As Trump's EPA Rescinds the Endangerment Finding, the Climate Fight Moves to the States
With Trump's EPA rescinding the endangerment finding, climate action at the state level is more important than ever. We have two bills we're pushing in the Illinois legislature and we need your help.
In This Issue
Thank You, Subscribers!
March Events
3/15: Reuse-a-Palooza Spring 2026 Edition
3/18: Chicago Climate Connect at EcoShip Chicago: Local Circularity in Action
3/24: Spring Forward: Sustainability Career Workshop With Net Impact Loyola University Undergrad Chapter
Action Center
Workplace Donations via Community Shares of Illinois
Call Your Rep! Fossil Fuel Divestment Act
Call Your Rep! Utility Transparency Act
350 News
350 Chicago Press Conference on the Utility Transparency Act Covered by the Chicago Tribune
Thank you to Heirloom Books
Happy Hour at Eris Brewery!
Main Article
Trump’s Repeal of the Endangerment Finding
Thank You, Subscribers!
We just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who subscribes to and reads this newsletter. We know you are all busy, and taking time to just open an email and read about climate events isn’t something you have to do, but it matters.
And we don’t hide anything behind a paywall, so an extra special thank you to our paying subscribers who give a little extra to help support what we do every month. Thanks everyone, and if you’re interested in subscribing you can do so here.
March Events
Reuse-a-Palooza Spring 2026 Edition
Sunday, March 15th, 11:00am - 3:00pm
The Plant: 1400 W 46th St, Chicago, IL, United States, Illinois 60609
Advanced Tickets for the 2:00pm tour of the plant
350 Chicago will be at Reuse-a-Palooza collecting postcards we will hand-deliver to State representatives in support of our campaigns for the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act and the Utility Transparency Act. It’s a quick way to make a difference, or just feel free to come by and talk about what we do.
This semiannual event provides opportunities to repair clothing and household items, safely dispose tricky-to-recycle items, and donate bicycles, clothing, and more, all the while bringing attention to strategies to reduce waste and improve environmental conditions. We’ll be joined by an amazing group of waste-reduction and repurposing enthusiasts focusing on economically, environmentally, and socially responsible approaches to purchasing and consumption.
Click here to view the full list of items they’ll be accepting and to get more details.
Chicago Climate Connect at EcoShip Chicago: Local Circularity in Action
Wednesday, March 18th, 6:00pm – 8:30pm
Ecoship: 3248 N Pulaski Rd, Chicago, IL 60641
Connect with Chicago organizations keeping materials in use, explore local circular solutions, and engage through open tabling and hands-on elements, with ample time for networking and conversation. This is a free event, open to all, but registration is highly recommended as space is limited. Drinks will be provided.
Spring Forward: Sustainability Career Workshop With Net Impact Loyola University Undergrad Chapter
Tuesday, March 24th, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Kasbeer Hall | 15th floor of 25 E Pearson St, Chicago, IL 60611
Join Loyola University’s Net Impact Undergraduate Chapter and Chicago Climate Connect for an interactive workshop designed to help participants explore and navigate careers in sustainability. This is open to Loyola and non-Loyola students and anyone interested in building a career in climate.
Action Center
Workplace Donations via Community Shares of Illinois
Want to help give to 350 Chicago through your workplace? Community Shares is a great way to do this! We are so pleased to be an ongoing member charity of Community Shares of Illinois. You can support our work to fight the climate crisis in Illinois by divesting the state of Illinois from fossil fuels, supporting clean energy policies, and fighting for utility lobbying reform.
Learn more about Community Shares at www.communitysharesillinois.org.
Contact Your Rep! Fossil Fuel Divestment Act
The Fossil Fuel Divestment Act is a bill currently pending before the General Assembly. It would require five Illinois’ state-funded public pension funds to (1) immediately stop new investments in the top 200 oil, coal, and natural gas companies and (2) divest from existing public holdings in the top 200 oil, coal, and natural gas companies over a period of five years.
The Climate Safe Pensions Illinois Coalition is asking our friends, allies, and members of endorsing organizations to contact their Illinois State Representatives and Senators and urge them to support the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act. As State Legislators prepare to vote on the act this year, now is a pivotal time to make your voice heard and share your support!
You can go to https://bit.ly/CSPIcall for instructions on how to call your State Representative and Senator, or you can go to https://bit.ly/CSPIemail to contact them using an email tool.
Contact Your Rep! Utility Transparency Act
Current Illinois law allows electric, gas, and water utilities to charge customers for tens of millions of dollars in expenses that increase their political power, boost their public image, and help them push for higher rates. The Utility Transparency Act would stop utilities from making everyday customers pay for such costs that have NO consumer benefit.
Please urge your legislators to support House Bill 4781 / Senate Bill 3497 and rein in the big water, gas, and electric utilities.
You can go to this link to reach out to your State Legislators and encourage them to vote for the Utility Transparency Act.
350 News
350 Chicago Press Conference on the Utility Transparency Act Covered by the Chicago Tribune
On Wednesday, February 25th, 350 Chicago joined partners Citizens Utility Board and AARP Illinois at a press conference at the Capitol in Springfield to bring attention to the Utility Transparency Act designed to hold Investor Owned Utilities (IOU’s) accountable and prevent these IOUs in Illinois from charging utility bill payers for,
Hiring outside lawyers and witnesses to raise rates
Paying for memberships in trade associations to lobby against the interests of ratepayers
Purchasing insurance to protect shareholders
Buying goodwill advertising to enhance the utility’s image, to the financial benefit of shareholders
The Illinois Transparency Act would make utility bills more affordable for bill payers while moving expenses to enhance their profits away from consumers and back to Illinois utilities, and their shareholders.
Read more about our news coverage in the Chicago Tribune!
If you want to stop these bad practices by utility companies you can express your support for the Utility Transparency Act by sending a message to your legislators.
Thank you to Heirloom Books for their generous donation as part of their mission to support nonprofits
Heirloom books fulfills a great service in Chicago by recycling used books back into the community and keeping them from landfills.
350 Chicago greatly appreciates their work and appreciates the bookstore’s contribution to our efforts to fight the climate crisis.
Learn more on their website.
Happy Hour at Eris Brewery!
We had a fantastic happy hour at Eris Brewery last week! We had over a dozen people show up, a great mixture of core volunteers and new faces enjoying an evening drinking beers and talking about climate action. If you missed this one but want to join the next outing, just keep an eye out on this newsletter and our website. Thank you for everyone who turned out who made it such a fun night!
Trump’s Repeal of the Endangerment Finding
by Joshua Horwitz
Last month, President Trump repealed the so-called ‘endangerment finding’, which serves as the bedrock for federal climate regulation. They have already begun rolling back environmental and climate regulations, which the AP estimates would result in hundreds of billions of additional health costs and at least 30,000 extra deaths per year, to say nothing of worsening our global climate impact.
For Trump and his allies, attacking the endangerment finding is clearly a priority. On day one of Trump’s second term, he issued his ‘Unleashing American Energy’ executive order which, among other things, targeted the endangerment finding for review. In order to protect our environment against these attacks, climate activists and the public generally must stay vigilant and know what’s going on; but that’s hard to when Trump’s actions create constant sensational headlines ranging from his handling of the Epstein files to the Iran War. These headlines quickly sweep environmental issues off the front page of mainstream news sources, but we must keep our eye on the ball. So in this newsletter we wanted to focus on what the endangerment finding is, why it’s important, and where we go from here.
What, Exactly, is the ‘Endangerment Finding’?
The ‘endangerment finding’ is both a legal and a scientific finding by the US EPA which concludes that climate change, and the greenhouse gases that cause it, are a threat to public health and welfare. This finding means the federal government is legally required to regulate and curb greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. This is because the Clean Air Act requires the US government to regulate pollutants which, “cause, or contribute to, air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.”
How did the Endangerment Finding Come About?
The endangerment finding was signed by the EPA in 2009 in Obama’s first term. It builds upon the Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA which held that greenhouse gases are air pollutants that can be regulated under the Clean Air Act.
Why Did We Need the Endangerment Finding? Why Not Pass a Climate Act?
The Obama administration did attempt to regulate climate through a cap-and-trade system in the Waxman-Markey bill, but that bill died due to Republican opposition. Without a dedicated climate bill, the Obama administration was able to use the endangerment finding to regulate climate pollutants through the existing Clean Air Act without needing to pass a new bill through Congress.
What Does the Endangerment Finding Allow Us to Do?
The EPA has relied on the endangerment finding to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases like methane from a wide variety of sources: oil and gas wells, power plants, heavy industry, and the transportation sector. In addition to reducing our climate footprint, these regulations help curb smog and other airborne pollution, reducing respiratory problems like asthma. However, the endangerment finding only allows for regulation through the Clean Air Act, and could not be used to devise an entirely new regulatory scheme such as a cap-and-trade system or a climate tax. These would require new Congressional action.
Is the Finding Gone?
Not quite yet. Trump and the EPA Director Lee Zeldin announced the recission of the endangerment finding, but this only marks the beginning of a legal battle that will work its way from the US Court of Appeals almost surely to the Supreme Court.
So What’s Next for Climate Regulation?
At a federal level, right now it depends on the courts. But even if the Supreme Court ultimately sides with Trump and allows him to rescind the endangerment finding, it would still be possible for the federal government to regulate climate pollutants in the future. This would, however, require a completely new bill to be passed through Congress directed at climate regulation, such as a new cap-and-trade bill, a climate tax, or a modification to the Clean Air Act.
Realistically, a lot of the progress on the climate fight is likely to come from the state and local level, at least while we have a federal administration hostile to climate action. Political leaders in Chicago and Illinois understand how crucial it is to protect our planet and public health, and Trump’s repeal has been denounced by both Chicago major Brandon Johnson and by Illinois governor JB Pritzker. This is why local action on climate is so important, and why it’s important to let state and local legislators know that climate is a priority for their constituents.
How is 350 Chicago Responding?
Trump’s shameful actions in Washington to abandon the climate fight only make us more committed to push our campaigns at the state level. 350 Chicago is currently working with allied organizations on two major acts in the Illinois legislature: the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act and the Utility Transparency Act. Both acts help to show Illinois legislators that climate and environmental protection are priorities. Both are being debated in Springfield and now is a crucial time to contact your representatives to support these!
See our ‘Action Center’ above with ways to help, or use these links to contact your state representatives:
Fossil Fuel Divestment Act
Call your rep instructions
Email your rep instructions
Utility Transparency Act
More Resources:
via The New York Times: Trump Administration Erases the Government’s Power to Fight Climate Change
via AP News: Trump EPA rollbacks would weaken rules projected to save billions of dollars and thousands of lives
via World Resources Institute: EPA Repeals Legal Basis for Regulating Greenhouse Gases. What it Means for the US — and the World