Let’s start off with some good news shared by Jessica Craven from Chop Wood, Carry Water 

• The provision allowing the sale of public lands was removed from Republicans’ Budget Bill.

• In a precedent-setting decision that both secures Indigenous rights and protects the Amazon rainforest, Colombia took a leading position in Latin America by formalizing Indigenous local governments.

• Despite incurring a higher tariff rate than Tesla, Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD sold more pure battery electric vehicles in Europe than them for the first time ever last month — a “watershed moment” for the region’s car market.

• Microsoft is purchasing up to 623K tons of “low-carbon cement” to reduce their construction emissions.

• In 2024, deforestation declined in all six nature biomes in Brazil for the first time in six years — and total deforestation was 32.4% lower than in 2023. It’s the second year in a row of lower deforestation.

• The U.S. Geological Survey reported that geothermal energy in the Great Basin of Nevada and adjoining states could produce electricity equivalent to 10% of the current U.S. power supply.

• A new Data For Progress poll shows that 72% of voters have favorable attitudes about renewable energy like solar or wind, compared to just 18% who have unfavorable attitudes.

• Carbon dioxide emissions in China were down 1.6% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, and by 1% in the past 12 months. It’s not because demand is down, either, but because renewables are up!

• Over 75% of NYC’s vehicle fleet is green, a sign of the government’s progress toward climate goals.

More Good News!

Thanks to the participation of our member Dave Judd who attended a Faith Workshop hosted by Community Climate Collaborative (C3) in March, we have been awarded a $500 grant to use toward an environmentally friendly upgrade for the church. Representatives from the MFE and the Building Committee met with a C3 representative to assess the best use of the grant. Stay tuned for details!

And Even Better News!!

Colorado Supreme Court clears a path for a major climate lawsuit against Suncor, Exxon Mobil

According to an article in Colorado Public Radio News on 5/12/25, a marquee lawsuit seeking to hold Suncor Energy and Exxon Mobil responsible for climate-driven disasters in Boulder County took a big step toward an official trial on Monday.

After years of legal wrangling, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled the lawsuit first filed by Boulder County and the City of Boulder in 2018 could proceed within Colorado. The decision returned the case to a lower district court, which had already ruled the lawsuit wasn’t preempted by federal law and belonged in the state legal system. 

The Boulder lawsuit claims taxpayers shouldn’t bear the full cost of disasters like floods and wildfires. It argues both companies should share the financial burden after knowingly contributing to climate change and misleading consumers about the risks of burning fossil fuels.

Read the entire article here: Exxon Lawsuit

Pedal to Empower!!

Not strictly environmental news but I thought this sounded like a great cause and wanted to share it with you all that care about the earth and everybody in it!

Pedal to Empower is a global campaign to empower women and girls with life-changing bicycles!

In celebration of World Bicycle Day, join us anytime May-June to be part of the cause. You’ll help raise awareness and funds to provide more women and girls with bikes so they can achieve their full potential.

Two wheels and a frame may not seem revolutionary — but what the rider does with her bicycle is. When placed in the hands of women and girls, bicycles become vehicles of change that can uplift generations.

Not just a bike. It’s a life-changer. Bicycles may seem like just two wheels and a frame, but in the hands of women and girls, they are a means of personal advancement.

Women and girls in rural regions of the world play a critical role in helping their communities thrive. Yet they face obstacles to accessing education, paid work, reproductive and maternal healthcare, and safety from gender-based violence. Walking long distances to reach services, attend a job training or go to a class requires daylight, time, and safety risks.

With bicycles, entrepreneurs can launch businesses, girls can commute to school, and women can leave roadside harassers in the dust.

You can learn more at: https://support.worldbicyclerelief.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=PedalToEmpower

Your Friends and Neighbors Want to talk about Climate

Britain is now the biggest funder of solar-geoengineering research

Plastic may be warming the planet more than we thought.

From the Washington Post’s Climate Coach:  Plant Based Food has a Problem

If you’ve eaten food anywhere on the planet, you’ve probably indulged in some savory blend of meat and vegetables. These recipes have been with us for as long as we’ve had the ingredients. They tend to be a side dish in many traditional cuisines. But as chefs and companies try to make plant-based foods more palatable, they are becoming the main dish.

Last month, I tried meatballs made by the Spare Food Company, which upcycles vegetables typically wasted on the farm. As I bit in, I braced for somewhat off-putting vegetal flavors to hit my tongue. Yet the meatballs were as mouth watering as the ones my friend’s nona made during her epic four-hour Italian lunches. Maybe better.

I’m not alone in not being able to taste the difference.

Blind taste tests sponsored by climate philanthropy Food System Innovations show that several blended meats are outperforming conventional meat, in addition to 100 percent plant-based products.

These blended or “balanced” proteins — typically 30 to 70 percent plants — have begun making their way into buffet lines and freezer aisles across the country. Spare supplies food service companies with burgers that mix half a dozen veggies with beef in each juicy, umami-rich bite. Perdue’s Chicken PLUS line is convincing thousands of kids to eat their veggies, smuggled inside chicken nuggets. Soon, Mission Barns plans to release a plant-based bacon using lab-grown pork fat: “the biggest missing piece,” argued Eitan Fischer, the company’s CEO.

Since demand for novel plant-based meats has flatlined, blended meats look more and more like the hybrid cars of the food world – a bridge to a plant-based future. Blended offerings can cut emissions by about a third relative to conventional meat. But that doesn’t appear to be their primary appeal. Their greatest potential seems to be among meat eaters whose motivations center on taste, nutrition and convenience.

Thanks as always for reading and taking action!

Your Editor, 

Ellie Syverud