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September 10, 2021
Surely you and everyone else concerned about the climate crisis is asking whether this September will be one to remember: will policymakers in Washington enact new legislation and provide new investments to advance climate solutions?
You might notice that I cribbed a little from “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire. (The band took their name from astrology, although these days it sounds like it could refer to climate impacts.)
Climate action could reach a crescendo later this month when a confluence of proposals—infrastructure, clean energy standard, national climate bank, and conservation workforce development—are considered in the House and Senate. Knowing that infrastructure was likely to be on the Congressional agenda, we dedicated June to a series on modernizing the energy grid. And in May, we held a session to help our audience understand budget reconciliation.
You have helped ensure that Congress has all the science-based, solutions-oriented informational resources it needs when senators and representatives take up this wide range of climate policies later this month.
You have enabled EESI to stay engaged on the frontlines of policy on Capitol Hill and beyond. You made possible the latest update to our fact sheet about current proposals to reduce or eliminate wasteful fossil fuel subsidies that make it harder to reduce emissions--an updated fact sheet that the media and policymakers are finding invaluable. And you help rural utilities access zero-cost loans for their customers who want to improve the comfort and efficiency of their homes while lowering monthly energy bills.
Thank you for your continued commitment to advance equitable climate solutions.
- Daniel Bresette, Executive Director
Beauty company executive Melanie Bender is deeply concerned about climate change and sustainability. In college, she majored in global environmental science. Since then, she’s shown her flair for business and marketing. She launched Versed, a line of beauty products that prizes both sustainability and accessibility in terms of price and availability.
She has also chosen to make philanthropy part of her family’s spending plan, giving every month to nonprofits like EESI working on issues important to the family—including climate change.
Melanie and Versed are also playing a leading role in the beauty industry’s first-ever coordinated grassroots campaign for climate action: #CodeRed4Climate. In a first for the beauty industry, on Tuesday, September 21, 2021, Versed and other beauty companies are running a grassroots advocacy campaign, urging federal action on climate.
EESI’s Susan Williams sat down with Melanie to discuss her commitment to progress on climate change in her life, her business, and in her family’s philanthropy.
Click here to read the full conversation.
Did you know that the U.S. government gives large tax breaks to oil, gas, and coal companies and funds research into these unsustainable energy sources? These subsidies are dispersed across the government and entrenched in tax law.
The Biden-Harris Administration’s 2022 budget calls for eliminating $121 billion of these tax breaks (see the breakdown below). This will mean reduced greenhouse gas emissions as well as billions of extra dollars that can be put towards more sustainable causes such as clean energy, education, resilient infrastructure, and new jobs.
For more details, check out the newly revised Fossil Fuel Subsidies fact sheet that you have made possible.
Please make a gift for more equitable climate solutions TODAY to continue to enable this and other urgent work!
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