LCV Healthy Communities Program Director Madeleine Foote said, “President Trump and Elon Musk are continuing to flout the law and recklessly dismantle the long-standing institutions meant to protect the health and safety of all communities. At its core, environmental justice is about the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people — no matter their race, income, zip code, or national origin. Today’s actions dismantling the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice is being done to benefit Big Polluters and corporate interests, and will cost lives. Environmental justice communities include everyone living next to polluting factories, congested roadways, toxic waste dumps, and other Big Polluters — low-income communities, communities of color, rural communities, elderly communities, people who have disabilities and increased health risks, and so many more.”
CHISPA TAKE: Chispa Senior Director Estefany Carrasco-González said, “The EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice was designed to address pollution disproportionately affecting low-income and communities of color, and the job is not done. Doing away with the office, whose work has operated for decades, sets us back and further increases the need to address environmental injustices. It will put our communities, already dealing with a history of the worst effects of climate change, dirty air, contaminated water, and other toxins, at a greater health risk from polluters. This is a moment where Chispa’s community organizing efforts on the ground matter more than ever because clean air, clean water, and safe and healthy communities for all are worth fighting for. We are not going anywhere. Our communities are not going anywhere. We know how to work and fight for change under difficult circumstances.”
INTERIOR SECRETARY DOUG BURGUM PUSHES TO OPEN PUBLIC LANDS AND WATERS TO DRILLING: On his first day on the job, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed six new secretarial orders that prioritize drilling and mining above all other uses of our public lands.
OUR TAKE: LCV Conservation Program Director America Fitzpatrick said, “These new orders put the profits of oil and mining CEO’s above any other considerations and do nothing to lower costs for consumers – all at the expense of our treasured public lands and waters. Instead of prioritizing destructive drilling and mining above all other uses, the Secretary of the Interior should listen to the public and work to safeguard our public lands and waters for future generations.”
CONGRESS ATTEMPTS TO ROLL BACK METHANE FEE: Republicans in Congress introduced Congressional Review Act resolutions (CRA) to overturn EPA’s Waste Emissions Charge, which requires oil and gas companies to pay a fee if they emit methane above a certain threshold. The fee is part of the Methane Emissions Reduction Program that was passed in the Inflation Reduction Act, and complements other agency standards and financial and technical assistance to reduce methane pollution.
OUR TAKE: LCV Deputy Legislative Director Madeleine Foote said, “Polluters should be the ones paying for their pollution. Reducing methane waste helps protect the health and safety of communities, strengthens energy security by keeping more product in the pipelines, and creates jobs to help mitigate toxic leaks. Currently, there are over 10 million people living within a half-mile of active oil and gas production who face increased risk of negative health impacts from pollutants, disproportionately impacting communities with low wealth, rural communities, and communities of color who are already on the front lines of the climate crisis. Congress must reject this bill and instead hold Big Polluters accountable by keeping this commonsense measure to ensure they fulfill their promise and responsibility to reduce methane pollution, cut unnecessary waste of our energy resources, and protect our communities, our environment, and our future generations.”
FEDERAL HIGHWAY ASSOCIATION PLANS TO SCRAP ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING PROGRAM: The Federal Highway Association (FHWA) sent a letter to the Department of Transportation announcing that they would scrap the $5 billion electric vehicle (EV) charging program (NEVI) guidance and that no new plans will be approved. Eliminating NEVI jeopardizes more than $200 billion in private investment in EV charging infrastructure and risks good, family-sustaining jobs. LCV is calling on Congress to push back against this move and protect the programs that they voted for as part of the bipartisan infrastructure plan.
SENATE RELEASES FY25 BUDGET RESOLUTION: Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham released the text of the Senate’s fiscal year 2025 budget resolution. The resolution prioritizes the wants of Big Oil CEOs and corporations over the needs of working families while threatening civil liberties and immigrant, LGBTQ+ and other historically excluded communities.
OUR TAKE: LCV Senior Government Affairs Advocate David Shadburn said, “Budgets are all about priorities and this resolution clearly puts Big Oil CEOs and other corporate interests over the needs of working families – all in the name of inhumane, ineffective, and excessively costly policies to threaten immigrant communities and our civil liberties. Forcing lease sales for oil drilling and repealing fees for polluters to pay for their harmful methane leaks amounts to nothing more than giveaways to the wealthiest corporations in the world at the cost of the health and safety of coastal and frontline communities and communities most impacted by air pollution. Instead of trying to finance the failed and harmful border wall and pad polluters’ pockets, Congress should prioritize lowering costs, creating jobs and building safe, healthy communities for everyone.”
SENATE DEMOCRATS HOLD THE FLOOR FOR 30 HOURS TO PROTEST RUSSELL VOUGHT NOMINATION: Amid chaos in the wake of cuts to nearly all federally funded programs, Democrats held the Senate floor for 30 hours to protest the nomination of Russell Vought, a key figure in initiating these cuts, to lead the Office of Management and Budget.
OUR TAKE: LCV Senior Government Affairs Advocate David Shadburn said, “We applaud Democratic Senators Schumer, Merkley, Murray, Peters, and Schatz for leading the charge and standing up for our democracy by holding the Senate floor to elevate the dire impact of Russell Vought’s commitment to gut programs that our families rely on to lower their costs, keep them safe, and improve their lives. As the lead author of Project 2025, Russell Vought is singularly focused on destroying the federal government’s ability to help working families and deliver services we all rely upon for everything from clean water to safe workplaces to meals on wheels. He is the architect of the dangerous and harmful overreach of power implemented by the Trump administration and is already making good on his promise to traumatize civil servants into leaving public service and further damaging the government’s ability to serve.
These extreme power grabs and dissolution of our democracy must stop. We need the head of the Office of Management and Budget to look out for our families and communities, not work to cut funding to crucial programs we rely on every day. We thank all Senators who have taken to the Senate floor to highlight Russell Vought’s dangerous agenda, and urge all senators to oppose his confirmation.”
SENATE CONFIRMS CHRIS WRIGHT AS ENERGY SECRETARY: The Senate confirmed fracking CEO Chris Wright to lead the Department of Energy. Wright has rejected that there is a climate crisis and has been outspoken in criticizing government efforts to advance clean energy.
SENATE CONFIRMS PAM BONDI AS U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: The Senate confirmed former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to serve as U.S. attorney general.
OUR TAKE: LCV Senior Director of Judiciary & Democracy Doug Lindner said, “It is the responsibility of the Senate to confirm nominees who work for the people and defend the Constitution, not just the President and his corporate cronies. There should be zero votes to confirm a hyperpartisan Attorney General while the Trump administration is conducting illegal political purges of the Justice Department and FBI as well as freezing all environmental and civil rights enforcement. Pam Bondi’s record of backing polluters over people and Trump over the Constitution demonstrate she is unfit to serve the people as our Attorney General. The Senate should have rejected this dangerous nominee who will help Donald Trump and Elon Musk weaponize law enforcement, undermine the rule of law, imperil our freedoms, and steamroll protections for our climate and our democracy.”
ON THE BLOG: ICYMI: Last week, we published the January Top 5 Stories Worth Reading, highlighting new pro-environment, pro-democracy members of Congress, school districts advancing clean energy, record-breaking land and water protections, President Biden’s historic and diverse judicial legacy, and a monumental climate win in Montana. We also published the January Good Climate News Roundup, featuring all of the past month’s best climate news from efforts to hold polluters accountable to innovative ways to reduce emissions.
New this week, learn about the Trump administration’s actions to gut government programs and ways you can fight back.
ON OUR SOCIALS: In these dark times, we all deserve a little treat to go with our trauma and a dose of inspiration to keep us motivated. Senate Democrats also kept us motivated this week with incredible speeches on the floor and by leading a rally demanding the release of EPA funds being withheld by the Trump administration.
FEBRUARY: Black History Month.
FEBRUARY 10: Conversation with New Jersey Gubernatorial Candidates, co-hosted by New Jersey LCV.
FEBRUARY 11: House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing “America Builds: Clean Water Act Permitting and Project Delivery.”
FEBRUARY 17: Presidents’ Day.
FEBRUARY 28: Ramadan begins at sunset.
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