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 efforts to hold Trump and Republicans in Congress accountable.
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“The United States faces a future in which climate-induced harm continues to worsen and today’s extremes become tomorrow’s norms.”
— National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in a report on impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and the importance of the endangerment finding, which Trump is attempting to roll back.
“The Trump administration and Department of Energy policies have already cost Americans 91,000 clean energy jobs and counting. They are actively killing jobs in rural places and small towns across this country, and they have no plan to replace them.”
— Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) on impacts of Trump and the Department of Energy’s war on clean energy.
“We feel left behind again like so many other times.”
— Lowndes County Unincorporated Wastewater Program President Carmelita Arnold on EPA’s cancellation of funding to install septic tanks in Lowndes County and other Black Belt counties that have been disproportionately harmed by sewage pollution.
MARYLAND LCV AND LCV HOST PROTEST PADDLE FOR CLEAN WATER: Maryland LCV and LCV joined Representative Johnny Olszewski (MD-02) for a press conference and paddle around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor to talk about the attacks on our clean water coming from the Trump administration as part of LCV’s national Protect Our Public Lands and Waters campaign. The event featured flags handpainted by artists Mike Caswell and Chelsea Ritter-Soronen that highlighted the importance of protecting clean water for our families and communities.
OUR TAKE: LCV Healthy Communities Program Director Madeleine Foote said, “Our families depend on clean water, but President Trump and his allies in Congress are willing to risk our health and safety to benefit polluters’ bottom line. They are rolling back protections that stop polluters from dumping harmful waste filled with toxic forever chemicals, mercury, arsenic, and more into our water, firing scientists who study water pollution, and dismantling clean water programs our communities rely on. Instead of making our water dirtier, the Trump administration and Congress should work to strengthen clean water safeguards to finally ensure that everyone, no matter race, zip code, or income, has access to clean water.”
MLCV TAKE: Maryland LCV Executive Director Kim Coble said, “Actions the Trump administration has taken are undermining that partnership, and with it, jeopardizing the progress made over the last several decades to protect clean, drinkable and accessible water in Maryland and across the country. The administration’s actions put Marylanders’ health and environment at risk, and we’ll continue to fight for clean water and a healthy planet.”
CLEANING UP CONTAMINATED LAND IN MAINE: To repurpose polluted land and reduce costs for ratepayers, Maine’s utility commission approved five new renewable energy projects on PFAS-contaminated land. Projects include a hydroelectric facility and four solar facilities that will generate a combined 261 megawatts of power for communities.
CALIFORNIA CLEAN ENERGY LEGISLATION TACKLES RISING ENERGY COSTS: At the end of its legislative session, California passed several clean energy bills supporting energy affordability, promoting local electrification, and establishing a regional electricity partnership with other Western states to expand energy access. Notably, the state also passed bills that undermine clean air regulations and included giveaways to Big Oil. In the next legislative session, greater action is needed to protect communities and the environment and hold Big Polluters accountable.
CEV TAKE: California Environmental Voters Policy Advocacy Director Melissa Romero said, “State leaders were able to cobble together some climate wins at the end of session that show they have a vision and commitment to solving issues around grid regionalization (AB 825) and energy affordability (SB 254) at a time when the federal government is attacking working people. At the same time, the Legislature included important reforms to their cap and invest extension but missed opportunities to significantly improve emissions reductions and sent bills that undermine local clean air rules (SB 34) and contained giveaways to Big Oil (SB 237) to the Governor’s desk.
It’s been a difficult year for everyone. It’s not an easy time to lead, but this is the first year of a two-year session. Next year, we need the Legislature to prioritize policies that protect endangered species habitats, conserve protected lands, and reinstate community protections (SB 131 cleanup), implement a statewide indirect source rule, fully fund zero emission cars, trucks, and public transportation, reduce demand on oil and gas, hold Big Oil accountable for the insurance affordability crisis, and make polluters pay. Voters demand it, and California has a responsibility to lead as the fourth largest economy in the world and as the only jurisdiction able to carry us forward.”
LCV AND CHISPA HOLD REPUBLICANS ACCOUNTABLE FOR BIG UGLY BILL IN THE STATES: LCV, in partnership with state affiliates in the Conservation Voter Movement (CVM), is continuing its $4 million campaign on the disastrous impacts of the Big Ugly Bill. Since the start of the public education campaign last month, LCV and state partners have held over 115 events and mobilized nearly 8,000 constituents through on-the-ground organizing in nine states. As a result of these efforts, community members are taking action and sharing stories showcasing how Republicans in Congress who voted for the Big Ugly Bill are increasing costs for families across the country.
OUR TAKE: LCV Senior Vice President of Campaigns Sara Schreiber said, “Families are struggling to make ends meet and cannot afford the rising costs that Congressional Republicans are making so much worse. Republicans in Congress who voted for the Big Ugly Bill have broken their promise to their constituents to lower costs. They are siding with Big Polluters and other powerful billionaires and hurting working families by cutting widely supported investments and programs that mean energy, health care and grocery bills are going up. At a time of rising energy demand and extreme climate disasters, it makes no sense to block affordable clean energy solutions and roll back protections for our health and our environment. Our elected leaders should instead be investing in affordable energy solutions that work for us all and safeguard our communities, our planet, and future generations.”
CHISPA AZ TAKE: Chispa Arizona Executive Director Vianey Olivarría said, “Our Latine and communities of color were already hurting before they passed this catastrophic legislation that will continue to raise our energy bills, make our air dirtier, impact our health. Our leaders who voted for these policies are responsible for the harm they are placing on all our families and neighborhoods.”
COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION DEMOCRATS INTRODUCE CLIMATE RESILIENT ELECTIONS ACT: Representative Joe Morelle (NY-25) and Democrats on the Committee on House Administration introduced the Climate Resilient Elections Act on National Voter Registration Day. The bill would ensure polling places are prepared to stay open in the event of a natural disaster and that states can continue to support voter registration.
OUR TAKE: LCV Senior Director of Judiciary and Democracy Doug Linder said, “Our elections systems need to protect voters’ right to participate in free and fair elections even when extreme weather events strike. As we saw last year in the wake of Hurricane Helene, climate emergencies can create election emergencies, and these risks are rising as we continue to experience record breaking temperatures and extreme weather events. The historically excluded voters at greatest risk of disenfranchisement are often the ones most impacted by the climate crisis, and we cannot let these problems compound during a crisis. LCV applauds Representative Morelle for leading the charge to protect our voters and elections during climate disasters.”
EPA ENDANGERMENT ROLLBACK FACES GROWING OPPOSITION: EPA’s proposed rollback of the endangerment finding, which provides legal and scientific support for rules that limit climate pollution, is facing growing opposition from lawmakers, scientists, and the public. Members of Congress and climate organizations held a press conference and hand-delivered a subset of the over 225,000 public comments opposing EPA’s actions and highlighting the harms of revoking the endangerment finding and clean vehicle standards.
OUR TAKE: Former EPA Scientist and LCV Vice President of Federal Policy Matthew Davis said, “President Trump, Administrator Zeldin and the rest of the cabinet are putting our families’ and communities’ health at risk, all to pay back Big Polluters. As today’s National Academy of Sciences report underscores yet again, these evidence-backed protections are crucial to ensuring that people have access to clean air and lowering climate change’s threats to our health and well-being through more dangerous extreme heat, the spread of vector-borne diseases, increased heart disease and respiratory conditions like asthma. Revoking the endangerment finding is Trump turning a blind eye to what is so clearly evident — the suffering and devastating losses of the tens of millions of climate disaster survivors across the country. Removing EPA’s climate pollution limits will increase climate pollution by nearly 3 times the annual emissions in the United States and result in 184,000 premature deaths by 2055. And repealing the endangerment finding is the central underpinning of the Trump administration’s scheme to systematically dismantle the EPA’s ability and obligation to protect us all from carbon pollution.
“Nearly 200 members of Congress, hundreds of thousands of people across the country, thousands of scientists, hundreds of environmental and health groups are sounding the alarm and pushing back on the Trump administration’s attacks on our health and our communities. While the Trump administration is exacerbating the climate crisis and driving up health and energy costs, the vast majority of people understand climate impacts are increasing, want to see continued action to decrease pollution, lower costs and fight climate change and are concerned about the administration’s cuts to programs and agencies. We will be continuing to speak out by submitting comments and pushing elected officials to make sure they are holding the administration accountable for doing polluters’ bidding and shirking its obligation to protect our communities.”
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NARROWLY PASSES DIRTY ENERGY BILLS: This week, the House of Representatives delivered for fossil fuel executives several bills that would exacerbate the climate crisis, expand dirty energy infrastructure, and expand reliance on fossil fuels. LCV led more than 30 organizations in sending a letter to the House of Representatives, urging members to vote no on H.R. 1047, H.R. 3015, and H.R. 3062.
OUR TAKE: From the letter, “These bills would advantage and encourage new dirty energy production and infrastructure, despite the well-documented increased costs to consumers, harms to public health, and heightened threats to our communities, environment and climate. People across the country support transitioning to clean energy that is cheaper and faster to deploy, and oppose putting a thumb on the scale for antiquated, dirty, and expensive fossil fuels, yet these bills would do just the opposite.
By promoting the expansion of fossil fuel production, burning, and exports, these bills would delay the transition to a clean, secure, and affordable energy system that would bring true energy independence and security. Fossil fuel executives are already raking in huge profits at the expense of families and future generations, yet their supporters in Congress are putting forward these bills to lock us into increased extraction, high and volatile energy prices, and environmental degradation in exchange for even higher profits for oil and gas companies.”
SENATOR SCHIFF INTRODUCES PROTECTING OUR DEMOCRACY ACT: Senator Adam Schiff (CA) introduced his updated Protecting our Democracy Act. The bill aims to address presidential abuses of power and support checks on the Executive Branch, with new updates to address actions from the Trump administration since returning to office.
ON THE BLOG: Read about all of the ways we’re celebrating Latino Conservation Week and Latine Heritage Month with Chispa!
ON OUR SOCIALS: From honoring Robert Redford’s legacy to tracking electricity prices climbing faster than inflation – plus everything you need to know about registering to vote – we’ve got it all on our socials this week!
SEPTEMBER 13-21: Latino Conservation Week.
SEPTEMBER 15- OCTOBER 15: Latine Heritage Month.
SEPTEMBER 20: Make Billionaires Pay March and Rally.
SEPTEMBER 21: Sun Day Solar Day of Action.
SEPTEMBER 22: Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown.
SEPTEMBER 30: Government Funding Deadline.
OCTOBER 1: Yom Kippur begins at sundown.
OCTOBER 13: Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
OCTOBER 18: No Kings October Mobilization.
OCTOBER 18: Clean Water Act 53rd anniversary.
©2025 League of Conservation Voters