Hummingbirds, NJ’s PFAS Wins, Praise Our Scientists, and more!

Hey climate heroes! Welcome to The Climate Roundup, where we round up the change, er the news about climate and the environment. As part of the Gen E community, we thank you for making climate action part of everyday life. (Reading this newsletter counts!)

Sign up for The Climate Roundup weekly newsletter here

Good Out There:

💗 How do you feel about hummingbirds? I’ve only had the pleasure of seeing these creatures out in the wild a handful of times, including once this summer. And each time, my heart instantly felt like it was bursting with joy. It felt like an incredibly special moment. And it was. A wise woman told me that hummingbirds represent the highest energy frequency of joy and love. My experiences seeing them tell me the same. Last week I watched a documentary about a woman in LA who rehabilitates found hummingbirds who are hurt. It’s called “Every Little Thing”, and it’s a sweet watch and a treat to see these little cuties up close, even though some of their stories are sad. May you all be graced with the joy of seeing a hummingbird in the wild!

Philanthropy At Work:

🦜 One Earth Conservation is hosting an immersive trip to Nicaragua for an opportunity to learn about their work and contribute to parrot conservation this December. Learn more about this ‘Parrot Pilgrimage’ here.

☀️ The Honnold Foundation announced 15 of their grantee partners for this year. These partners receive grants from Honnold Foundation for their community-led solar projects that will power things like “ job training, STEM Education, and solar in rural Guatemala, to solar-powered floating clinics in Cambodia, solar-powered composting in Brooklyn New York to solar energy across the Standing Rock Nation” to name a few. Dig into the amazing solar projects here.

News You Need To Know:

💰 New Jersey has won an $875M settlement from three chemical companies for their PFAS ‘forever chemical’ contamination of the state’s water and land, and for the fact that the companies covered up the truth about these toxic and harmful man-made chemicals. It’s the largest environmental settlement won by a state. And this isn’t the first time NJ has won after taking chemical companies to court – it’s happened three other times in the past couple years. The case structure seems similar to those being brought against fossil fuel companies, where states sue for environmental damage, human health implications, and coverups. At least the truth is winning in one of these evil industries, though we still have to end PFAS and toxic chemical use for good. In the meantime, Jersey strong!

🤯 Trump’s EPA announced it’s canceling a $7B Biden-era program called Solar For All, which was set to provide 900,000 low-income households with solar power. The EPA is claiming the policy bill which was recently passed allows them to rescind these funds. But supporters of this program say the money was already legally obligated and the grants must stand. Add this to a long list of items EPA will be sued for.

💨 In other cancellation news, another clean energy project bites the dust. An Idaho-based 200+ turbine wind farm previously approved by the Biden administration was canceled last week by the Interior Department, showing us that Trump’s promises to ban clean energy on federal land will come true, and that Interior’s directive to ‘review’ approvals for all solar and wind projects will ultimately lead to revoking said approvals. This wind project would have provided 500K homes with cheap, clean energy. But at least one Republican is pushing back on these renewables attacks. Nevada’s Republican governor sent a memo last week to the Interior’s Secretary, Doug Burgum, complaining that these new rules have halted several solar projects in his state, which are crucial to powering Nevada’s mining and data center economy. Whatever about the unsavory economic reasons, perhaps his plea will form a crack in this administration’s anti-clean plan.

✊ The scientific community is standing up for truth. In response to recent Trump attacks on climate science — including last month’s DOE climate denying report and proposal to strip the EPA’s ability to limit greenhouse gas emissions, plus last week’s comments from the Energy Secretary, saying the White House will review and revise past National Climate Assessments to effectively erase the truth from the science — the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are taking action. They’ve announced a self-funded study reviewing the latest climate science, aiming to influence the EPA’s looming decision to rescind the endangerment finding, which protects human health from GHG pollution. It gives me hope to see our scientists refusing to be silenced.

🚔 South Africa, surprisingly the 15th largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, is taking an interesting approach to reduce their country’s emissions. Corporate executives could serve prison time and fines, and companies will pay higher carbon tax rates if they fail to meet new economy-wide emissions rules (excluding agriculture and waste 🤨) going into effect in 2026. Lock them up. Respect.

🦪 Nestled between the southern tip of Manhattan and Brooklyn, is Governor’s Island. And even if you live in NYC, you may not know that Governor’s Island is a hub for climate solutions and experimentation. The Guardian has a nice photo essay of this cool spot, highlighting various organizations and their work on the climate island.

Do Look Up

☄️ It’s peak summer meteor shower season, with the best show scheduled for Tuesday night this week. Every summer from mid-July through the end of August, Earth’s sky gets lit, courtesy of the Perseids, a meteor shower created from Earth passing through a certain comet’s trail of debris. The Perseids can produce up to 100 meteors per hour! This year, the near full moon will brighten the sky (have you seen the moon’s glow the past few nights?!) making it more difficult to see the show. But if you can escape to the darkest sky you can find to watch, then please enjoy the show!