April 2025 Good Newsletter
Sensing a theme? BARN —> HORSE. And believe you me, I fact check.
Yes, these are dark days — although this week’s Wisconsin win feels like progress, for sure. Meanwhile, here’s a short list of good climate and environment news to think about:
Americans report growing trust in science — and acceptance that climate change is harmful to health.
After doubling down on DEI, Costco reported a 9% increase in revenue with seven million new shoppers over four weeks.
400 Olympic athletes from 89 countries — including 65 champions — called on Olympic Committee to prioritize climate action.
Reflecting the theme shared in January, February, and March Good Newsletters, states continue to step up:
Five U.S. states — MN, CA, IL, ME — sued the EPA for withholding funds appropriated by congress for pollution-reducing projects.
In one week last year, Texas broke renewable records for solar, wind, and battery production — producing twice as much wind and solar as California in 2024.
Last year, Florida surged ahead of California to challenge Texas as a national leader on solar installation, while its leaders
Meanwhile, Republican legislators called clean energy tax breaks critical to energy dominance, while new reports showed solar and its storage accounted for 84% of U.S. power added in 2024 — the largest single year of growth by any energy technology in 20 years — and last year for the first time, wind and solar generated more power in the U.S. than coal.
Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, is on track to meet 2030 climate targets, with emissions reductions of 3.4% in the last year alone. In the UK, the use of coal dropped to its lowest point since 1666 (because: England) and greenhouse gas emissions fell by 3.6%. And wind, solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric power sources are growing at far faster rates than coal and natural gas, adding 90% of global power expansion in 2024.
P.S. Did you see that Chinese EV that charges up in five minutes — the same time it takes to fill a gas tank? OMG!
NATURE POSITIVE
The father-and-son beekeeping duo who wrote this book are 100% inspiration, new no-fishing zones off South Africa will protect penguins with happy feet, and monarchs rebound in Mexico!
GOOD LOOK
WWF enabled funding to transition the apparel supply chain to deforestation-free leather, France banned on PFAS, California introduced the Fashion Environmental Accountability Act, and last year the secondhand fashion market grew by 14% — five times the growth of general apparel. Want my short list of the best thrift stores in Los Angeles? I’ve been 95% preloved for nearly two decades — hit me up!
LET’S TALK BOOKS!
Oh, I’m so excited for this one. Creatures is breathtaking — and also left me with so many questions. (Like: How did Crissy Van Meter get into my head?) Join us THIS FRIDAY on Instagram
WANT TO HELP?
The Environmental Voter Project motivates red, blue, and purple voters who prioritize climate to get to the polls for down ballot races (I’m currently slogging through 500 postcards destined for Pennsylvania).
5 Calls provides scripts and essentials to call your congressperson — with over six million calls logged so far, they're making an impact.
Let me know if you need more inspiration — there’s more where this came from!
xoRachel
WHO’S THIS?
Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff is a climate communicator and sustainability storyteller who has been writing a better world since 2008, when she co-founded the website EcoStiletto and founded the Mommy Greenest blog. She swapped tips with notables from Jane Goodall to His Majesty King Charles lll and appeared on "TODAY" and TEDx. A former journalist with an MA from USC and an MFA from Pacific University, Rachel’s career as an environmentalist informs her fiction, creative nonfiction, and consulting. She is currently querying her first novel.