Peace Department Reflections: Earth Month
We’re living in a time of rapid change, with tectonic shifts happening on an almost daily basis. These changes have impacted many sectors, including those across which The Peace Department works. Earth Month has always been central to this organization, inspiring our Together for Peace programming and serving as a crucial springboard for community building and environmental stewardship.
Earth Month looks a lot different this year, with critical progress on environmental preservation and justice facing the risk of significant backsliding, if not total erasure. In its first several months, the Trump administration has removed climate references and data from government websites; directed agencies to remove all climate-change related activities; defunded climate research; imposed incredible tariffs on solar imports; frozen billions in green transition resources; threatened to strip environmental groups of nonprofit status; issued stop-work orders on the crucial National Climate Assessment; tried to stop states from enacting laws that charge polluters from producing greenhouse gases; eliminated the US from yet more global climate-related negotiations post-Paris Agreement withdrawal; and, stopped requiring almost all monitoring and reporting of greenhouse emissions.
While these developments are certainly demoralizing, the push back against them is real and gaining fortitude – demonstrating that systematic efforts to erase climate concerns from policies, government programs, the media, schools, research institutions, and our cultural ethos will not succeed without a fight. Earth Day protests, strategic litigation, and a steady stream of court victories offer hope that sustainability work can be, well, sustained. As the federal space continues to contract, sub-national efforts remain formidable and undeterred, reinforcing the need to lean into more localized and replicable approaches where this critical work can and will continue to flourish.
As Earth Month concludes in the face of great uncertainty over our climate future, The Peace Department and its partners remain steadfast in our commitment to fostering resilience in the communities we serve and ensuring they have a seat at the table in shaping a just and verdant future for both people and planet.
That’s why we are excited to announce the upcoming launch of The Peace Department’s Place-based Accelerator (PDPX). Created in partnership with Pyxera Global, Metabolic, and the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet, PDPX will harness cross-sector collaboration to strengthen US-based grassroots organizations advancing resilience, opportunity, and climate stability in their communities. We believe this place-based and community-driven approach helps to knit communities together while building self-reinforcing systems to foster lasting prosperity and stability.
This critical work is more needed now than ever, during this rather unprecedented Earth Month and for many more ahead. Stay tuned for updates on PDPX and, as always, reach out if you’d like to learn more.
