By: Diego Sandoval (he/him), Youth v. Oil Media Lead Our greatest fear that one of the world’s most influential government administrations would roll back many of its sustainability initiatives is being realized during President Trump’s second term in office, to the horror and dismay of millions of environmentalists across the US. This is seen most notably with President Trump’s tearing into the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA) also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). These acts are dedicated to investing in environmental infrastructure to prepare for future extreme weather events, domestic energy

Ten high school members of Youth v. Oil and three SanDiego350 adult members woke up very early in the morning to catch the first flight to Sacramento on April 21st. We met with elected officials, advocated for the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund, and spoke at the Assembly Natural Resources committee hearing where the bill passed 9-4! Our voices were very powerful at the Capitol, so powerful that an oil lobbyist yelled at and tried to intimidate us, a group of teenagers, outside the Committee hearing. Hear more about what the trip meant to us below: “Going to Sacramento was an

We marched, we chanted, we stood up for Climate Justice – and we won’t stop there! On Saturday, 1,200 San Diegans joined the Unite for Climate march and stood up to Trump’s attacks on our climate and our democracy. We got inspired hearing from Indigenous, community and youth leaders, we learned from the dozens of partner organizations that came out to table, and we took to the streets with a powerful call for a healthy, sustainable, just future for everyone.   Check out the news coverage on CBS Channel 8 and in the Union Tribune (including their photos) and our photos

By Greta Busch-Castro (she/her) high school sophomore & Taarika Sethee (she/her) high school freshman, Youth4Climate members  Over 130 people attended our 2025 Voices in the Storm: Youth4Climate Summit, with more than 85 youth representing 21 high schools, 2 middle schools, and 4 colleges. This undeniably shows that youth are stepping up to confront the climate crisis. We are not waiting for someone else to take action– we took initiative then, we’re doing it now, and we’ll keep fighting in the future. The Voices in the Storm Summit was a beautiful event that brought together students, teachers, and activists in a

Statement by SanDiego350 Executive Director Masada Disenhouse While we’re pleased the Trump administration backed off an expected executive order to strip climate nonprofits of their tax-exempt status on Earth Day, we know the threats to our organizations, our planet, and our democracy are still very real.  The fact that the administration blinked is a victory and shows that resistance matters. The “Hands off Earth Day” protest (photos / TV coverage) we and partners organized in San Diego yesterday of EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin contributed to public opposition across the Country to climate-destroying policies and the targeting of climate nonprofits.  When

By Masada Disenhouse, Executive Director, SanDiego350 Also published on The Jumping Off Place Come to the Hands Off Earth Day Press Conference on Tuesday, April 22nd at 9AM by the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) near Liberty Station. This Earth Day, it’s personal.  Trump is expected to sign an executive order to strip tax-exempt status from climate and other nonprofit organizations ON EARTH DAY. Groups like SD350, that work to reduce harmful pollution, advance environmental justice, and create a healthy future for everyone, are under attack.  To add insult to injury, Trump’s EPA Director (EPA destroyer?) Lee Zeldin will be HERE, in San

By Jim Miller, The Jumping-Off Place Also published in The Jumping-Off Place What to do? Unite for Climate March on Saturday, May 3rd at 11am at Waterfront Park For anyone with even a causal interest in climate activism, it has been clear since the election of Donald Trump that the only place where any proactive policy on climate might be enacted is at the municipal and state level as the Trump administration has stacked every single federal agency with climate deniers and oil and gas industry representatives. As the President pushes for more and more extraction of fossil fuels, even advocating for

By Kobi Schneider (he/him), Federal Policy Lead for Youth v. Oil  Since taking back the White House in January, President Donald Trump has wasted no time launching a mind-boggling flurry of human rights violations, unconstitutional executive orders, and environmental rollbacks. No green initiative has been spared from his unholy crusade against Mother Earth; he threatens to hinder any progress towards a sustainable future. As of April 2025, Trump has launched a series of environmental rollbacks- he helped the coal industry by relaxing carbon reduction requirements, allowing plants to emit dangerous quantities without facing consequences. He also rolled back vehicle emission

By Tyyne Parakhen, Director of Development and Communications I am thrilled to be joining SanDiego350 as Director of Development and Communications. I am passionate about connecting people more closely with grassroots climate action and look forward to continuing to do so in a professional capacity. I grew up mostly in Finland and have had a keen interest in sustainability and climate change as well as social and economic justice since high school. I graduated from King’s College London with a degree in Law and have since built my career in marketing and nonprofit development at various companies and nonprofits in

By Kobi Schneider (he/him), Federal Policy Lead for Youth v. Oil In an unexpected twist, former Republican president Donald Trump has wrenched control of the White House from the Democrats, starting his historic second term. He quickly released a flurry of executive orders targeting progressive initiatives in America, including environmental policy. In his first month of office, Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement, withdrew from the World Health Organization, withheld leases for sustainable wind projects, and declared a National Energy Emergency to shift the country away from renewable sources (Holland and Knight). He also vowed to ‘drill

By: Vivian Zhang (she/her), Youth4Climate Volunteer 100 years, 70 billion gallons of sewage, 1,000 days of beach closures, and at least 2,000 residents affected. The Tijuana River Crisis has had far too little attention considering the size of the issue and its destructiveness to the well-being of bordering communities. The city of Tijuana, Mexico has experienced extreme population growth during the last decade, at a rate of 1.66% increase per year. The overwhelming amount of sewage produced by the increasing number of residents and corporations is far too much for the already-aging treatment plants to handle.  The Sweetwater Union High

Hello, my name is Emma Rodriguez, and since August 2024, I’ve been SanDiego350’s Volunteer Coordinator. Like many climate activists, I came to this issue from somewhere else in the social justice realm. I’ve long struggled with mental illness, and that personal struggle spurred me to action in mental health advocacy when I was in high school. But I always devoted some time to climate advocacy, because to me it has always been the existential threat.  I was born in Virginia, then moved to Irvine, and have been in San Diego since I was 8 years old. While I was not

By Katharine Harrison, Legislative Team Co-Lead Do you know what can make a long-lasting impact on climate change? Legislation! So let’s dive into the process of California legislation and how it plays a role in our work here at SanDiego350. This work is done primarily by SD350’s Legislative Team and Youth v. Oil’s Legislative Team, a group of middle and high school students, working in tandem. Our priorities for legislation and regulatory policy are:  Why is state legislation so important to climate activism?  Actual solutions to global warming and environmental justice (pollution, lack of access to the green economy) arrive

New year, New you! Get involved in climate action this year! We need everyone part of this movement, now more than ever. Hear from four of our volunteers on why they got involved, how they got involved, and what they are working on as part of their volunteer teams at SanDiego350. Chris Roberts, SD350 Transportation Team Co-Lead How did you feel before & after you started volunteering? Before I started volunteering for SD350, I was getting used to being retired, and even though I was keeping busy bicycling, birding, and had taken up swimming with a masters group, I had

By Jaidacyn Madrigal, Marketing & Fundraising Coordinator MLK Day and the Inauguration all on the same day? Seems like an oxymoron, right?  MLK Day is a day to remember Martin Luther King Jr., a fierce leader and a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement, which fought back against racial discrimination and injustice. Martin Luther King Jr., led with peace and courage, and was a voice for the oppressed. He stood up for justice and equity and demanded change. In many ways Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement started the foundation for many of today’s mass people’s movements including peaceful

By Taarika Sethee (she/her), Youth Volunteer Coordinator In today’s world, we use AI in our daily lives, and this usage will only go up as technology develops and we become further dependent on it. However, as an environmentalist, I only recently discovered the negative impacts this new technology has on our environment. In this article, I’ll explain some of AI’s major harmful impacts on the environment and finally, what we can do about it. AI systems use an incredible amount of energy to run, and often they must run continuously. One form of energy used is electricity, which emits various