In an article by Frida Garza of The Guardian called “Voters pass historic climate initiatives in ‘silent surprise’ of US midterms,” some very good news occurred while we weren’t paying too much attention.
The full article can be linked to below, but here are a few paragraphs that summarize the story:
“While the economy and abortion rights drove momentum behind the midterm election this year, voters in cities and states across the US also turned out to pass a number of climate ballot initiatives .
Among the measures passed were a historic multibillion-dollar investment into environmental improvement projects in New York state, including up to $1.5bn in funding for climate change mitigation. This election also saw a $50m green bond act pass in Rhode Island, and in Colorado, the city of Boulder approved a climate tax as well as a ballot measure that will allow the city to borrow against that tax to fund climate projects.
‘Climate voters were the silent surprise of election night,’ said Nathaniel Stinnett, the founder of the Environmental Voter Project. ‘We weren’t loud, and nobody saw us coming, but we showed up to vote in huge numbers.‘
The electoral support at the state and local levels for more climate action comes at a time when world leaders meet in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to discuss the climate crisis at Cop27. Joe Biden and the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, were both in attendance last week, urging leaders at home and abroad to meet the moment and take action against the climate crisis now. Because of the timing of the global summit and the US midterms, the Biden administration also had the pressure of a political shift that could mean stagnation of any further climate action after the president’s signature Inflation Reduction Act.“
It is nice to see such movement, as we need a lot more of the same. With a split Congress, we will have to rely on the states and the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act which has climate change mitigation in its midst. To this independent voter, we lost twelve years with the Bush and Trump White Houses to fight climate change, years we will never get back. So, we must act now. I am encouraged by offshore wind projects that are gaining footing, to catch up to the great strides in onshore wind projects in the plains’ states and elsewhere as well as the solar energy development keeps on going strong.
Please push our lawmakers at all levels to move forward. If someone is a naysayer, move on to those who share your concern. We are already late to the party and we unfortunately still must combat a mountain of money being put in some folks pockets by the fossil fuel industry to deter the fight and keep their profit margins.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/18/climate-initiatives-passed-us-midterm-elections
musingsofanoldfart 
Reblogged this on Filosofa's Word and commented:
There is no single issue that is more important to the survival of life on earth than the environment and climate change. None. Yet, I think most of us were unaware of the environment-related issues that were on the ballot on November 8th, most of which passed muster with the voters. Our friend Keith summarizes …
Thanks Jill for the reblog. Greatly appreciated.
My pleasure, Keith! Far too often climate action goes unnoticed, and we NEED to shine a light on it!
So true. I hope something tangible comes out of the COP27 conference. Keith
Very encouraging news Keith. Indications that people in general are starting take the message of environmental concerns to their hearts. The fact that these votes were on ‘local’ issues strengthens the movement, for it is by taking care of ‘your own backyard’ will important steps be made to repair the damage.
Roger, in spite of the former president pulling us out of the Paris deal, local and state governments moved forward. This is nice to see. Keith
This Keith is the one failsafe within the USA, it is difficult for anyone party even if they have The Whitehouse and Congress to impose their will on the whole nation. The states and big cities will insist on going their own way.
True.