El Ignaciano / Marzo 2026

Environmental wins

There are some bold and revolutionary local actions that communities, cities, towns, and states are taking to counteract the real harm that federal policies the Trump administration has taken to sledgehammer the environmental and health protections.

Here are some state victories that have happened, according to Sierra Club information:

  1. New York passed the second-in-the-nation Climate Change Superfund Act, following a similar bill passed by Vermont last year. These are the first pieces of US legislation ever to hold the oil and gas industry financially responsible for their role in the climate crisis and will utilize industry funds for climate adaptation programs.
  2. The Ohio legislature repealed a coal industry bailout that would have forced Ohioans to pay around half a million dollars a day to bail out the financially failing coal plants and cover the poor business decisions of the Ohio electric utilities that own the plants.
  3. The Florida legislature passed the "State Park Preservation Act," a bill that halted plans to convert Florida's 175 state parks, which serve as spaces for recreation and critical wildlife sanctuaries, into private hotels, golf courses, and other forms of development.
  4. California proved that renewable energy is reliable by running on a record 98 out of 116 days with up to 10 hours of electricity generated from only clean, renewable sources like solar and wind.
  5. The New Mexico legislature acted to safeguard all surface water from harmful PFAS and other chemicals in response to federal rollbacks of the Clean Water Act.
  6. Illinois won a another victory against Big Oil when a Chicago case to hold the industry accountable for climate lies is sent back to the state. Dozens of courts rejected the oil and gas industry's attempt to move the cases to the US Supreme Court.
  7. Colorado passed a bill protecting wild bison by classifying them as big game wildlife, ensuring that, for the first time in nearly 150 years, wild bison will roam freely on Colorado public lands. (Which is especially exciting right now as July is National Bison Month.)

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8. Iowa, Missouri, and Tennessee defeated Bayer Protection legislation, a bill that aimed to shield the pesticide company from lawsuits related to cancer and other public health claims.

9. Connecticut passed a historic bill to establish a new goal to reach net-zero emissions statewide by 2050.

10. Iowa secured $12 million in funding for the enhancement and protection of the state's natural and cultural resources.

Let's take the case of Texas, the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the United States and the most vulnerable to the impact of its effect, as an example of local actions.

Alarming environmental changes are occurring in Texas, such as higher temperatures, intense rainfall in some areas, and severe droughts in others, with some significant events: Flooding in Kerr County, where the Guadalupe River rose nearly 8 meters in 45 minutes, leaving 100 dead and many missing; San Antonio experienced flooding on June 12, 2025, in which 13 people died. Rainfall intensity reached more than 6 inches in less than an hour. 

The city of San Antonio has created a “Climate Equity Plan” that sets out five objectives:

      1. Sustainable buildings
      2. Transportation and land use
      3. Electrification of transportation
      4. Nutrition education
      5. Natural products

Other initiatives:

      • Carbon neutrality
      • Reducing greenhouse gases
      • Improve resilience to extreme heat and drought
      • Transition to renewable energy
      • Infrastructure modernization
      • Tree planting
      • Adoption of regulations against idling
      • Use of cool pavement to combat urban heat

While it may feel like local action isn't enough in the face of such widespread federal deregulation, it's worth remembering that every bit of progress matters and can create a ripple effect causing others to follow suit.

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