Sunrise, Penn Cove, Washington: every new day is another lesson in resilience.

For the climate, last night’s unresolved elections in the United States couldn’t have higher stakes: this January, one of the world’s biggest energy and environmental policy stakeholders will either be demonstrably hostile to science and climate action, or committed to spending $trillion$ to guide climate adaption and mitigation.

But even amid the election chaos, I’m reassured to know also that during the last four years, climate creatives in the form of smaller nations, U.S. states, organizations, and individuals have innovated in yet another way: learning how to do end-runs around an obstructionist U.S. government.

Great read in Politico

Until we know the election results, you can get some comfort from Monday’s article in Politico, which was profoundly reassuring despite its apocalyptic title: “The Environmental Movement Braces for a Second Trump Term.”

As Karl Mathesien writes, after having failed to prepare for the Trump administration, we are now much better prepared to meet U.S. obstruction as we face one final decade in which we can make a significant climate difference:

In the U.S., environmentally conscious youth are preparing for war. But also admitting that fighting the administration on climate directly won’t be their goal. American climate activists are battle-hardened, allying with wider social justice and anti-racism campaigns and taking nothing for granted, said Henn. “We’re hosting mass trainings on how to prevent a coup, planning efforts to go after Wall Street if Washington is lost.” Other groups expect court battles to feature heavily, despite a broad conservative shift in the judiciary under Trump.

Luisa Neubauer, a German activist with the Fridays For Future movement, said European leaders would also feel more pressure if Trump wins. “Wherever the U.S. fails to reduce emissions or finance climate mitigation, other states have to make up for that — that’s how a collective crisis works. It’s more work for everyone.”

Groups that lobby through international diplomacy, like the ECF, will focus on isolating a Trump-led Washington by encouraging other countries to simply move on.

Please read the article, and our own post here, for more climate action energy and a lot of links to more.

And remember, every setback is yet another lesson in resilience: because if we’re going to succeed, our first duty every damned day is to wake up focused and positive and a little bit more aware of how to defeat those who stand in our way… or to just ignore them and move on.