Happy holidays to all! We're look back at 2022, which might end up being remembered as a year that changed everything (to borrow from Naomi Klein).

There's a long post in the blog, full of links and references to everything that happened. And below the image there's a short recap.

But as you check out our year in review, and reflect on all the lessons, victories, and challenges of 2022, I hope you'll consider a year-end, tax-deductible donation to 198 methods. The key lesson of all the actions, failures, victories, and struggle detailed below is this: when we take action together, and use creative, non-violent, direct action combined with modern digital tools to do it, we can make incredible progress.

So, click here to chip in $1.98 or more in honor of all our amazing work together this year. Or, if you've saved your payment information, use the links below and your donation will go through immediately:

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The war in Ukraine, President Biden and Congress' best efforts in the Inflation Reduction Act, and their collective failure to act at the speed and scale of the crisis, even the fitful international response of the United Nations — none of it has done as much to reduce emissions and fight climate chaos as committed action from climate activists just like you. Thank you for all you do.

Happy Holidays and merry New Year from 198 methods

Winter:

We started a lot of new campaigns, some of which we won before the end of the year — like tougher rules limiting methane pollution from the EPA and attacking the financiers of climate chaos, like asking Bank of America to Defund Formosa plastics.

But the big story was the war in Ukraine, which started in February and sent global energy markets into wild spasms. We launched our most successful, and arguably most important, victory of the year in response, leaning on the Biden Administration to use the Defense Production Act to build a clean energy arsenal of freedom.

Lots of other stuff too, see the full(er) list in the blog.

Spring

April was when it became clear that our fight for climate legislation in Congress was being stalled by Joe Manchin (coal baron, WV). As the war in Ukraine expanded, and domestic fuel prices soared, a standoff emerged between the US elected officials, most of the Democrats, who wanted to end the era of fossil fuels, and the fossil fueled fascists, including Manchin, who would stop at nothing to deepen our dependence on the same fuels, and prolong the climate crisis.

We also continued campaigns pressuring the Biden Administration to take action, and at the shareholder meetings of a number of major banks and investment firms who are profiting of climate chaos. Shareholder resolutions and public comment periods at agencies like FERC were similarly mixed in results, however, with lots of lessons learned. See the full(er) list in the blog.

Summer

First of all, let's not kid ourselves. So. Much. Stuff. happened this summer. But looking back the biggest deal (of 2022) might not be the Inflation Reduction Act's passage in August, but rather Biden's Heat Pumps for Peace and Democracy in June. As a reminder, this was the first time Biden agreed to use the Defense Production Act to massively scale up clean energy and fossil fuel free energy alternatives (like heat pumps, efficiency, and batteries).

But most of the summer was spent fight for a deal on climate – what started out as Build Back Better, became No Climate No Deal, and eventually became the very mixed bag of the Manchin-Schumer compromise, and eventually the Inflation Reduction Act.

All of that played our against the backdrop of the January 6 committee revelations, and the Supreme Court's increasingly anti-democratic, fossil fuel-friendly rulings. Which lent a dangerous democracy on the brink of fossil fueled fascism feel to everything, and which you can read more about in the blog.

Fall

With the Inflation Reduction Act passed, we thought we only had one more fight with Congress – to stop Manchin’s dirty deal. And stop it we did with a huge rally in DC, and a massive grassroots lobbying campaign that convinced just enough Senators to stand with us.

And in November, the Red Wave didn't materialize, and at the state and local level (where a lot of the IRA will be implemented) Democrats and climate hawks actually gained power. It's a good sign and a reminder that Presidents and campaigns won't save us, but this movement can. We are the change we've been waiting for, and the mid-term election results and the defeat of Manchin’s dirty deal prove it.

There were also lots of other campaigns to stop individual fossil fuel projects, respond to individual climate emergencies, and to the global need to end fossil fuels. One of the most interesting changes we're looking to continue in 2023 was a shift to focus more on individual corporations, and build solidarity with organized labor, as opposed to focussing on unaccountable wall street hedge funds and billionaires. You can read more about that in the blog.

Winter, so far

The lame duck session of Congress proved to be a busy one – so we rallied to action one more time this year, calling for climate action at the speed and scale of the crisis, continuing to pressure the Biden Administration to just say no to fossil fuels, and standing with allies old and new in the streets, on picket lines, and in actions all over the place.

Of course, the big victory was our 1-2-3 defeat of Manchin's dirty deal in the House, and then in the Senate, and then for a final time last week.

But there were also interesting campaigns on Environmental Justice, lessons to be learned from the COP27 climate conference in Egypt, and a final disappointing act of cowardice from FERC that effectively ends the era of optimism and reform at the agency that overseas all inter-state gas and electricity. Read more about all that in the blog, of course.

So, was 2022 a year that changed everything? It definitely saw big changes in the global and US energy markets. But big laws and policies from the Biden Administration and Congress didn't so much settle the debate between fossil fuel autocrats and clean energy democrats, as prolong the conflict.

I'm ending the year optimistic – and not just because we killed Manchin's zombie deal and believe we’ll kill his zombie pipeline next. After a year of campaigning, our biggest victory wasn't a single piece of legislation passed or defeated, it was a movement big and powerful enough to force Congress to the bargaining table, compel executive action, and strike fear into some of the biggest and most powerful banks and corporations on the planet. Each time we won, it was because we took principled, non-violent direct action as part of the campaign, and because those tactics had digital support.

Happy New Year from 198 methods – you've done a lot this year. And next year, we're going to do, and win, even more.

Drew and the 198 ways to slay the zombie pipeline menace crew

Sources are too numerous this week to list — check out the blog for a full(er) list.