Save Our Happy Place is a climate action newsletter dedicated to making it easy for you to help protect the places you love from climate change, written by Lindsay Nunez. Read on for simple yet effective climate actions, and sustainable + eco-friendly lifestyle tips.

Hey there sunshine! Welcome back to Save Our Happy Place your weekly pop of environmental and climate activism. If you are registered to vote in the United States, TODAY IS YOUR DAY! The single biggest thing you can do for the climate this week, this month, this year, maybe even for the next two years, is vote in this midterm election. Whether you’re located in the U.S. or not, voting can sometimes feel futile. If you have ever felt the slightest apathy towards our democratic systems, read on for inspiration and examples of how the small act of casting a ballot can have a big impact. Even if you’ve already voted or can’t vote in U.S. elections, there is something inspiring for you.

Elections Matter

Why Elections Matter for the Climate

As recently as last week, Brazil elected a new President with a proven history of decreasing deforestation in the Amazon. The Amazon Rainforest is considered the lungs of our planet. Deforestation under former Brazilian President Bolsonaro increased from 3,000 sq miles a year to over 10,000 sq miles a year. Replacing Bolsonaro with a pro-climate President is victory for the environmental movement. This win in Brazil coupled with U.S. finally passing climate legislation is being touted as a major shift in the world’s trajectory for climate change. Brazil is a case in point on why voting matters for the climate movement and why we should feel motivated to get to the polls.

Even during smaller election cycles, local elections can pass climate measures and make a big impact. Some even argue this is one of the better more reliable ways to make this shift happen. A few examples include: Michigan voters approving a proposal to use money from oil leases on public lands to fund parks, Nevada passing the first requirements for utilities to source 50 percent of energy from renewables by 2030, and Florida voting to ban offshore oil and gas drilling in state waters. 

If You Can Vote in the U.S.

Midterm Elections are TODAY, Nov 8

If the only thing you do this week to combat climate change is vote for politicians that are willing to create and support planet-saving policies, then you have done the absolute best thing that you can for our planet.

• Check if you are registered to vote. - Here

• See what's on your ballot & find your polling place. - Here

• Vote on climate policy champions, check for endorsements.- Here

Climate Is On the Ballot

If you vote in California, New York, or Rhode Island climate measures are literally on your ballot. In New York you can vote for Proposition 1 the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022 and in California you can vote for Proposition 30, which aims to fund zero-emissions vehicles and wildfire prevention. In Rhode Island, a $50 million environment and recreation bond measure aims to fund municipal climate resiliency. All of these measures need your support today.

Some Rays of the Sunshine

The Headlines We’re Happy See

• Sand batteries are transforming clean energy and providing clean heat through the long Nordic nights. - Read More

• Single-use plastic plates, bowls and cotton buds are to be banned in South Australia. - Read More

• The U.S. Federal Government’s real estate management agency is working on going fossil fuel-free. - Read More

• The U.S.’s largest electric utility company is accelerating its transition away from coal. - Read More