Northwest Indiana has long been one of the most industrialized corridors in the country. The cities of East Chicago, Hammond, and Whiting, situated on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, are dominated by oil refineries, steel mills, and chemical plants. The BP Whiting Refinery, one of the largest in the U.S., anchors the area—bringing jobs, but also frequent accidents, flaring events, and generations of toxic pollution. These communities are known as “sacrifice zones”—bearing disproportionate burdens of fossil fuel pollution and health risks. Blue hydrogen is made from natural gas, with carbon emissions captured and stored underground instead of being released. It requires pipelines to transport both the hydrogen to users and the captured carbon dioxide to storage sites. JTNWI recognized the urgent need for door-to-door education and organizing to counter corporate narratives and ensure residents’ voices were heard. Launched in June 2023, the canvass aimed to educate residents, capture community concerns, and build local leadership around the MachH2 project.

Explore how communities can take care of each other’s needs equitably during a changing climate future.

This tipsheet gives a definition of mutual aid, shares examples of mutual aid for the climate crisis, and shares resources for finding your own local mutual aid networks.

This case study recounts and analyzes the 2023 ballot initiative campaign for Maine to take ownership of the two investor-owned utilities in the state and create a new publicly-owned utility called Pine Tree Power. Along the way, the Our Power campaign integrated research throughout their campaign to evaluate their power-building strategy. While the referendum lost at the ballot, Our Power draw out a number of insights from their campaign for energy democracy, including:

Rising summer temperatures and energy bills are putting increased pressure on low-income households in Oregon and Washington, despite the region’s relatively low electricity rates. At the same time, federal energy assistance, efficiency programs, and climate protections are being rolled back—shifting costs and responsibilities to state and local governments. The report urges states to take immediate action through planning, budgeting, and innovation to protect the health and well-being of vulnerable communities.

The newly released report titled “Utility Bills Are Rising” Q2 2025 Update: Skyrocketing Utility Bills Amidst Scorching Summer Heat includes analysis that shows in Q2 2025, utilities requested or received approval for over $9 billion in rate increases, including approximately $7.3 billion in new requests and $1.7 billion in approved rate increases.

Power mapping supports organizers in understanding the stakeholders within their campaign. This resource offers step by step instructions and tips for power mapping your campaign.

Join Maine People’s Resource Center, New Jersey Resource Project, the New Conversation Initiative, People’s Action Institute and the Climate Advocacy Lab to learn about two deep canvassing campaigns launched in 2024 to build support for offshore wind in coastal communities in Maine and New Jersey.

The United States is one of the largest energy consumers per capita, requiring households to have adequate energy expenditures to keep up with modern demand regardless of financial cost. This paper investigates energy burden, defined as the ratio of household energy expenditures to household income.

Since 2018, the Climate Advocacy Lab has distributed Climate Justice Microgrants to 25 environmental justice and climate justice organizations around the United States who are doing powerful work to protect and improve their communities.