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In just the first week of his administration, Trump signed a flurry of executive orders prioritizing domestic oil and gas and (once again) withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement for climate change mitigation. Since then, additional attacks on existing environmental policies have included the administration’s cuts to sustainability research funding and its defunding and dismantling environmental agencies like NOAA and FEMA. Most recently, House Republicans voted to pass a budget reconciliation bill that will gut Bidens Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in climate change mitigation and adaptation in U.S. history. This comes at a time when young people really want to get involved and take action against climate change: A 2024 LinkedIn survey found that 61% of Gen Z workers say they want to get a green job within the next five years. But while sustainability fields like environmental justice, nonprofit work, climate policy, and climate research are under very significant threats right now, sustainability experts say that young people pursuing corporate sustainability jobs will likely have more luck. Why are corporate sustainability jobs better protected? Some major companies have dropped their sustainability goals: For example, Walmart says it will likely miss its 2025 and 2030 emissions reduction goals, and companies such as Kraft Heinz and Coca-Cola have dropped some sustainability goals. Banking giants such as Citigroup, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo all dropped out of the United Nations-backed Net-Zero Banking Alliance, which aims to reduce the carbon footprints of banks around the world. But according to PwCs 2025 State of Decarbonization report, only 16% of companies are reducing climate commitments, while 37% are strengthening them. Additionally, the number of companies making commitments continues to grow, with nine times the number of companies reporting targets compared with five years ago. In 2023, 93% of Russell 1000 Index companies published a sustainability report, displaying a public commitment to keeping sustainability goals. According to Steven Cohen, program director of Columbia Universitys master of science in sustainability management program, these commitments arent just going to disappear. Investors are driving the sustainability field first, because they want to know about the environmental risks incurred by corporations, he says. Additionally, even though the U.S. reporting requirements are being reduced, [requirements from the EU or states like California] are not being significantly reduced. However, even without pressures from the EU and states like California that have stricter climate regulations compared with the rest of the country, Cohen says that public sentiment against climate change is enough to drive companies to stick to their goals. People know that the planet is getting hotter. They know that environmental damage is being done, and they want to figure out ways of maintaining the economy without destroying the planet, he says. Lots of people are interested in it, so there’s lots of employment. Cohen says that since around 80% of the students in Columbias sustainability management masters program go into the private sector, they are not particularly worried about factors like the Trump administrations repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act having an impact on their employment. The job market for graduates is holding up pretty nicely, I’d say, he says. For those interested in entering the sustainability world after graduation, Cohen recommends developing any skills that will help you with management and understanding the impacts of climate change. He particularly recommends learning how to measure the impacts of environmental pollution and remediation. Those are objective conditions, and well continue to be focusing on that.
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E-Commerce
When it comes to energy policy, the One Big Beautiful Bill Actthe official name of a massive federal tax-cut and spending bill that House Republicans passed in May 2025risks raising Americans energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The 1,100-page bill would slash incentives for green technologies such as solar, wind, batteries, electric cars, and heat pumps while subsidizing existing nuclear power plants and biofuels. That would leave the country and its people burning more fossil fuels despite strong popular and scientific support for a rapid shift to renewable energy. The bill may still be revised by the Senate before it moves to a final vote. But it is a picture of how President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans want to reshape U.S. energy policy. As an environmental engineering professor who studies ways to confront climate change, I think it is important to distinguish which technologies could rapidly cut emissions or are on the verge of becoming viable from those that do little to fight climate change. Unfortunately, the House bill favors the latter while nixing support for the former. Renewable energy Wind and solar power, often paired with batteries, are providing more than 90% of the new electricity currently being added to the grid nationally and around the world. Geothermal power is undergoing technological breakthroughs. With natural gas turbines in short supply and long lead times to build other resources, renewables and batteries offer the fastest way to satisfy growing demand for power. However, the House bill rescinds billions of dollars that the Inflation Reduction Act, enacted in 2022, devoted to boosting domestic manufacturing and deployments of renewable energy and batteries. It would terminate tax credits for manufacturing for the wind industry in 2028 and for solar and batteries in 2032. That would disrupt the boom in domestic manufacturing projects that was being stimulated by the Inflation Reduction Act. Deployments would be hit even harder. Wind, solar, geothermal, and battery projects would need to commence construction within 60 days of passage of the bill to receive tax credits. In addition, the bill would deny tax credits to projects that use Chinese-made components. Financial analysts have called those provisions unworkable, since some Chinese materials may be necessary even for projects built with as much domestic content as possible. Analysts warn that the House bill would cut new wind, solar, and battery installations by 20% compared with the growth that had been expected without the bill. Thats why BloombergNEF, an energy research firm, called the bill a nightmare scenario for clean energy proponents. However, one persons nightmare may be another mans dream. Were constraining the hell out of wind and solar, which is good, said Representative Chip Roy, a Texas Republican backed by the oil and gas industry. Efficiency and electric cars Cuts fall even harder on Americans who are trying to reduce their carbon footprints and energy costs. The bill repeals aid for home efficiency improvements such as heat pumps, efficient windows, and energy audits. Homeowners would also lose tax credits for installing solar panels and batteries. For vehicles, the bill would not only repeal tax credits for electric cars, trucks, and chargers, but it also would impose a federal $250 annual fee on vehicles, on top of fees that some states charge electric-car owners. The federal fee is more than the gas taxes paid by other drivers to fund highways and ignores air-quality and climate effects. Combined, the lost credits and increased fees could cut projected U.S. sales of electric vehicles by 40% in 2030, according to modeling by Jesse Jenkins of Princeton University. Nuclear power Meanwhile, the bill partially retains a tax credit for electricity from existing nuclear power plants. Those plants may not need the help: Electricity demand is surging, and companies like Meta are signing long-term deals for nuclear energy to power data centers. Nuclear plants are also paid to manage their radioactive waste, since the country lacks a permanent place to store it. For new nuclear plants, the bill would move up the deadline to 2028 to begin construction. That deadline is too soon for some new reactor designs and would rush the vetting of others. Nuclear safety regulators are awaiting a study from the National Academies on the weapons proliferation risks of the type of uranium fuel that some developers hope to use in newer designs. Biofuels While cutting funding for electric vehicles, the bill would spend $45 billion to extend tax credits for biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. Food-based biofuels do little good for the climate because growing, harvesting, and processing crops requires fertilizers, pesticides, and fuel. The bill would allow forests to be cut to make room for crops because it directs agencies to ignore the impacts of biofuels on land use. Hydrogen The bill would end tax credits for hydrogen production. Without that support, companies will be unlikely to invest in the seven so-called hydrogen hubs that were allocated a combined $8 billion under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021. Those hubs aim to attract $40 billion in private investments and create tens of thousands of jobs while developing cleaner ways to make hydrogen. The repealed tax credits would have subsidized hydrogen made emissions-free by using renewable or nuclear electricity to split water molecules. They also would have subsidized hydrogen made from natural gas with carbon capture, whose benefits are impaired by methane emissions from natural gas systems and incomplete carbon capture. However its made, hydrogen is no panacea. As the worlds smallest molecule, hydrogen is prone to leaking, which can pose safety challenges and indirectly warm the climate. And while hydrogen is essential for making fertilizers and potentially useful for making steel or aviation fuels, vehicles and heating are more efficiently powered by electricity than by hydrogen. Still, European governments and China are investing heavily in hydrogen production. Summing it up The conservative Tax Foundation estimates that the House bill would cut the Inflation Reduction Acts clean energy tax credits by about half, saving the government $50 billion a year. But with fewer efficiency improvements, fewer electric vehicles, and less clean power on the grid, Princetons Jenkins projects American households would pay up to $415 more per year for energy by 2035 than if the bills provisions were not enacted. If the bills provisions make it into law, the extra fossil fuel burning would leave annual U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 1 billion tons higher by then. No one expected former President Joe Bidens Inflation Reduction Act to escape unscathed with Republicans in the White House and dominating both houses of Congress. Still, the proposed cuts target the technologies Americans count on to protect the climate and save consumers money. Daniel Cohan is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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E-Commerce
When our son was 2 years old, our twins were born. That meant that for a while, we had three kids under 3 years old (and then three kids under 4, and then three under 5). At the time, I was also working at a high-stress job as a Justice Department attorney, with not enough support at home or at work. Perhaps I began to get depressed, but it would be more accurate to say I was moving too fast even to know how I felt. Mostly, I was like a hamster on a wheel: sprinting as fast as I could just to stay in place. My days blurred together in an endless loop of emails, laundry, preschool drop-offs, spit-up, 2 a.m. feedings, and briefing political appointees. I knew something had to change, but the entire concept of self-care seemed completely inaccessible. A spin class? A pedicure? Even a massage? You might as well have told me to hike to the moon. Fortunately, I hit upon a quick, free, low-effort practice that helped me begin to find my way back to myself: I started to count my wins. Every night before I went to sleep, I would list three things I did well that day. They werent huge accomplishments, I promise. Sometimes, they were things like, I got Henry to eat a green bean today. But over time, something pretty incredible started to happen. Instead of feeling like a hamster on a wheel, running so fast and getting nowhere, I began to notice that I was actually getting somewhere. That email I spent two weeks on actually did go out, and it was pretty good if I do say so myself. I remembered to call my friend on her birthday. I made the vacation rental reservation. My life wasnt just an endless to-do list. There were lots and lots of things I was accomplishing all the time. The power of small wins Heres what I know: we are excellent at identifying what we havent done. I bet you could list 10 unfinished tasks right now off the top of your head. But what about something you accomplished this week? Can you name even one? Our constant cataloguing of tasks and reminders of where weve fallen short starts to chip away at us. Merely thinking about our to-do lists creates anticipatory stress and fatigue, depleting our energy and creating overwhelm. When I forced myself to list the things I had accomplished, I was able to shift my focus away from all the things I was failing to achieve, and instead to notice all that I was. How to Start Counting Your Wins Make it a habit. Each night before bed, Id name three things I did well that day. Its helpful to connect it to something that youre already doing, so you might try it on your commute, or while brushing your teeth. Daily is ideal, but weekly works, too. Be specific. I was a good manager is fine. I supported Alex through a tough client call is better. Specificity helps your brain register and remember the success. Define your own wins. Wins dont have to be big. They just have to matter to you. A win could be leading a meeting well or setting a boundary with a relative or remembering to bring your lunch. You get to define what counts. Check in with yourself. Set a calendar notice for three weeks after youve started counting your wins to ask yourself if youre seeing any difference in your patience or energy level. Are you a little easier on yourself? Are you finding it easier to identify wins? That reflection can motivate you to keep up the practice. Its so easy to lose sight of our progress. Counting your wins is a simple but powerful tool to reclaim that perspective. It doesnt require a lot of time or a major life overhaul, just a brief pause to recognize all that you are accomplishing. That moment of reflection can help you sustain momentum, rebuild resilience, and reconnect with a sense of purpose. In a world that often measures us by whats next, this practice reminds us: what youve already done counts, too.
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E-Commerce
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