Month: February 2026

Protecting Black Futures in the Climate Crisis Must Include FEMA Reform

By Gabby Walton, Federal Campaigns Coordinator, Chesapeake Climate Action Network

Black History Month is more than remembrance; it is a call to protect and enhance Black futures. Each February, we celebrate the brilliance, resistance, and love that define Black life in America. But honoring that legacy means confronting how the climate crisis, government rollbacks, and a failing disaster-response system are putting Black communities in greater danger. From extreme heat to floods and wildfires, Black neighborhoods are hit the hardest and too often denied the resources they need to recover. If Black History Month is about carrying the torch forward, then reforming our disaster and climate policies is one of the most urgent ways to keep that flame alive. Upholding the visions of the Civil Rights Movement in the era of climate change means confronting the racialized socioeconomic inequities embedded in our disaster-response system. Particularly as the federal government’s fervent opposition to strengthening the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) leaves communities at risk.

The Unequal Weight of the Climate Crisis

Black Americans face significantly greater risks from climate impacts, and those risks are intensifying. Centuries of discriminatory housing practices, including red-lining, have forced Black families into neighborhoods near highways, refineries, and flood zones. The result is generations living in under-sourced, unhealthy environments, made even more dangerous by climate change. The 2024 National Climate Assessment found localities with a 20% Black population will likely experience a 40% increase in annual financial losses due to flooding by 2050; in comparison, the nationwide average annual loss will increase by 26 percent. These figures don’t include the health impacts of mold, contaminated flood waters, vector-borne diseases, food inaccessibility, and loss of essential medical services. And with the Trump Administration’s recent rescission of the 2009 Endangerment Finding, a landmark environmental protection regulation, the outlook for flood-prone Black communities grows darker still.

Metarie, Louisiana, August 31, 2005 – Rescue activities continue into the night aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

FEMA’s Bad Record and the Need for Reform

It’s no secret that FEMA’s track record reflects deep racial and income disparities: a review of 4.8 million aid registrations between 2014 and 2018 found that the poorest renters received 23% less aid than wealthier renters, and the poorest homeowners received half as much aid. Studies show that Black survivors lose an average of $27,000 after disasters, whereas white survivors gain an average of $126,000 in wealth. After Hurricane Katrina, four of the seven ZIP codes facing the costliest flooding were at least 79% black, and these seven ZIP codes received nearly half of the $13 billion in flood claims. In Houston, neighborhoods with greater minority populations that survived Hurricane Harvey were less likely to receive FEMA funding than their whiter counterparts; as a result, minority neighborhoods saw a 40% increase in their bankruptcy rates.

Despite these shortcomings, FEMA remains essential, and communities can’t go without this safety net. In fact, Black communities have the most to lose if the federal government succeeds in its ongoing push to dissolve FEMA. Instead, we must reform FEMA to better respond to today’s climate realities and repair systemic inequities.

Building an Equitable, More Resilient System

One of FEMA’s urgent reforms should be recognizing the harsh economic realities families face. Financial insecurity remains Americans’ top concern, as families struggle with groceries, housing, childcare, and healthcare costs. Six million homeowners, many of them people of color, lack homeowner’s insurance. With the climate crisis compounding these inequities, it’s no wonder that a single extreme weather event can wipe out decades of progress overnight. Congress must introduce and strengthen FEMA programs to prioritize delivering aid to communities with the greatest need, especially renters, low-income communities, disabled individuals, and the elderly.

FEMA should also update flood maps to accurately identify vulnerable communities, ensuring that insurance requirements match real risks. Outdated maps leave millions of homeowners and renters unaware of their actual flood risk and unprotected by insurance. FEMA should also ensure that aid fully restores damaged homes. These changes would reduce displacement and help families avoid deeper financial hardship.

Why We Can’t Afford to Lose FEMA: Lessons from Hurricane Helene and Beyond — Effects of Hurricane Helene (2024) in Virginia

Fixing Insurance and Investing in Prevention

Beyond FEMA, insurance markets need sweeping reform. As climate disasters grow more frequent, insurers are retreating from high-risk areas or raising premiums, leaving families with impossible choices. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), though vital, is burdened by heavy debt and limited reach. Congress should overhaul NFIP to reduce debt, improve financing, and guarantee timely payouts. States should also make requirements for insurance companies to disclose their rate filings to identify and confront the main drivers of rate hikes.

FEMA and lawmakers must also take proactive steps to prevent disasters before they strike. For every $1 of federal investment in infrastructural resiliency, taxpayers save an estimated $6 disaster costs. Programs like the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, the Hazard Mitigation Assistance, and the Flood Mitigation Assistance Programs are extremely popular for the benefits they deliver to communities. Yet in 2025, FEMA either halted or failed to disburse this much-needed funding to communities. FEMA must make every effort to restore these programs and collaborate with states to enhance climate resiliency. Additionally, by updating building codes, states can avoid $1.6 billion in future damages. These are cost-effective changes that prevent the worst damage climate disasters can bring.

A Call to Act Now

This Black History Month, remembering how our ancestors worked tirelessly to promote equal rights, justice, and prosperity should inspire us to take action and to recognize how progress is under threat. As Black History Month calls us to remember where we’ve been, we have to see where we are and envision where we’d like to go. Reforming the nation’s disaster response and preparedness system is not just a moral and social imperative. Remembering the past means fighting for a future where every community has the chance not just to survive, but to thrive. Join CCAN’s state action teams to fight the climate crisis, demand fairer disaster relief, and help build systems that truly protect every community’s future.

About the author: Gabby Walton (she/her/hers) is the Federal Campaigns Coordinator at CCAN. Before joining CCAN, Gabby earned her bachelors degrees in French and Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After graduating in 2023, Gabby came to CCAN as the Federal Fellow before taking her current position as a full-time staff member.

In her role, Gabby leads CCAN’s efforts to improve the federal disaster response system. She also advocates for social and economically-just climate policies, and works with other members of CCAN’s Federal Team to create an economy powered by clean energy. In her free time, Gabby enjoys serving D.C.’s diverse communities through several volunteer projects.

Saving Trees, One Vine Removal at a Time

By: Meredith Prescott, Invasive Vines Program Manager, Chesapeake Climate Action Network

When we launched the invasive vine removal program in the fall of 2024, I was bracing myself for an uphill battle.

As organizers, we are taught to strive to make our campaigns relevant, exciting, and urgent. On the surface, invasive vines are none of these things. They are slow-moving, convoluted, and hard to kill. They are a problem that has been decades in the making, without a clear or actionable solution. With so many important and relevant issues in the world, how was I going to make people care about these invasive plants damaging our ecosystem?

Within months of lacing up my boots and hitting the ground, I was shocked to find that people care. People care a lot.

I quickly became acquainted with dozens of individuals who have frustratingly watched vines like English Ivy take over their beloved neighborhood trees.

These community members were concerned and ready to take action. All they needed was a plan and a system of organization. And that’s where the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Casey Trees came in. Together, the organizations teamed up to tackle invasive vines in underserved communities, with the goal of saving thousands of trees.

In our first year of the invasive vine removal program, we’ve organized hundreds of volunteers to rescue trees in their community. These volunteers have been crucial to every step of the process: connecting us with local leaders and city officials, helping capture data on the threat of invasive vines through tree surveying, hanging flyers on doors and talking with their neighbors, and of course, cutting tons and tons of vines.

With the work of over 600 volunteers, we rescued over 3,000 trees being threatened by vines in 2025. This year, we want to do even more!

This Monday, February 23, marks the beginning of National Invasive Species Awareness Week – a week dedicated to raising awareness about invasive species, the threats they pose, and the actions that can be taken to prevent their spread.

If you’re new to the world of invasive plants, consider checking out one of NAIMA’s webinars. Or, if you’re ready to be part of the solution, roll up your sleeves and volunteer with us! We are always looking for new volunteers to join the movement. Check out our upcoming events to find an opportunity to save trees near you.

And if you have an invasive vine growing up trees on your property, you could qualify for free vine removal! Trained CCAN volunteers will come to your home and remove vines from your trees using simple hand tools. Find out whether your home is eligible here.

And, next time you are walking around your neighborhood, I urge you to look around and try to spot some English Ivy. This time of year, it’s particularly easy to see its green footprint climbing up our trees. And, if you do spot them, know that you can do something about it.

About the author: Meredith Prescott is the Invasive Vines Program Manager at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. Her relationship with nature began in the wild forests and rocky coastlines of rural Maine, later moving to DC to study public health at George Washington University.

After graduating, Meredith joined the Student Conservation Association, organizing groups of high school students to complete conservation projects in Rock Creek Park in Northwest DC and in parks managed by the National Capital Parks-East in SE DC. She joined CCAN in 2024 to reignite the volunteer program and to protect our natural ecosystem from the threat of invasive plants.

Hundreds of Climate Activists Joined Icy ‘Winter Water Games’ at Fundraiser for Affordable Clean Energy Action

With the Potomac River off-limits, advocates faced a cold water obstacle course at National Harbor to “Keep Winter Cold” amid federal climate rollbacks

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD — Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) hosted hundreds of activists today at its 21st Annual Polar Bear Plunge to “Keep Winter Cold”. For two decades, participants have raised donations from friends and family to brave icy conditions in support of CCAN’s mission to advance clean energy and combat climate change. In light of last month’s wastewater overflow into the Potomac River, this year’s event featured a creative twist with “Winter Water Games.” Instead of the traditional dip into the river, plungers took on a series of fun, cold-water activities onshore at National Harbor.

“Today’s joyous, boisterous event here at National Harbor is yet one more example of the resilience and the strength and determination of our climate movement,” said April Moore, Board Chair, Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN). “Even with this terrible situation of sewage in our nation’s river, we were not stopped. We found a way to do something anyway, and what we did was something really fun. We got wet and cold anyway, even though we didn’t plunge out into the freezing river. I’m proud of CCAN. I’m so proud to be a climate activist when I see these wonderful people working hard, and we’re winning.”

“Every year, our Polar Bear Plunge proves that climate action can be creative and unstoppable,” said Mike Tidwell, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN). “Even when the Potomac River was off-limits this year, our community turned challenge into inspiration. With cold water games and big hearts, we showed that nothing, not sewage spills, not setbacks, not corporate polluters, can dampen the spirit of people fighting for a livable planet. This is what climate resilience looks like.”

Adding to the festivities, local musician Teresa Jiménez performed an energetic song to kick off the day’s events. Participants experienced a day of spirited climate activism and fun featuring chilly obstacle course activities, from water blasters and a wind-turbine sprinkler to icy buckets and more. The celebration continued after the course with live music, pizza, cold beer, and a hot cocoa bar.

“To have 245 million gallons of sewage dumped in the river, watching 40 million gallons a day gushing into the river you love and fight for every day hurts,” said Dean Naujoks, Potomac Riverkeeper with the Potomac Riverkeeper Network. “…We are right about clean water. We are right about clean air. We are going to continue to fight climate change and fight for our communities and our future because we are right about these things.”

“CCAN has given me a way to make my voice heard, and the amount that I’ve learned from it cannot be understated, said Kaede Thomas, Youth Member of the CCAN NoVa New Leaf Action Team. “Now I’m helping the Nova New Leaf team start a new educational campaign on data centers, one of the most pressing environmental issues facing our region. We are working together to educate ourselves and others and to push for accountability and clean energy requirements. The work we do and the effort we put in now serve as evidence to my generation and future generations that people care. ”

CCAN’s 2026 Polar Bear Plunge came at a critical time as environmental protections face alarming federal rollbacks and the effects of climate change grow ever more evident. Following the recent record-breaking winter storm Fern, the need for bold action on climate has never been clearer. The ‘Winter Water Games’ continued the Plunge’s legacy of passionate activism, with hundreds of climate activists braving chilly water challenges together while also helping raise funds for CCAN’s campaigns.

*** Photos above are courtesy of Jim Dougherty and Kidest Gebre. ***

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Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. Founded in 2002, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

A Climate Activist’s Journey and Call for Research into Potential Plan B

By Quentin Scott, Federal Policy Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network

I recently celebrated my 5th anniversary at Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), and I realized that, when I started here, I never could’ve imagined what an incredible journey it would be. From the life-long friendships I built to achieving historic climate victories that felt nearly impossible a generation ago.

Some moments still feel surreal — spending nearly two years organizing in West Virginia to pressure Senator Joe Manchin to support Build Back Better (the precursor to the Inflation Reduction Act), being one of six people sitting in the Senate Gallery to watch Vice President Kamala Harris cast the monumental tiebreaking vote to pass the historic Inflation Reduction Act (thank you Senator Chris Van Hollen), and leading a march and rally at EPA Headquarters to pressure the Biden Administration to finalize historic rules to reduce pollution from power plants. These are some of my fondest memories and proudest professional accomplishments that I will never forget.

However, this past year, it has been tough to watch many of our accomplishments as a climate community be swept away by the stroke of the presidential pen. In 2026, our fight looks different. I now organize rallies at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to protect basic climate science, advocate on Capitol Hill for common-sense investments into affordable and job-creating clean energy, and desperately push back against attacks on critical climate programs and laws from the hostile Trump Administration.

I am often asked what keeps me hopeful in spite of the political chaos and intensifying climate crisis. The answer is simple: my colleagues and science. First, CCAN’s state and local teams are achieving big victories to make up for federal backsliding. And second, solar geoengineering research. Yes, I said solar geoengineering research.

Solar geoengineering or solar reflective methods (SRM) are activities intended to cool the Earth by temporarily reflecting 1-2% of incoming sunlight away from Earth. It’s no substitute for cutting carbon pollution, but it could help avoid the worst impacts of climate change as we complete the clean-energy transition. However, before decision-makers can make informed decisions on the uses of SRM, we need responsible and transparent research.

I’m glad that, while CCAN continues to fight as hard as ever to decarbonize, we are also taking some time to think about what happens if decarbonization efforts are too little or too late to avoid the worst-case impacts of climate change. Coming up even a little short of our goals could mean tens of thousands of avoidable deaths, millions of people displaced, and trillions of dollars in global damages. That’s why we need trustworthy, transparent SRM research conducted in the public interest.

I’ve now joined a new community of SRM research advocates who are small in number but passionate to solve the climate crisis, frustrated by Trump’s attacks on mitigation and adaptation efforts, and committed to avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. SRM research advocates understand better than most what’s at stake when we talk about SRM. The hopes, risks, and absolute need to understand the impacts of SRM before any future decision maker decides to use it.

In a world of uncertainty, it’s almost certain that global warming will cross the Paris Agreement goal of staying below 1.5°C of warming. Every tenth of a degree above that threshold reduces our understanding of our climate and increases the risks to our communities, economies, and way of life. What does that mean for our most vulnerable? What actions may future desperate leaders take to protect their communities from escalating risks of climate change?

These are the questions that fuel SRM research. Academics and researchers across the globe are working tirelessly to answer how SRM might affect weather patterns, food systems, and health, but we need more data, resources, and trained scientists to truly understand the risks and benefits.

As the planet nears and likely exceeds the 1.5°C Paris limit, understanding every tool available becomes urgent. We can’t afford to wait another decade to fund this work. Responsible, government-led research and open public dialogue are essential to ensure SRM decisions—if ever made—are informed, democratic, and ethical.

I believe civil society can do two things at once: stay laser-focused on decarbonization AND researching SRM techniques in case we ever have to consider a plan B. Working at CCAN gives me great hope that we’re not just fighting the climate fights of today, but anticipating the challenges of tomorrow.

About the author: Quentin Scott (he/him) joined CCAN in January 2021 as part of the newly created CCAN Federal Team. He moved from Chicago specifically to build political will for groundbreaking national climate and climate justice policies. Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, he got a first-hand look at the two Americas and sought to bring the two Americas closer together through advocacy.

Before joining CCAN, Quentin was chief of staff for an Illinois State Representative and a legislative correspondent in the US House of Representatives, and has led numerous issue and candidate campaigns across the Midwest and East Coast. In his roles, he has stood with neighborhood groups to hold industrial polluters accountable in communities of color and looks forward to bringing that fight to the federal level.

Trump’s EPA Guts Landmark Climate Foundation, Putting Public Health at Risk

The move eliminates ‘endangerment finding’, the scientific basis for limiting greenhouse gas emissions and public health safeguards

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced today the shattering of the landmark “endangerment finding,” a cornerstone of scientific research that has guided U.S. climate action for nearly two decades. The EPA’s unconscionable action to revoke the 17-year-old finding dismantles the legal and scientific foundation that allows the U.S. government to regulate the emissions from greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. This decision will undermine pollution standards from sources, including vehicles and dirty power plants that were built on that finding, and put Americans’ health and safety at risk.

This unprecedented move threatens pollution standards that have protected Americans from harmful emissions and decades of progress in addressing climate change. Trump’s EPA continues its aggressive approach to rolling back pollution regulations. This week, it is the “endangerment finding”; next week, additional rollbacks are expected for the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, coal ash ponds, and more in the coming weeks and months. Trump and his allies may continue to dismiss climate change as a hoax, but ignoring the everyday impacts of a warming planet will make Americans more vulnerable to higher costs, extreme weather events, and adverse health impacts.

Quentin Scott, Federal Policy Director for Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), released the following statement:

“As expected, the Trump Administration continues to be in the pockets of big polluters and ignores the impacts of climate change on Americans’ lives. The ‘endangerment finding’ is rooted in credible scientific evidence and well-established legal underpinnings. Relying on junk science to shatter the ‘endangerment finding’ will cost Americans in dirtier air, more preventable disease and deaths, and a higher cost of living to mitigate downstream impacts of pollution. Once again, Trump fails to deliver for the American people while enriching himself and his allies. Congress must step in and use the Congressional Review Act to reverse this unconscionable decision.”

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Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. Founded in 2002, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC and beyond.

clean air climate action Endangerment finding epa methane standards Trump EPA