"The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any."
- Alice Walker
Pamela --
There are two things I'm trying to hold in my head at the same time.
The first is technical and transformative.
We're standing on the brink of the most significant change to energy production in the United States since the Industrial Revolution.
The second is about politics and power.
The people who want to implement Donald Trump's vision for the country are trying to do something difficult, and their success is not pre-ordained.
In the moments when I'm able to appreciate each of those facts, I don't just feel hopeful about the future; I feel ready to get to work.
When we passed the Inflation Reduction Act, we made the single largest investment in climate and clean energy in American history. And right now, we're all starting to see, feel, and receive its benefits.
Clean energy production is spiking. We'll break a record as a country this year -- generating more power from wind and solar than we ever have before. Solar energy in the United States now produces enough electricity annually to power more than 37 million homes. That trend is starting to look like a rock rolling down a hill -- building momentum with each passing moment.
Clean energy jobs are booming. At Climate Power, we've counted more than 330,000 new positions announced by clean energy businesses since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. Those jobs are flowing to every corner of the country -- including a lot of places represented by Republicans, who now have a real political incentive to protect them.
Yes, Donald Trump is a climate denier. Yes, Project 2025 is a roadmap for gutting our progress and dismantling our country's resources to stop climate change. We have serious work to do in the face of those threats.
But if we assume our opponents will be successful before they prove it, we're giving them more power than they deserve. We're assuming that we have less power and agency than we collectively possess. We're saying there's just nothing we can do.
And the opposite is true.
Right now, Climate Power is preparing to showcase what undoing our progress would mean to the communities Republicans represent. If someone attempts to roll back our progress, we'll make sure it doesn't get swept under the rug -- that it makes the news so their constituents know exactly what they're up to.
We're preparing to throw punches as the Trump administration gets to work. We're making plans to throw sand in the gears of the policymaking process. We're coming up with ways that we can make the people who work for Donald Trump waste time chasing their own tails -- dealing with bad headlines and tough questions every single day.
That's work you can be part of. And we need you. Full stop.
One last thing about me: I'm a father of two incredible boys, Pamela. I know the world they grow up in is going to be determined by the choices we make in the next four years.
I want to be able to tell them that I did everything I could for them, the friends they have, the people they have yet to meet, and kids around the world just like them. If you feel the same way, you have a crucial role to play here in this movement.
Thank you. Seriously.
Yours,
Matt
Matt Compton
Chief of Staff
Climate Power
Climate Power
815 Black Lives Matter Plaza NW, Suite 4100
Washington, DC 20006
United States |
| CLIMATEPOWER.US | INFO@CLIMATEPOWER.US |
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