US Ups Its Climate Pledge, Polluting Car Ban In CA, Fusion Is Coming, 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!)

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In Pop Culture:

🍿 Heatmap talks about what it meant to be a ‘climate movie’ in 2024, so scan it for a review of the movies that subtly and specifically told stories about our environmental realities.

Your Philanthropy At Work:

📢 Indigenous Environmental Network wants your help amplifying their message to get Biden to permanently shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline before he leaves office.

In Enviro News:

💪 This past week, Biden made a mostly symbolic new climate goal for our country that is more aggressive than the current one. The goal would reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by at least 61% below 2005 levels by 2035. Trump will surely ignore any climate pledge, but the point is to show the world and local levels of government that this is where we stand despite the upcoming setbacks of the next four years. And already we have a great bipartisan response: 24 state governors have vowed to honor this new pledge. Check out their alliance here – this is where the work will live while the federal government is shrouded in climate denial.

⚡️ The EPA gave California the ok to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. Of course Trump has vowed to reverse it. And California will fight any attempts at a reversal. So grab the popcorn, because 2025 is sure to be full of high-octane drama.

👩‍⚖️ Montana’s Supreme Court upheld a ruling by a lower court that the state’s permitting of fossil fuel projects and their subsequent impact on global warming was violating citizens’ constitutional rights to a clean environment. So now it’s really official. The hope is that this will prevent future fossil fuel permits from being granted, now that the environmental impact must be considered.

☀️ We’re getting closer to the commercialization of nuclear fusion…if only in our dreams, since the technology has yet to be proven as viable or scalable. But dream we must! And Commonwealth Fusion Systems, the most well-funded fusion startup, is pushing the dream forward with its announcement to build its first nuclear fusion power plant in Virginia, hoping to bring its emissions-free power online in the early 2030’s. We’re rooting for ya!

🦋 On an expedition in the Peruvian jungle, researchers found 27 new species never before seen (by those who record known species)! The area has been ravaged by development but the findings shows that even developed areas need conservation to protect rare species hanging on to life. Our planet is full of wonder and life. If we could just coexist with it all…ed protections.

🥳 Here are 7 nature and climate wins that happened this year, including the UK shutting down its last coal plant, natural places and whales and dolphins gaining legal rights of personhood in some very wise countries, and Brazilian deforestation reaching a 9-year low.

Home For The Holidays

✊ I enjoyed this article by a journalist at Grist about her dad, dubbed “Dr. Doom” for his constant talk throughout her life about how bad the climate crisis is, especially during the holidays. It’s an endearing story, and despite the doom, two of his kids now do climate-related work. We all can have influence in our own way, and if you wanna focus on the facts that so obviously scream that we need to do everything possible to reverse global warming, well then power to you.