Life In 2025: Making Environmental Progress Was Never Going To Be Easy

The return of Donald Trump to the White House has thrown the nation and world into a media-fueled chaos like no one has ever seen before, in one of the President’s favorite turns of phrase. So what is an environmentally responsible citizen to do? Keep practicing our values, working to reduce our impact, and speak up about the need to restore nature and the value of renewable energy and a circular economy to the nation’s competitive position in the future. It’s critical to recognize that the resistance to sustainable, non-extractive products and services is at its last gasp, even as it appears ascendant. Even as Elon Musk celebrates his thoughtless tearing at government structures, citizens recognize and complain that there is no plan for improved economic and governmental performance.

We’re getting Silicon Valley disruption without awareness of the consequences for everyday Americans and the economy. Entrepreneurs in red states, which have seen the majority of renewables funding, warn that decisions in Washington, D.C are undercutting their investments. Meanwhile, tariffs threaten to reignite inflation, and Congresspeople, many of them handing over the power of the purse to the President, hear daily from angry citizens that DOGE should not throw out the rules and process for changing government spending.

In short, the MAGA movement owns the outcome now. The signs are already clear that over-reach and arbitrary slashing of programs related to creating a meaningful response to the environmental crisis, from attempts to ban climate research and the cuts to the Forest Service to freezing support for previously approved renewable energy development.

People know that ideology cannot overcome reality in the long term. Censoring climate research, after a decade of complaints from the Right that flawed, sometimes fabricated, research was censored, is not a rational answer to the problem. The mathematics of physics explains how and why extreme weather and record temperatures are on the rise.

What’s An Earthling To Do?

We’ve given much thought to responding to the orchestrated flooding of the zone with misinformation, mischaracterizations, and muddled thinking. Steve Bannon’s appreciation for Vladimir Lenin’s strategy to bring down existing state infrastructure fails to recognize the disaster Russia experienced after Lenin’s revolutionary action. We can’t just tear the U.S. government down and rebuild it after the fact without cutting citizens off from their retirement investments, veterans’ benefits, and myriad essential services. What can be done? How can citizens work together to find common ground, a new middle way that allows for deliberation and compromise rather than total upheaval after every presidential election cycle with one side or the other claiming a mandate for radical change that upends precedent, funding, and prosperity for the “losing side”?

And how can Earth911 help? The answer is a redoubling of efforts to connect people and help them spread more ideas about creating less waste and collaborating to reduce our impact. Everyone, from individuals to companies, waste systems, raw materials producers, politicians, and non-profit organizations, must unite to continue the turn to a sustainable, nature-regenerating economy—we can create greater prosperity while solving the Climate Crisis.

The long-discussed goal of keeping global average temperatures at 1.5C above pre-industrial levels is about to be breached, and the implications of this moment are yet to be understood. However, one thing is clear: Now is the time to pull together and share more stories about how to prevent, prepare, and adapt for the climate impacts piling up around the world. You have good ideas. Your neighbors have good ideas. Let’s spread them together.

Help Your Neighbors

The Earth911 team is a small one, so decided to open the platform to contributors who have many more great ideas for reusing, repairing, sharing, and recycling products to keep them out of landfills and in circulation. The Earth911 audience is the largest in the reuse and recycling world. We invite you to become a contributor and share small moves, like how you eliminate waste, reuse, and recycle, or big ideas and projects that can move society in a sustainable, regenerative direction. Our audience is listening and looking for solutions, and you can help. There will be guardrails, which is the value we propose to share with new contributors: Our team will check claims made in articles. We will ask contributors to take the time and care to provide research-backed facts and conclusions or, at least, to suggest what research would be needed to assess a new idea—because we need all the new ideas we can get to find the path forward. Please note that we will not accept explicitly commercial postings or commercial links within articles unless they are highly relevant. Earth911 is dedicated to fostering constructive dialogue and expanding the conversation on environmental issues. We firmly believe in creating a platform that encourages thoughtful discussions and the exchange of ideas, rather than resorting to insults and personal attacks.

Our goal is to provide a comprehensive catalog of actionable steps and innovative solutions for individuals looking to make a positive impact on the planet. We invite you to join us as a contributing author by sending us an email. We will provide you with our writer’s guidelines, set up an account for you on our site, and work with you to develop your ideas into engaging articles that can inspire others to take action.

If writing is not your forte, you can still support our mission by contributing to Earth911’s Circular Economy Community. Your support will help us continue our efforts to promote sustainability and drive meaningful change.

While the transition to a more environmentally responsible society may present challenges, we remain optimistic that progress is possible with the power of shared ideas and collective action. Together, we can overcome climate denial and work towards a future where nature is restored and protected. Let’s stay positive and continue to spread the message of sustainability and conservation.