Two HUGE wins

We all know firsthand how much of an uphill battle advocacy can be. We get behind a worthy cause, shout our message from the rooftops...and hope that our words helped move people with real power one step closer to action.

What we don't usually see is the President of the United States take bold, immediate action on not one but two major issues we campaigned for—in the same week.

Last week, President Biden signed a pair of game-changing executive orders on climate. The first invokes the Defense Production Act to accelerate the deployment of heat pumps, solar panels, and other clean energy technologies. The other pauses tariffs on imported solar panel components for two years, bailing out the solar industry after a rogue Department of Commerce investigation sent it into a tailspin.

As Robinson Meyer of The Atlantic writes, these actions aren't merely "federal-paper shuffling." Indeed, he says, they are "one of the most aggressive executive actions that the administration has yet taken on climate change." Together, they will help ensure the continued rapid growth of renewables and, hopefully, significantly reduce our dependence on gas to heat buildings.

They are no accident, either. Both of these specific interventions was pushed relentlessly over the past few months by climate and energy activists across the country, including Bill McKibben—and Climate Action Now users.

You've probably guessed the bottom line by now, but we'll say it anyway: Advocacy matters. It gets results. Each and every time you raise your voice, on the Climate Action Now App or anywhere else, you are making a difference!

This week, we'll charge toward our goal of 1 MILLION MESSAGES in two main ways: thanking the White House for this pair of game-changing executive actions, and advocating for MORE of this kind of bold climate leadership at all levels!

In addition to thanking Biden and Harris—and pushing them to take the next step by declaring a federal Climate Emergency—we'll also reach out to Congress, corporate leaders, and our state leaders to urge them to follow Biden's example and lead the charge for bold climate action NOW!

Bags, begone! In an effort to address the plastic pollution plaguing the U.S., the Department of the Interior announced on Wednesday that it would phase out single-use plastics across hundreds of millions of acres of federal land — including national parks, monuments, and wildlife refuges.

Fracking FAIL! California environmental groups scored a big victory last week when a federal court blocked permits for fracking off the state's coastline. The Court said federal agencies who issued the permits relied on an “inadequate” environmental assessment that failed to take into account the full impacts of fracking.