The Americans fighting back against Trump’s climate attacks

From left to right: Brandon Jones of the American Geophysical Union, Aru Shiney-Ajay of Sunrise Movement, Glen Brand of Solar United Neighbours, Dominque Browning of Moms Clean Air Force

U.S. climate advocates have faced a dizzying number of environmental policy rollbacks and funding cuts in the almost six months since Donald Trump took office. 

Now, activists, academics and lobbyists across American society are gearing up to once again galvanize public opinion in favour of climate action, ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in 2026.

The academic resistance

Brandon Jones is the president of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) who worked as a federal scientist in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for 12 years. Jones says he was initially overwhelmed by the “surreal” barrage of changes. But now, Jones says, his organization is finding ways to push back.

“You get to a point where yes, you are going to have emotions about the decisions, but you also need to start thinking clearly about how to stand up against what you know is not right,” he said.

In April, the U.S. president dismissed hundreds of scientists working to compile the country’s flagship report on global warming and its impacts. The National Climate Assessment, which is released every four years, informs everything from agricultural policy that impacts food security to disaster mitigation that saves lives. These dismissals prompted the AGU to create a special collection of journals that would house all the important climate research that was suddenly left homeless.

Jones says it’s important for U.S. scientists today to find new ways to keep climate science alive in the face of federal funding cuts and shifting political priorities. Equally, he says, it’s important to continue to get climate data out to decision makers and the general public, and he says many researchers in his circle feel the same.

“They are so impassioned about continuing their work and doing the right thing in the face of what they see as an infringement on science … that they're just ready to do it with no pay. It’s about ethics and morality now and humanity.”

The street-level resistance

Youth organizations are putting their energy into more visible forms of resistance, like street protests and direct action. One example is the Sunrise Movement. 

Executive director Aru Shiney-Ajay says they are currently forming a “youth army to combat the climate crisis.” Sunrise’s strategy is to carry out social media campaigns and hold rallies to draw attention to Donald Trump’s support of fossil fuel industries ahead of the midterms.

“Environment is the issue where Trump is least trusted,” she said. “I think because of that, there's a real role to make climate a more urgent political priority for everyday people, and [it] actually can result in big shifts in the electorate.”

Peaceful protesters, however, are becoming increasingly vulnerable to criminal punishment in the U.S.

Since January, an expanding list of bills have been introduced aimed at banning political demonstrations, according to the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, a civic freedoms watchdog based in the U.S. capital. 

Shiney-Ajay says she’s thought a lot about the consequences of organizing protests, but she hopes taking to the streets can inspire others to take smaller actions, like voicing support for climate policy in their workplaces, schools or online.

“The question of whether or not we will be able to get out of this political situation really relies on how many people we can inspire to take everyday acts of courage, over and over and over again.”

Resistance by lobbying

Climate organizations are also working to lobby Republican politicians on policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industry. 

Glen Brand, director of policy and advocacy at the non-profit Solar United Neighbours, says the best way to do that is to focus on the economic benefits of renewable energy, rather than try to bring climate change into the conversation. 

The U.S. has recently experienced a boom in solar and wind energy uptake, especially in Republican leaning states. Brand attributes this boom to the rising cost of fossil fuel energy sources as well as tax credits brought in under former president Joe Biden that incentivize renewable energy infrastructure. 

While the Trump administration plans to phase those tax credits out, Brand hopes to convince Republicans to fight for the future of solar in their constituencies.

“I think it makes total common sense, considering the state of the Republican Party and climate protection, to focus on pocketbook issues,” he said.

Dominique Browning, co-founder of the advocacy group Moms Clean Air Force, says her organization plans to lobby in favour of the Endangerment Finding. That’s a 2009 decision by the EPA that acknowledges the public health dangers of greenhouse gas emissions and its responsibility to protect Americans from climate change. The current head of the EPA says he will consider reversing the finding altogether.

Browning says she thinks about her grandson’s future when preparing to push back against a reversal of the finding, and that parents across the U.S. are engaging with lawmakers to pressure the government to uphold the principles of the Endangerment Finding.

“We will continue to fight on all fronts. In fact, we find that our work actually helps give us hope and solace, because at least we're trying to do something.” 

— The What On Earth podcast team
 

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The web version of this week's newsletter can be found here. Read old issues here. The CBC News climate page is here.

Check out our podcast and radio show.  In one of our newest episodes: If Canada wants to be net-zero by 2050, more than a million small businesses will have to make the green transition. And while some intrepid business owners are already trying their best to navigate a more eco-friendly path, others say it’s a big ask, especially when many are already struggling to balance the needs of price-wary shoppers with a thin bottom line. We’ll dive into their journey, and learn more about the supports that could change the game..

What On Earth drops new podcast episodes every Wednesday and Saturday. You can find them on your favourite podcast app, or on demand at CBC Listen. The radio show airs Sundays at 11 a.m. ET, 11:30 a.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador.

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Reader Feedback

We got another response to our request for photos of your native plant gardens!

Amanda Blain wrote:"I have naturalized over five acres into trees, wetlands and native flowers and grasses BUT this is what I call my ‘Landscaped Area.’ I chose this to show even on a small scale you can make an impact. Instead of planting non-native plants as most landscapers do, I decided to take it into my own hands. I am located in Chatham-Kent, [Ont.,] where tree cover and natural areas are less than five per cent of the total land area. Here I planted: black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), smooth oxeye or false sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides), wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), lanceleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolate) amongst others. I truly believe there is no reason to plant non-native flowers since there are so many beautiful native options."
 

We also heard back from Boston's Office of Green Infrastructure about Sara Scharf's comment on the impact of road salt on Boston's roadside bioswales.

Rachel Luna, the office's interim director and principal engineer, responds: "For our roadside bioswales, we select plant species tolerant of higher salt conditions. The first flush of runoff usually has the highest concentration of salt, but as additional ice and snow melts, it flushes the salt through the soil. We use well draining bioretention soil that helps the salt flush through easier."

Write us at whatonearth@cbc.ca. (And feel free to send photos too!) 

The Big Picture: The disappearing night sky

By 2100, with a medium emissions scenario (similar to the trajectory we're on), Montreal summers could feel like ones already experienced in Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, or Queens, N.Y. CBC News published a new interactive analysis in which you can pick your city and see what cities have a present-day climate similar to the one your city will experience at the end of the century. These kinds of comparisons, called spatial analogues by scientists, are a useful way to transform sometimes abstract projections into concrete examples.

— Nael Shiab

Sask. company makes sustainable cat litter from flax waste

Saskatchewan flax straw is being repurposed into an absorbent, eco-friendly cat litter.

The Regina Humane Society is partnering with Prairie Clean Energy (PCE) to introduce a locally made, environmentally friendly kitty litter made from flax straw.

Prairie Clean Cat Litter is made entirely from flax straw, a waste product left over when flax is harvested.

"It is completely biodegradable, completely natural, and it eliminates the cat pee smell," said Mark Cooper, CEO of PCE in Regina. "Your houses are going to smell cleaner, your cats are gonna be happier, you're gonna have less ammonia in your home, and it is all Saskatchewan-made flax."

Cooper said the company was looking for innovative ways to recycle flax straw.

"We really focus on stopping the burning of flax straw, creating new revenue streams for farmers processing that straw, and creating multiple product streams that we sell around the world, only one of which is cat litter, but it's an important one," he said.

Its other products include flax fibre for making pulp and paper, biomass fuel pellets and animal bedding.

Cooper said PCE has been working with the Humane Society for a year testing out the litter and received positive feedback.

"Once they were satisfied that we had a good product on our hands," he said. "We started putting together a partnership that would make sense for them to help reduce their operational costs, and would connect the cats and cat people with a great litter option."

Now when people adopt a cat from the humane society, they can also take some of the Prairie Clean Cat Litter home. It's not yet available in stores.

"So we've really structured a partnership to benefit cats and the people that love their cats," Cooper said.

Dr. Catherine Ball, director of veterinary care at the Regina Humane Society, said it used the litter for 40 cats. 

"We observed what happened with those cats, as well as with a similar group of cats that had clay litter, and we were able to find out that this product from PCE performed very well," she said.

Traditional clay litters can get stuck onto the bottom of cats' paws. Ball said that happened less using the flax straw litter.

According to the company’s website, the flax absorbs liquids rather than clumps like clay litter. 

Cooper said the humane society adopts out 1,500 cats per year.

"We know that those cats will be using our litter and that every single person who adopts a cat from the Humane Society will leave with a free bag," he said.

"Our intention is to roll out this partnership to humane societies everywhere." 

— Darla Ponace