Forgive me if it’s too soon, but the election really sucked and it’s going to take more than a little resilience to get through the next four years for a lot of us. I’ve taken a lot of hope and inspiration from individual stories of survival and resistance generally in history, but I’ve had less of a magnifying glass on the better parts of US federalism, #lololStatesRights, and general local community building.
So that’s what this thread is. Sharing stories of community and contribution to create a country and a world we want to live in. Although the election is the inspiration, I think it’s increasingly important in a climate changed world to be creating awareness and connection like this, for me, so I want to start trying.
Some guardrails:
It might be nice to post what you hope the outcome of this work/action/story is. That way people can see your intent and the framing helps very busy people to understand something that might be more esoteric.
All activities have pros and cons - to discuss those, please create an offshoot thread.
As always, if there’s another thread that I’ve missed that’s like this, please let me know and I will delete. I will follow up with my first offering!
I hope this comes to fruition and strengthens the resolve of rich states to help shape the future of our green(ish) economy in positive ways.
That will certainly ease the sting given the size of the California market, but eliminating the tax credit will be a blow to all EV makers including America’s largest EV manufacturer, Tesla, whose founder has been the life of Mar-a-Lago. But Tesla, Reuters reported, has been supportive behind the scenes in its conversations with the Trump transition team. That may sound surprising, except that CEO Elon Musk, who claims to be against all government subsidies, thinks it’ll hurt his rivals much more than it’ll hurt him: “It would be devastating for our competitors, and it would hurt Tesla slightly, but long term it probably actually helps Tesla.”
I’m excited about this thread! Doing my best to turn angst into contribution and community.
I’m turning a lot of my focus local where I think we still have potential to defend civil & gender rights, and make everyday life more just and affordable. Helping the policy team at a local nonprofit, talking and encouraging people who might run for local office, etc.
I just met with a woman who’s providing short-term loans for contractors building alternative EV charging networks. Fewer fossil fuels and less El*n dominance at the same time.
Setting up a plan to support our beloved former daycare owners in their next business.
Working on software that supports algorithmic choice.
This is an odd one, but just - community. Spending time with friends in nature, inviting people to things and not getting fussed about who’s in/out, trying to have authentic conversations and support for friends going through tough shit. Have less time for this than I would like, but I think every bit of positive connection matters and becomes our network for resistance.
I posted this somewhere else (can’t remember where) but I’m trying to read more about what cities can do towards sustainable practices and will be figuring out ways to help push my local governments towards that.
For positive stories, my mom has also been listening to the audiobook “what if we get it right” and really likes it. The audiobook is more of a podcast/interview format rather than just a reading of the book which was all based on interviews with quotes/narrative.
Donated money to various climate-related charities (The Nature Conservancy, Natural Resources Defense Fund, Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund). Also donated to my work’s fundraiser for Protect Our Winters
Supporting local businesses and artists whenever possible. Just went to a market that supports my favorite local native plant nursery and a bunch of local artists, and ate lunch from a non-chain Thai restaurant that’s 2 minutes away from my house.
Things I’m imminently planning to do:
Replace our (extremely old) gas-burning furnace and AC with a heat pump so we can burn less gas and maximize our solar panels. We’ll still need to have a backup gas furnace (city requirements) but we should only be using that on the below-zero days, not most days.
Plant native, pollinator- and bird-friendly plants in our front and back yard. I’m still working on the prep work (removing so. much. deteriorating landscape fabric and trash) but should be actually able to plant more this upcoming season
Need to figure out:
Volunteering. Some sort of support for environmental awareness - maybe either trail work or working with native plants?
Community. Have a great work network, but don’t have a ton of local friends. Need to fix this…
So far I have reduced my Amazon purchasing to show Jeff Bezos that I don’t approve of his decision to instruct the Washington Post editorial board not to endorse Kamala Harris.
After we get our tax refund we are planning to get solar panels as a climate change step and to help the industry weather whatever storms may be coming for it.
Just one idea to consider or discard – can I put in a plug to consider joining or running for your local community board or zoning committee or whatever your equivalent is? They aren’t specifically climate entities, but in many cities and towns they get to weigh in on climate-related decisions like transit, zoning, walk/bike infrastructure, etc.
More on this here:
I came across this community on Bluesky that combines climate action + smart cities.
Yes, they’re a more hyperlocal layer. My city has 17 councilpeople and something like 200 Registered Community Orgs. The relevant RCOs are usually among the top few orgs a councilperson will work with for major decisions.
The RCO board seats are often uncontested – about 75% of candidates in my local one got elected. It’s about 4-8 hours of work a month. So all in all, a pretty low-barrier entry point and a meaningful influence on decisions.
I will follow up with my first offering!