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Biden Kicks Off Earth Week with Solar Funding, Expanding Climate Corps

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Monday, April 22, 2024

Biden Kicks Off Earth Week with Solar Funding, Expanding Climate CorpsThe Biden administration is marking Earth Week with announcements of solar power funding for lower-income communities, an expansion of the Climate Corps and Clean Air Act rulesBy Jean Chemnick & E&E NewsU.S. President Joe Biden greets attendees after speaking at a campaign event on April 16, 2024 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty ImagesCLIMATEWIRE | The Biden administration will mark Earth Week with a raft of new grants and initiatives in the coming days, culminating Thursday with the roll out of new pollution standards for power plants.On Monday — the last Earth Day of this term — President Joe Biden will travel to Prince William Forest Park in Virginia to announce the recipients of $7 billion in solar power grants for low- and moderate-income communities. Biden will also use the park — developed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps — as his backdrop to announce the expansion of the newly formed American Climate Corps.White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi told reporters Friday that Biden's remarks will cast the climate crisis as an opportunity “for us to come together to unlock economic opportunity, to create pathways to middle class-supporting careers, to save people money and improve their quality of life.”On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Biden has spent this spring shoring up his base in the run-up to the November election, including by canceling billions of dollars in student loans. Earth Week gives him the opportunity to tout his climate accomplishments to young and progressive voters, who could prove crucial to his reelection.A senior administration official said on Friday's call that "young people have their fingerprints all over President Biden's climate agenda."The White House said the president will announce Monday that the American Climate Corps will expand into three new states and target communities historically dependent on fossil fuels. The young-adult work program, focused on green energy and climate resiliency, is modeled after former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps.Biden will also announce a new “streamlined” pathway for ACC volunteers to transition into federal jobs.Throughout this week, Cabinet members and other senior administration officials will fan out across the country to highlight Biden's climate policies, especially passage of landmark infrastructure and climate laws in 2021 and 2022.Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s packed schedule includes a visit to solar and wind manufacturers in New Mexico, while Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will “help break ground" on a high speed rail line that will link Las Vegas to Southern California, according to the White House.EPA Administration Michael Regan was notably absent from the White House's Earth Week briefing, and the White House and EPA both declined to elaborate on his plans. Friday's call — which included EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory — omitted any mention of the four EPA power sector rules that stakeholders expect to be released Thursday.But climate advocates received invitations Friday to an unspecified announcement Thursday morning at Howard University. That is likely the release of four final Clean Air Act rules that would curb climate, air and water pollution from fossil fuel generation and cut coal ash from decommissioned power plants.Solar for All awardsThe White House said Friday that the solar grant awardees Biden announces Monday will enable more than 900,000 households in disadvantaged communities to benefit from rooftop and community solar power.McCabe said EPA winnowed down 150 applications to 60 awards via a “robust, multistage review that included input from hundreds of experts in climate power markets, environmental justice, labor and consumer protection from across the federal government.”The so-called Solar for All program is the final plank of EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a $27 billion grant program created by the 2022 climate law. The fund aims to leverage private capital to boost low-carbon investment and broaden consumer access to clean energy technologies, from solar panels to electric vehicle charging equipment.McCabe said EPA would make 49 “state-level” awards Monday worth a combined $5.5 billion. Another six awards — totaling over $500 million — will "ensure that investments in solar energy are reaching Indian country," she said.EPA will also award five multistate grants totaling approximately $1 billion, she said.“The multistate awards will reach people across the nation and invest in overburdened communities that the private market finds particularly challenging to serve,” McCabe said.A White House summary shows that state-level awards will go to a mix of states, territories (like Guam and Puerto Rico) and nonprofits. Twelve of the 49 awards, for example, will go to nonprofits, and Texas’ grant won't go to a state agency — it will instead be administered by Harris County.The multistate Solar for All grants will go to five nonprofits: Clean Energy Fund of Texas, a green bank; Grid Alternatives, a solar and housing nonprofit coalition; Groundswell, a community power nonprofit; Growth Opportunity Partner, a community development financial institution; and Inclusive Prosperity Capital, a national clean energy financing platform.The White House and EPA did not provide information about the size of each award. Awards were based on the number of low-income consumers that applicants will reach, which indicates that larger states may be in line for more funding.Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2024. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.

The Biden administration is marking Earth Week with announcements of solar power funding for lower-income communities, an expansion of the Climate Corps and Clean Air Act rules

Biden Kicks Off Earth Week with Solar Funding, Expanding Climate Corps

The Biden administration is marking Earth Week with announcements of solar power funding for lower-income communities, an expansion of the Climate Corps and Clean Air Act rules

By Jean Chemnick & E&E News

President Biden speaking with pointed finger.

U.S. President Joe Biden greets attendees after speaking at a campaign event on April 16, 2024 in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images

CLIMATEWIRE | The Biden administration will mark Earth Week with a raft of new grants and initiatives in the coming days, culminating Thursday with the roll out of new pollution standards for power plants.

On Monday — the last Earth Day of this term — President Joe Biden will travel to Prince William Forest Park in Virginia to announce the recipients of $7 billion in solar power grants for low- and moderate-income communities. Biden will also use the park — developed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps — as his backdrop to announce the expansion of the newly formed American Climate Corps.

White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi told reporters Friday that Biden's remarks will cast the climate crisis as an opportunity “for us to come together to unlock economic opportunity, to create pathways to middle class-supporting careers, to save people money and improve their quality of life.”

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

Biden has spent this spring shoring up his base in the run-up to the November election, including by canceling billions of dollars in student loans. Earth Week gives him the opportunity to tout his climate accomplishments to young and progressive voters, who could prove crucial to his reelection.

A senior administration official said on Friday's call that "young people have their fingerprints all over President Biden's climate agenda."

The White House said the president will announce Monday that the American Climate Corps will expand into three new states and target communities historically dependent on fossil fuels. The young-adult work program, focused on green energy and climate resiliency, is modeled after former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps.

Biden will also announce a new “streamlined” pathway for ACC volunteers to transition into federal jobs.

Throughout this week, Cabinet members and other senior administration officials will fan out across the country to highlight Biden's climate policies, especially passage of landmark infrastructure and climate laws in 2021 and 2022.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s packed schedule includes a visit to solar and wind manufacturers in New Mexico, while Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will “help break ground" on a high speed rail line that will link Las Vegas to Southern California, according to the White House.

EPA Administration Michael Regan was notably absent from the White House's Earth Week briefing, and the White House and EPA both declined to elaborate on his plans. Friday's call — which included EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory — omitted any mention of the four EPA power sector rules that stakeholders expect to be released Thursday.

But climate advocates received invitations Friday to an unspecified announcement Thursday morning at Howard University. That is likely the release of four final Clean Air Act rules that would curb climate, air and water pollution from fossil fuel generation and cut coal ash from decommissioned power plants.

Solar for All awards

The White House said Friday that the solar grant awardees Biden announces Monday will enable more than 900,000 households in disadvantaged communities to benefit from rooftop and community solar power.

McCabe said EPA winnowed down 150 applications to 60 awards via a “robust, multistage review that included input from hundreds of experts in climate power markets, environmental justice, labor and consumer protection from across the federal government.”

The so-called Solar for All program is the final plank of EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a $27 billion grant program created by the 2022 climate law. The fund aims to leverage private capital to boost low-carbon investment and broaden consumer access to clean energy technologies, from solar panels to electric vehicle charging equipment.

McCabe said EPA would make 49 “state-level” awards Monday worth a combined $5.5 billion. Another six awards — totaling over $500 million — will "ensure that investments in solar energy are reaching Indian country," she said.

EPA will also award five multistate grants totaling approximately $1 billion, she said.

“The multistate awards will reach people across the nation and invest in overburdened communities that the private market finds particularly challenging to serve,” McCabe said.

A White House summary shows that state-level awards will go to a mix of states, territories (like Guam and Puerto Rico) and nonprofits. Twelve of the 49 awards, for example, will go to nonprofits, and Texas’ grant won't go to a state agency — it will instead be administered by Harris County.

The multistate Solar for All grants will go to five nonprofits: Clean Energy Fund of Texas, a green bank; Grid Alternatives, a solar and housing nonprofit coalition; Groundswell, a community power nonprofit; Growth Opportunity Partner, a community development financial institution; and Inclusive Prosperity Capital, a national clean energy financing platform.

The White House and EPA did not provide information about the size of each award. Awards were based on the number of low-income consumers that applicants will reach, which indicates that larger states may be in line for more funding.

Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2024. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.

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Pope Leo XIV Calls for Urgent Climate Action and Says God’s Creation Is 'Crying Out'

Pope Leo XIV is urging countries at United Nations climate talks to take “concrete actions” to stop climate change that is threatening the planet

BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Monday urged countries at United Nations climate talks to take “concrete actions” to stop climate change that is threatening the planet, telling them humans are failing in their response to global warming and that God’s creation “is crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat.”In a video message played for religious leaders gathered in Belem, Leo said nations had made progress, “but not enough.”“One in three people live in great vulnerability because of these climate changes,” Leo said. “To them, climate change is not a distant threat, and to ignore these people is to deny our shared humanity.”His message came as the talks were moving into their second week, with high-level ministers from governments around the world arriving at the edge of the Brazilian Amazon to join negotiations. Monday was dominated by speeches, with several leaders from Global South nations giving emotional testimony on devastating costs of recent extreme weather and natural disasters.Vulnerable nations have pressed for more ambition at these talks as world leaders have begun to acknowledge that Earth will almost surely go past a hoped-for limit — 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) in Earth's warming since pre-industrial times. That was the target set at these talks in 2015 in the landmark Paris agreement.Scientists say in addition to deadly heat, a warming atmosphere leads to more frequent and deadly extreme weather such as flooding, droughts, violent downpours and more powerful hurricanes.Leo said there's still time to stay within the Paris Agreement, but not much.“As stewards of God’s creation, we are called to act swiftly, with faith and prophecy, to protect the gift He entrusted to us,” he said. And he added: “But we must be honest: it is not the Agreement that is failing, we are failing in our response. What is failing is the political will of some.”U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell said Leo's words “challenge us to keep choosing hope and action."Leo "reminds us that the Paris Agreement is delivering progress and remains our strongest tool — but we must work together for more, and that bolder climate action is an investment in stronger and fairer economies, and more stable world," Stiell said.David Gibson, director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University in New York, said Leo is becoming the world’s most prominent moral leader against climate change.“This message does stake Leo out as a voice for the rest of the world, especially the Southern Hemisphere where climate change is wreaking havoc with the vulnerable in Asia, Africa and Latin America,” said Gibson.And he said it shows that Leo, who spent decades working as a missionary in Peru and is a naturalized Peruvian citizen, “has a Latin American heart and voice.”The Laudato Si' Movement, a Catholic climate movement that takes its name from a 2015 encyclical in which Pope Francis called for climate action, called Leo's message “a profound moral intervention.""He reminds the world that creation is crying out and that vulnerable communities cannot be pushed aside. “His voice cuts through the noise of negotiations and calls leaders back to what truly matters: our shared humanity and the urgent duty to act with courage, compassion, and justice,” the group's executive director, Lorna Gold, said.The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.This story was produced as part of the 2025 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

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AI is guzzling energy for slop content – could it be reimagined to help the climate?

Some experts think AI could be used to lower, rather than raise, planet-heating emissions – others aren’t so convinced Cop30: click here for full Guardian coverage of the climate talks in BrazilArtificial intelligence is often associated with ludicrous amounts of electricity, and therefore planet-heating emissions, expended to create nonsensical or misleading slop that is of meagre value to humanity.Some AI advocates at a major UN climate summit are posing an alternative view, though – what if AI could help us solve, rather than worsen, the climate crisis? Continue reading...

Artificial intelligence is often associated with ludicrous amounts of electricity, and therefore planet-heating emissions, expended to create nonsensical or misleading slop that is of meagre value to humanity.Some AI advocates at a major UN climate summit are posing an alternative view, though – what if AI could help us solve, rather than worsen, the climate crisis?The “AI for good” argument has been made repeatedly at the Cop30 talks in Belém, Brazil, with supporters arguing AI can be used to lower, rather than raise, emissions through a series of efficiencies that can spread through areas of our lives such as food, transport and energy that cause much of the pollution dangerously heating our planet.Last week, a coalition of groups, UN bodies and the Brazilian government unveiled the AI Climate Institute, a new global initiative aimed at fostering AI “as a tool of empowerment” in developing countries to help them tackle environmental problems.Proponents say the program, in time, will help educate countries on how to use AI in an array of ways to bring down emissions, such as better optimizing public transit, organizing agricultural systems and recalibrating the energy grid so that renewables are deployed at the right times.Even weather forecasting, including the mapping of impending climate-driven disasters such as flooding and wildfires, can be improved in this way, according to Maria João Sousa, executive director, Climate Change AI, one of the groups behind the new initiative.“Very few places in the world actually run numerical weather prediction models because numerical weather prediction models are very compute-intensive,” she said. “I definitely believe (AI) is a positive force to accelerate a lot of these things.”AI can help monitor emissions, biodiversity and generally see what is going on, said Lorenzo Saa, chief sustainability officer at Clarity AI, who is also attending Cop30.“You can really start looking at where the problem is,” he said. “Then you can predict, and the prediction is actually short-term and long-term. You can now predict floods in the next week, but you can actually figure out sea level rise and things like that.”Saa admitted there are legitimate concerns about the governance of AI and its impact upon society but, on balance, the effect on the environment could be positive. In June, a report by the London School of Economics had an unexpectedly sunny estimate – AI could reduce global greenhouse gases by 3.2bn to 5.4bn tonnes in the next decade, even factoring in its vast energy consumption.“People already make dumb decisions about energy, such as running air conditioning for too long,” Saa said. “How much of our phone has bad stuff for us? I think a lot. How many hours do we spend on Instagram?“My view of this is that society is going to go in this direction. We need to think about how we are not destroying the planet with heating and we’re actually trying to make sure that there’s a net benefit.”Some other experts and environmental advocates are not convinced. The huge computational power of AI, particularly generative AI, is fueling a boom in data centers in countries such as the US that is gobbling up a huge amount of electricity and water, even in places prone to droughts, pushing up electricity bills in some places as a result.The climate cost of this AI gold rush, driven by companies such as Google, Meta and OpenAI, is large and set to get larger – a recent Cornell University study found that by 2030, the current rate of AI growth in the US will add up to 44m tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, the equivalent of adding 10m gasoline cars to the road or the entire annual emissions of Norway.“People have this techno-utopian view of AI that it will save us from the climate crisis,” said Jean Su, a climate campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We know what will save us from the climate crisis – phasing out fossil fuels. 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A report last month by Wood Mackenzie estimated that AI could help unlock an extra trillion barrels of oil – a scenario which, if the energy markets were to be amenable to such a thing, would obliterate any hopes of restraining catastrophic climate breakdown.Natascha Hospedales, lead lawyer for AI at Client Earth, said there is some merit to the “AI for good” argument, but that it is a “really small niche” within a much larger industry that is much more focused on maximizing profits.“There is some truth that AI could help the developing world, but much of this is in the early stage and some of it is hypothetical – it’s just not there yet,” she said. “Overall we are very, very far from a situation where AI for good balances out the negative environmental impact of AI.“The environmental cost of AI is already alarming and I don’t see data center growth winding down any time soon. 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Scientists Warn Ocean Carbon Removal Could Backfire Without Better Oversight

Experts say the ocean could help remove vast amounts of carbon dioxide, but the technologies are still shaky and hard to verify. With warming accelerating, residual emissions from aviation, shipping, and industry mean carbon removal will be essential. Yet marine approaches—from seaweed to plankton fertilization—carry scientific and environmental uncertainties. Oceans as a Climate Tool: Promise [...]

Experts say the ocean could help remove vast amounts of carbon dioxide, but the technologies are still shaky and hard to verify. With warming accelerating, residual emissions from aviation, shipping, and industry mean carbon removal will be essential. Yet marine approaches—from seaweed to plankton fertilization—carry scientific and environmental uncertainties. Oceans as a Climate Tool: Promise [...]

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‘Damned if we do but completely stuffed if we don’t’: heatwaves will worsen longer net zero is delayed

A new study suggests heatwaves will not revert back towards preindustrial conditions for at least 1,000 years after emissions target reachedSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereHeatwaves will become hotter, longer and more frequent the later net zero emissions is reached globally, new research suggests.Scientists at the ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather and Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, simulated how heatwaves would respond over the next 1,000 years, examining the differences for each five-year delay in reaching net zero between 2030 and 2060. Continue reading...

Heatwaves will become hotter, longer and more frequent the later net zero emissions is reached globally, new research suggests.Scientists at the ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather and Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, simulated how heatwaves would respond over the next 1,000 years, examining the differences for each five-year delay in reaching net zero between 2030 and 2060.The research, published in the journal Environmental Research Climate, found that for countries near the equator, delaying net zero until 2050 would result in heatwave events that break current historical records at least once yearly.The study also suggests that heatwaves will not revert back towards preindustrial conditions for at least a millennium after net zero is reached, which “critically challenges the general belief that conditions after net zero will begin to improve for near future generations”.“The thing with net zero and heat waves is: we’re damned if we do, but we’re completely stuffed if we don’t,” the study’s lead author, Prof Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick of the Australian National University, said. “We’re already locked into a certain amount of warming.” Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletterStabilising global heating at 1.5C or 2C would still result in impacts “that we haven’t yet experienced, including worse heatwaves”, she said. “The thing is, if we delay net zero – up to 30 years and even longer – those impacts are only going to get worse. We’re already locked into some, but the longer we leave net zero, the worse it’s going to be.”“[In Australia] you have the Coalition basically saying: net zero is useless, it’s pointless, it’s not worth it, it’s going to cost us too much money,” she said. “Well, it’s going to cost us even more if we don’t even get to net zero by 2050.”“The silver lining to this sort of study, if there is one, is that we have time to adapt … so when these heatwaves occur, we’re as prepared for them as possible,” she said. “We know the impacts of heatwaves – there’s so much understanding about the health impacts, ecosystem impacts, impacts on financial services.“What those adaptation strategies look like – that remains to be seen,” she said. “Those conversations can start now.”The modelling was done using Australia’s global climate simulator, known as Access, and defined a heatwave as at least three consecutive days where temperatures are above the 90th percentile for maximum temperature.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Clear Air AustraliaAdam Morton brings you incisive analysis about the politics and impact of the climate crisisPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionProf David Karoly, a decorated climate change scientist and councillor with the Climate Council, who was not involved in the research, said the findings were not surprising.“There is a clear relationship between the cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and global mean temperatures,” he said.Karoly added that the study’s results were interesting but one caveat was that there were uncertainties in the modelling relating to potentially important processes such as rainfall changes, because the geographical representation of Australia and other regions in the Access model was of a lower resolution than for other climate simulators.

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The birth of the climate doula

In Florida, a new pilot program teaches doulas how to prepare pregnant people for hurricanes, flooding, and extreme heat — addressing a growing climate and maternal health crisis.

In the days leading up to Hurricane Irma’s landfall in September 2017, Esther Louis made preparations to flee Florida with her husband and four children. The Category 4 Hurricane was expected to hit the Florida Keys and make it’s way up the state, posing a risk to millions of residents. One of those residents was a client of Louis’ who was nine months pregnant and living in a home that the Miami-based doula feared was in too poor of condition to withstand the storm.  As a doula, Louis was trained to provide holistic care to her client, anticipating all the factors that may affect her health. She worried about how the stress of an impending hurricane and evacuation could impact her client’s pregnancy. So she offered to escort her client and her family toward Georgia, where Louis was headed and where her client had relatives.  The caravan of two families departed together, inching their way in evacuation traffic to the Georgia border. What would have been an eight hour drive took 24 hours. “It was stressful,” Louis said. Her client started to experience Braxton Hicks contractions which can be caused by stress. At times they would switch drivers so she could provide emotional support to her client, who was worried about all that could go wrong on the drive. “Sometimes people go to the worst possible outcome but I’m like, ‘We’re going to get there, OK? We’re going to work it out.’” The experience was one of many instances in Louis’ career where the worsening climate crisis had complicated a client’s birthing journey. She realized that if doulas like herself had proper training on how to communicate the risks of hurricane season, flooding and even extreme heat to their clients, they would be better prepared in the event of a disaster like Irma. Read Next How climate change endangers mothers and children Zoya Teirstein They would also be filling an important information gap that could protect pregnancies, particularly for Black people, who have a higher climate risk and higher maternal mortality rates.  Over the past decade, a growing body of research has linked environmental threats like extreme heat and wildfire smoke to an uptick in stillbirths, premature births and low-birth weights. These factors also cause health problems for pregnant people, including an association with developing preeclampsia, a high blood pressure condition that can be deadly. More recently, studies have linked climate-related disasters with higher rates of maternal mental health issues like postpartum depression.   So in 2024, after years of providing some of this training herself to doulas in the Miami-Dade area, Louis partnered with Dr. Cheryl Holder, cofounder of Florida Clinicians for Climate Action, a nonprofit that seeks to teach health professionals how to incorporate climate change into their work. They won a grant that would help them develop a curriculum and training known as the Doula C-Hot program, to teach doulas how to assess the climate risk of their clients and help them better prepare for future climate threats. If the pilot is successful it could serve as a blueprint for how to train doulas across the country as climate educators.  A survey conducted by Louis and other advocacy groups focused on maternal health found that doulas, who provide emotional and physical support to pregnant people, were already seeing the everyday risks the changing climate posed to their clients’ pregnancies and doing their best to help them cope.  In New Orleans, doulas have shown up at emergency shelters to figure out what people need to safely feed their infants when access to sterile water needed for infant formula isn’t always available or places to privately breastfeed can be hard to find. And in Philadelphia, doulas are playing an important role in educating patients on environmental exposures to contaminants like lead or air pollution.  Some doulas, like Houston-based Sierra Sankofa, have even developed disaster planning workshops aimed at pregnant people and families with young children that can help them better prepare for staying warm in the winter and cool in the summer. She’s covered topics like how to know if breast milk is still safe if the power has gone out and how to sanitize bottles with no electricity.  Read Next Climate disasters can alter kids’ brains — before they’re even born Kate Yoder But while many doulas are already helping their patients through climate-related disasters, the survey identified another trend: 95 percent of them wanted more training and resources to help pregnant people deal with environmental threats and hazards.  So far the pilot program in Florida, which has been running for almost a year, has trained 12 doulas on the impacts of climate change on pregnancy and maternal health. It follows a model developed by Holder, a collaborator on the project, who similarly trained clinicians to understand climate health risks. She wanted to focus her efforts on reaching pregnant people, particularly from the marginalized populations she already works with as a doctor.  “Where else should we start, other than with pregnant folks? That’s two lives, the next generation,” she said. “And if we can’t learn lessons to save the newborn, the unborn and the mom, how are we in society going to do anything?” She knew doulas could be more effective in that work, due to the close relationships they develop with their patients and the time they spend with them. They also conduct home visits and are able to understand more holistically what may be impacting a pregnant person’s health.  Nationally, doulas are being recognized for their additive care, with many states passing legislation in recent years to cover their services under Medicaid in order to improve birth outcomes, particularly for women of color.  Read Next ‘How did we miss this for so long?’: The link between extreme heat and preterm birth Virginia Gewin As part of their training with the project, the doulas work with their clients to gauge their preparedness, said Louis, who helped develop the assessment tool. They ask them questions like do they have an air conditioning unit? Or someone they can borrow $50 from in case of an emergency? Do they have a place to go if a disaster hits?  Depending on their answers, the doulas are then able to offer advice, like where to find a cooling center, or resources including portable air conditioners for those without AC. They also help their clients do things like look up whether they live in a flood zone, and assist them in developing plans to prepare for a hurricane or other natural disaster. They then reassess their patients after these climate-focused meetings to understand if they are now better prepared to deal with heat or hurricanes during their pregnancies. So far they’ve worked with over 40 clients. If the pilot program is successful, they hope to build out the tools and training to make it accessible beyond Florida.  Already they are thinking of ways to reach more pregnant people, said Zainab Jah, a  researcher evaluating the program. For one, they would like to expand the languages of their materials, which are in English. In the parts of Miami-Dade and Broward County where they work, there are communities who speak Haitian Creole and Spanish. Some of their doulas are able to translate, but they’d like to focus on language equity as they grow the program.  Meanwhile, other models are being developed. In Oregon, Nurturely, an advocacy group that focuses on perinatal equity, or improving pregnancy outcomes, is working on a similar train-the-trainer model set to launch in 2026, which aims to expand the knowledge of birthworkers around wildfire season and wildfire smoke. “The perinatal period is a very delicate period. So there are niche needs and preparation for people in that category,” said Aver Yakubu, a program director with the organization.  Read Next Four lost pregnancies. Five weeks of IVF injections. One storm. Zoya Teirstein & Jessica Kutz, The 19th Many of the doulas Yakubu has spoken to in the state are aware of the dangers of wildfires, but “they don’t know where to start or what to say to their patients,” she said. This training would aim to fill that information void and connect clients to resources. In Oregon, for example, pregnant Medicaid patients can use their coverage to pay for things like air conditioners and air purifiers, which can buffer them from the effects of heat and smoke.  Still, there are limitations to using doulas to reach those most socioeconomically vulnerable to the climate crisis. Doula care is expensive, and while Florida can reimburse doulas under the state’s Medicaid program, it’s been difficult in practice for doulas to qualify and receive payment. In Texas, where Sankofa works, she said the current Medicaid reimbursements leave out community-based doulas who specifically help marginalized groups by only recognizing certain certifications. Many community-based doulas have received training outside of those certifying bodies and are holistically meeting the needs of their clients, she argues. She’s advocating to change the law to allow for a broader definition of who could meet those guidelines.  But even if there is progress on improving doula coverage, the future of Medicaid itself is up in the air. A majority of the clients being reached by the Florida pilot program are on Medicaid, and nationally, the program covers 41 percent of all births. But with the impending cuts to the program pushed through under the Trump administration, coverage could dwindle.  “I think that’s the biggest issue right now,” Jah said. “I think we’re just all actively in the space of trying to learn from one another and brainstorm to figure out what can be done. But I think that’s going to be a huge barrier.” While figuring out some of the logistical and financial obstacles will be difficult, Holder believes the training they are providing doulas is crucial to the health of pregnant people in a state where climate change is wreaking havoc.  “I would really love to see this program fully tested and expanded and incorporated in general medical care,” she said. “This is the new environment we live in.” This story was originally published by Grist with the headline The birth of the climate doula on Nov 16, 2025.

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Crisis
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Forests
Climate
Crisis

LEAVES

An academic woman in Texas becomes concerned when a massive red oak in her backyard seems to be ailing, though she isn’t sure why it bothers her so much. At the same time, in her small cottage, her attention to her work is distracted by news reports she sees and hears. They tell in graphic terms of the out-of-control forest fires up and down the West Coast. Her attention is further pulled in the direction of other stories about the worsening conditions of the world’s rainforests which she discovers are disappearing at the astounding rate of 200,000 acres a day. Suddenly such stories are all she seems to hear and see on the radio or television or on her computer. But when she hears/sees a science report about how trees actually communicate with each other, she begins to realize there may be a connection between her tree and what she is learning from the news. She begins to recall a strong connection she herself has with that tree and allows that connection to regrow…..

Pollution
Forests
Inspirational

The Straight Poop

Our animated short entertains while presenting eye-opening information on one of the fastest, most effective ways to slow the rate of global warming. Our film is an engaging way of addressing the dangers of climate change that educates in a non-threatening comical way. Individuals concerned about climate change can make relatively small personal choices that can have a huge positive effect.

Animals
Climate
Food

In Pursuit of Passive

Follows the construction of the first net-zero, passive house built in the Greater Tetons-Yellowstone region near Jackson, WY, while explaining the Passive House building approach for designing and constructing more sustainable buildings and exploring the many associated climate and energy performance benefits. Features the home’s designers – Lindsey Love and Lindsay Schack, co-founders of a sustainable architecture and design firm based out of Bozeman, MT and Driggs, ID – along with building and climate experts.

Energy
Solutions
Climate

The Invisible Mammal - The Bat Rescuer

Bats are struggling to survive, specifically in North America, where white nose syndrome is causing a sharp decline of certain species. Pertinent issues: climate change, habitat destruction, what can humans must do to prevent extinction.

Animals
Climate
Extinction

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