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How to Make a Difference on Climate
As Trump attacks protections on clean drinking water, we are focused on educating the public in ways to push back. Check out our new webinar, and see our article below on how we make a difference.
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In This Issue
December Events
12/11: The Climate and Fiscal Case for Fossil Fuel Divestment in Illinois
12/13: 350 Chicago at Patagonia Fulton Market
12/21: 350 Chicago at Eco Voice Winter Solstice Celebration
Action Center
#Giving Tuesday 2025
Online Petition: Climate Safe Pensions
Online Petition: Utility Transparency Act
Climate News
Trump Administration Attacks Clean Water Protections
ICE Raids in Chicago Spotlight the Link Between Immigrant Rights and Environmental Justice
350 News
China’s Clean, Green, and Smart Revolution on YouTube
Main Article
How We Make a Difference: Utility Justice and Clean Energy
December Events
The Climate and Fiscal Case for Fossil Fuel Divestment in Illinois
Thursday, December 11th, 6:00pm CST
Via Zoom
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Join 350 Chicago in welcoming the Climate Safe Pensions Illinois Coalition for a special webinar to discuss the Illinois State Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign. The Climate Safe Pension Illinois Coalition will discuss the climate and fiscal case for the state of Illinois to follow the path of fossil fuel divestment. Learn more and register HERE.
350 Chicago at Patagonia Fulton Market
Saturday, December 13, 11:00am - 2:00pm
Patagonia Fulton Market, 1115 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607
350 Chicago will be collecting signatures to support our climate safe pensions campaign and our utility accountability campaign at the Patagonia. Come and sign a postcard before you stock up on winter clothes!
350 Chicago at Eco Voice Winter Solstice Celebration
Sunday, December 21, 6:30pm - 9:30pm
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Evanston, 939 Hinman Ave, Evanston, IL 60202
350 Chicago will be at the Eco Voice Winter Solstice Celebration at collecting signatures to support our climate safe pensions campaign and our utility accountability campaign.
“The EcoVoice Project rounds out its 2025 season with a celebration of the winter solstice. Our celebration will be centered around winter solstice traditions around the globe, across space and time. With candlelight, wassail, and solstice crafts, this collaboration with Climate Action Evanston, Interfaith Action of Evanston (Climate Change and Justice Working Group), Evanston Public Library (Blueberry Awards), The Musical Offering, 350 Chicago, and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church will include music, stories, and reflections on our connection with nature.
This year we are excited to premiere two new EcoVoice Community Songs, composed by Leah Shoshanah and Kaitlin Foley, who will also lead guest ensemble, the Evanston Folk Choir. In addition to community singing, musical offerings will include flutist Emma Hospelhorn, pianist Rick Ferguson, and vocalist Kirsten Hedegaard, who will perform peaceful winter interludes, and Indigenous storyteller Vincent Romero will share winter solstice stories.”
Action Center
#Giving Tuesday 2025
On December 2nd, 350 Chicago participated in Giving Tuesday, a global fundraising event dedicated to donating to the community.
We appreciate everyone who donated: you all helped us raise nearly $5,000!
We also collaborated with the animation studio Open Pixel to create a video which showcases how your donations will contribute to our mission.
If you’d like to still contribute, we appreciate any donation to our end of year fundraiser HERE.
Online Petition: Climate Safe Pensions
Investments in fossil fuels are driving climate change, and they are becoming increasingly risky financial liabilities as well. On behalf of the Climate Safe Pensions Illinois coalition, we are asking Illinois legislators to sign the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act and protect our pensions! Lean more and sign: Climate Safe Pensions Petition!
Online Petition: Utility Transparency Act
Over the years, utilities have made it acceptable to recover some of their costs from ratepayers that we believe should never be passed onto ratepayers, such as their political lobbying efforts. We are asking our legislators to support the Utility Transparency Act and protect Illinois ratepayers. Learn more and sign: Utility Transparency Petition!
Climate News
Trump Administration Attacks Clean Water Protections
The Trump administration is proposing new regulatory changes that will weaken protections on clean water, endangering both our environment and our drinking water. This includes a new interpretation of the Clean Water Act that would end protections for many wetlands and downsizing national monuments, stripping protection for many rivers and streams that provide safe drinking water, and opening them up to extractive industries like mining or oil drilling.
via Earthjustice: “Trump’s EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed a rule that would end federal protections for many wetlands and streams in the U.S., imperiling critical habitats and the clean drinking water of millions of Americans. The new rule could strip safeguards from more than 80% of all wetlands nationwide. It would also take away protections for ephemeral streams, which make up about 59% of all streams in the U.S.. Industrial polluters have lobbied for such changes for years.”
If you want to use Earthjustice’s language, you can submit your public comment to the EPA Office of Water HERE.
via Inside Climate News: “The 31 national monuments designated since the Clinton administration, which could be downsized as the Trump administration pushes to open more public lands to extractive industries, safeguard clean water for millions of Americans, according to a new analysis from the Center for American Progress.”
ICE Raids in Chicago Spotlight the Link Between Immigrant Rights and Environmental Justice
The presence of federal ICE agents in Chicago has been damaging local communities for months. It is also affecting local environmental groups, preventing them from advocating for crucial public transition services, and forcing them to modify their tactics to successfully fight for both environmental and immigrant justice.
via Inside Climate News: “A number of environmental groups in Chicago, including GreenLatinos, have expanded their efforts far beyond the usual as ICE descended on Latino communities and people in the city this fall. Organizations that typically advocate to reduce the disproportionate effects of pollution and climate change on predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods began hosting ‘know your rights’ events, providing mutual aid and serving as rapid responders when people spotted ICE officers in an area.
It’s a striking example of how immigration and the environment intersect. Activists say it shows how targeting Latinos can harm efforts to reduce the environmental disparities plaguing Chicago, like much of the country. It also increases the odds of burnout.”
“For us, fighting for environmental justice is also fighting for immigrants, because immigrant communities are disproportionately exposed to pollution and environmental hazards. We really believe that Latino and immigrant communities deserve to live in safe neighborhoods where they can freely access clean air, water and beautiful green public spaces.” - Lucy Contreras, Director for the GreenLatinos’ Illinois state program
350 News
China’s Clean, Green, and Smart Revolution on YouTube
This past summer, 350 Chicago hosted a speaker series where three Chinese green energy experts discussed their nation’s strategies for leading a meaningful power transition to combat the climate crisis. Thank you to Changhua Wu, Dr. Peiyuan Guo, and Jun Ma for an informative and engaging talk!
The discussion is now up on our YouTube page and you can watch it here:
How We Make a Difference: Utility Justice and Clean Energy
by Christine Skolnik
This article, focusing on utility justice and clean energy, is the second of a three part series on what we do and how we make a difference in Chicago and Illinois. You can read the first part on divestment here.
Utility Transparency Campaign
Utility companies are notorious for being stuck in the past and slow to change: many rely on outdated business models dependent on fossil fuel extraction and existing fossil-fuel infrastructure. And like fossil fuel companies, utility companies will often do anything they can to protect their current business model and maximize profits at the expense of consumers.
350 Chicago is working with the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) and a statewide coalition of activist and advocacy organizations to stop utilities from charging ratepayers (i.e. charging you) for costs like lawyers, experts, and lobbyists, whose job it is to support rate increases- raising your utility bills in order to increase corporate profits.
Bizarre as it may seem, utilities such as ComEd, Nicor Gas, Peoples Gas, Ameren and Illinois American Water are allowed to routinely charge ratepayers for initiatives that work directly against the interests of those very ratepayers. They pay for lawyers, experts, public relations, and lobbyists all for the express purpose of burnishing their image and raising their rates, charging ratepayers more. Then they include these expenses in their rates, passing the costs along to you. So in essence, you are paying for the very lobbyists who are advocating to increase your own utility bills!
In short, the utility transparency campaign demands transparency from utilities as a step toward a more just economic model. Utility transparency is also as a step in moving away from fossil fuels as a costly alternative to renewable energy generation and infrastructure. Let’s all be clear on this point: fossil fuels are now the impractical and costly alternative.
“We still think of photovoltaic panels and wind turbines as ‘alternative energy,’ as if they were the Whole Foods of power, nice but pricey. In fact—and more so with each passing month—they are the Costco of energy, inexpensive and available in bulk” -Bill McKibben, Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization
More about Utility Transparency here:
Sun Day Brings Earth Day Energy to Renewables, Sierra Club
Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition
350 Chicago works on clean energy and a just transition through the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC) by participation in working groups focused on buildings, transportation, and policy. The large ICJC Clean Buildings working group focuses on State policies and legislation to electrify buildings and promote clean, reliable, and affordable energy.
Key pieces of state legislation that the ICJC supports are the Clean and Healthy Buildings Act (CHBA) and the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA). I represent 350 Chicago, where I work with allied organizations, contribute to ongoing policy discussions, and bring information back to 350 Chicago leadership to determine what sorts of initiatives 350 Chicago can support with endorsements and actions. 350 Chicago members and close allies have also recently participated in the Illinois Future of Gas proceedings which focus on the escalating cost of gas, rate hike controversies, and parties promoting gas while blocking electrification.
In the area of transportation, 350 Chicago representative Sarah Farbman worked with the ICJC transportation working group to pass the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act (NITA). The NITA will invest $1.5 billion in our state’s public transit system in order to implement long overdue reforms to the CTA, Pace, and Metra in order to deliver a coordinated, cost-efficient regional transit service, it will increase service and reliability, and mitigate air and climate pollution across the state.
“With the passage of the NITA Act, for the second time in 24 hours, Illinois is boldly leading the nation forward in tackling the climate crisis. As the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in Illinois, addressing our heavily polluting transportation sector by investing in public transit confronts climate change and makes our air healthier to breathe. We applaud leaders in the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor for coming together on legislation that invests in our future and delivers the transit system Illinoisans deserve.” - Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition statement on passing NITA
As in the case of the clean buildings working group, representatives advocate for 350 Chicago endorsements, relay action alerts, and encourage members to talk to their legislators about the importance of transit in general and transit funding in particular.
The combination of a fossil-fuel divestment campaign and clean-energy advocacy is a powerful one-two punch to a fossil fuel industry determined to profit at the expense of stakeholders and future generations. Just as the state divestment campaign builds on our experience with Chicago’s divestment, our current work on utility transparency and clean energy builds on our work supporting the Illinois Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), a long process that culminated with the passage of a landmark bill in 2022; our sustained work on the Chicago RF100 (Ready for 100% renewable energy) coalition; and our role, along with other allied organizations, consulting with the City and commenting on Chicago’s 2022 Climate Action Plan.
It’s all vitally important work. You can and you do make a difference.
Interested in helping us on future initiatives? Fill out our volunteer form if you’re interested in volunteering, become a paying subscriber to this newsletter, or help us with a much-appreciated donation for Giving Tuesday!
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