1.  As of January 26, 2026, the U.S. has become the only country in the world to abandon the Paris Climate Agreement, an international commitment to slow global warming.  The U.S. is also leaving the United Nations Treaty (unanimously ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1992 and signed by President George H.W. Bush) that underlies the Paris agreement.  Currently the planet's second largest climate polluter (after China), and historically the largest emitter of the carbon that traps heat, contributes to sea level rise, heat waves and intensifying extreme weather like floods, wildfires, and droughts, the U.S. is simultaneously throttling back clean energy while promoting more drilling and mining of coal, oil, and gas.  Henry David Thoreau, in the mid 1800s, asked "What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?"  Let your representatives know that you see what is happening - and that you care.

2. Eight data sets from international climate monitoring teams recently found that the past three years are the hottest on record, with average temperatures coming dangerously close to the internationally agreed-upon limit of 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F).  The teams (including the U.S.'s NASA, NOAA, teams from U.K. and Japan, the E.U.'s Copernicus service, the World Meteorological Organization) warn that the last 11 years have been the hottest 11 years on record, signifying a disturbing acceleration in warming that will intensify heat waves and other extreme weather, endangering people and causing billions of dollars in damage.  Most of the teams used temperature data that goes back to 1850, employing a combination of satellite data, computer simulations, and ground and sea observations, with the eight data sets being within less than a tenth of a degree apart.  According to the lead climate scientist at the Copernicus service, "The culprit is clear: the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas."  

3.  According to the Minnesota State Climatology Office, it was common to see 30 to 50 nights at or below zero degrees in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, while the current average, as reported by Minnesota meteorologist Paul Douglas, is roughly 19 to 22 nights per year, a clear signal of climate change.  You can help address climate change:  1) start a climate-friendly garden with native plants that require less water, avoid chemical pesticides, and plant trees to absorb carbon dioxide and provide shade; 2) reduce food waste and compost scraps instead of sending them to landfills; 3) ditch single-use plastics in favor of reusable bottles, bags and containers; 4) encourage your community to act -  spread awareness, share tips and organize local climate initiatives; 5) hold leaders accountable - know elected officials' climate policies and urge them to champion clean energy.

4.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), whose core responsibility is to protect human health and the environment, has been ordered to consider only the costs to industry of curbing two of the most widespread deadly air pollutants - fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone - and not the health benefits, according to internal agency emails and documents reviewed by the New York Times.  PM2.5 particles from coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, steel mills and other industrial facilities are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, while ozone, a smog-causing gas emitted from power plants, factories, and vehicles, is linked to asthma, heart and lung disease, and premature death.  The move to not consider public health benefits ignores the 2015 Supreme court case Michigan vs. EPA in which Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority, said that if an agency considers the benefits of a regulation, it must also consider the costs, and vice versa.