February 2025 Good Newsletter
Silver linings to help illuminate a bright side to these dark days.
Drill, baby drill? Probably not. Fossil fuels stocks underperformed last year — 5.72% vs. S&P 500's 25.02% — continuing a consistent downward spiral over seven of the last 10 years, despite a 2022 bump that was "caused by geopolitics, not fundamental values." The U.S. is already the world's leading producer of oil and gas and a leading exporter, so “fossil fuel industries are unlikely to increase production of oil and gas by much since...prices are not high enough to justify an increase,” according to the New York Times. The Supreme Court recently blocked Big Oil's attempt to thwart climate lawsuits and last month in Alaska, which each year is forced by law to offer the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, there were no bidders; according to the Gwich'in Steering Committee, "…twenty-nine global banks now have a policy to decline underwriting oil and gas projects in the Refuge; and fourteen international insurers have also made such commitments..." As legendary climate activist Bill McKibben pointed out:
“All those years of pipeline fights and divestment battles occurred in a period when fossil fuel was the cheapest way to power a society. That’s no longer true; now it’s Trump and his friends fighting uphill against economic gravity.” - Bill McKibben, The Crucial Years
Speaking of, environmental activists are gearing up to double down on state legislation in line with New York’s recently adopted Climate Change Superfund Act, aka a “polluters pay” law. (Next up? Probably California, possibly followed by Illinois.) States are also considering constitutional Green Amendments, enacted in Montana and Pennsylvania, which could take effect in many states (beginning with Hawaii and New Mexico) in less than three years. And hours after the new administration took down the Climate and Environmental Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), activists put it back up, working with the End of Term Archive, which has archived over a million federal webpages since November.
A post-election study revealed 80% of companies planned to continue or increase sustainability investments in 2025, despite regulatory changes. Automakers also say they’re staying the course on EVs, no matter what happens in Washington (and yes, you can drive an EV in the snow). JUST Capital analyzed Goldman Sachs Sustain's December tracker and reported predictions that investor capital will continue to flow into "sustainability and stakeholder-oriented strategies" because "at the end of the day, investors want to make money." Meanwhile, Costco recently rejected a conservative think tank proposal to eliminate DEI.
In 2024, 96% of new U.S. power was carbon-free and California’s grid ran on 100% renewables with no blackouts or rate increases for a record 98 days. And, before the handoff, Biden future-proofed $74 billion in climate funding.
TAKE ACTION
This oldie-but-goodie from WIRED shows what happens when you call your congressperson (spoiler alert: they listen). Find phone numbers for your representatives, then click through to this great script from NRDC, which you can use to ask your representatives to stand strong (you can also send this as an email directly from the webpage). P.S. Ever thought about politics? This organization trains climate leaders to run for local office. Let’s do this!
WE COULD BE HEROES
Last week, I hosted a conversation with author Kimberly King Parsons about her bestselling books BLACK LIGHT and WE WERE THE UNIVERSE, plus writing, psychedelics, motherhood, music, and everything in between.
I’m so excited for The Fountain Practice, the meditation program for creative people that Kimberly is co-developing! What do you use to tap in?
All of this to say: We can’t lose hope, people! It's a marathon, not a sprint. Let me know how I can help.
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 and creative nonfiction. She is currently querying her first novel.