This year has been chaotic, overwhelming, gut-wrenching, and cruel, especially when it comes to children’s health. A new administration moved into the White House in January and immediately opened a firehose of pro-pollution, anti-health, and anti-environment actions, working to weaken and cut hard-won air and climate protections—and to make it easier for companies to put toxic chemicals into our everyday products.
When President Trump announced on Day 1 that he would work with his EPA Administrator to revoke the Endangerment Finding, the very foundation of all federal protections from climate pollution, Moms sprang into action. And we haven’t stopped fighting since.
The breadth of our fight—and its resonance—comes through in the numbers: Our members sent more than 245,800 messages to Congress, EPA, state and local officials, and the White House about clean air and climate protections! We had 219 meetings with elected officials at all levels of government and delivered fact sheets to more than 550 congressional offices! We appeared in 3,158 articles, broadcasts, op-eds, and letters to the editor, in outlets large and small—sharing stories that inspire, educate, and drive action! 350,000 people visited our website, with 36,150 reading our fact sheets and resources and 90,500 more reading our articles!
Our reach is expanding too. We hit the milestone of 1.6 million members this year. Our audience reach on Facebook grew to 85 million, and our Instagram followers grew by 5.3%.
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The list below represents just a few highlights from a year jam-packed with deeply personal and heartfelt advocacy, paired with quite a bit of good old-fashioned maternal rage, to protect the people—the children—we care about most.
January
In one of the biggest, most devastating climate events of the year, wildfires tore through Los Angeles communities, leaving lifetimes of memories in cinders and dangerous chemicals in the air. Moms’ Latino engagement program, EcoMadres, responded to the crisis with their first installment of a new video series—EcoMadres Investigates. In a conversation with Angelenos and advocates, they explored the impact of the fires on Latino and underserved communities and considered strategies to strengthen resilience for the next disaster.
February
Moms’ organizer Amanda Rowoldt braved burning eyes and foul air to capture video in Hebron, Ohio, of a brand new Freepoint Eco-Systems “advanced recycling” plastics burning facility emitting toxic black smoke into surrounding neighborhoods. Her cell phone footage captured the attention of the press, a local lawmaker, and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, leading to temporary closure of the facility.
March
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced his intention to put a “dagger in the heart” (his actual words!) of 50-plus years of environmental safeguards by rolling back no less than 31 lifesaving clean air and water protections. And Congress, working in tandem with the administration, started considering letting the nation’s most toxic polluters permanently turn off controls for seven of the most dangerous pollutants on the planet!! Moms refused to sit still, hitting Capitol Hill to deliver fact sheets to members of Congress—an effort that paid off when Energy and Commerce Chair Rep. Frank Pallone cited many of our arguments in his opposition to the bill on the House floor. More than 8,000 of our members joined the chorus, sending messages to their lawmakers.
April
At Moms’ Plastics Summit, leading scientists, like Dr. Shanna Swan, Dr. Leo Trasande, and Dr. Shannon Jones, joined people living near extensive and heavily polluting plastics and petrochemical facilities, including Jo Banner from Louisiana, Lynn Anderson from Ohio, and Moms’ Rachel Meyer from Pennsylvania. Together, they discussed the latest research on the devastating impact of plastics on human health and the environment. At the summit, Representative Summer Lee announced a new environmental justice caucus in Congress, and the livestream was viewed more than 120,000 times.
May
Black women in the U.S. are three times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related complications. Exposure to air pollution, extreme heat, and toxic chemicals can increase this risk. At Moms’ Maternal and Child Health Forum, which featured The 19th as a media partner, experts—including Dr. Sharon Malone, Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome, and many others—stressed that this is a lived reality for many women.
Also in May, Supermom Misti Allison spoke at a spotlight hearing with the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, including Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Bernie Sanders, Ed Markey, and Jeff Merkley, about the role EPA played in the February 2023 East Palestine train derailment and the need for EPA funding to ensure communities are kept safe.
June
Moms Clean Air Force teamed up with the Environmental Defense Fund to host a series of community meetings throughout the summer about a new project to tackle the massive problem of leaking orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania. The project works to cut climate-warming methane pollution by using drones, specially equipped cars, and on-foot inspectors with backpack magnetometers to hunt down abandoned wells that need to be plugged. Our meetings helped garner support from government leaders, police and firemen, small business owners, and property owners across the state. The project is already working: in the first phase, covering eight square miles in mountainous northwest Pennsylvania, we used drones to find and document 250 wells for plugging.
July
When EPA held virtual public hearings about rolling back greenhouse gas and mercury pollution protections from power plants, Moms from across the country showed up in force giving 50 testimonies with a singular message: Keep your hands off rules that safeguard our climate and children’s health!
August
EPA’s proposal to revoke the Endangerment Finding was an all-hands-on-deck moment for Moms. We sounded the alarm for months with videos, resources, and press events and sent more than 31,000 outraged messages to EPA urging them to continue working to cut climate pollution. Forty-four Moms’ staff and members testified in the August public hearing on the proposal. Hazel Chandler, Moms’ Arizona Field Organizer Emeritus, gave especially heartbreaking testimony: “This may be my last EPA testimony, but not by my choice,” said Hazel, who passed away in November. “After decades living between 3 major highways in the thick of Phoenix’s air pollution, I am now receiving hospice care due to stage 4 cancer.”
September
Methane rules work. Moms’ Celerah Hewes joined New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to celebrate a major win in her state—that methane pollution data collected by satellite shows oil and gas operators on the New Mexico side of the Permian Basin are releasing methane at half the rate of operators next door in Texas. It’s no coincidence. New Mexico has strong state methane rules, in part because Moms helped push for these vital protections.
Also in September, EcoMadres’ hosted its Second Annual Summit. At the event, Moms’ Latino engagement program illustrated how global warming is putting a strain on families and highlighted clean energy solutions that lower both electricity bills and pollution. This Hispanic Heritage Month event featured music from the EcoMadres band, SonTierra, and debuted our first ever Clean Air Champion Award to mom-daughter duo Ana Gonzalez and Jacky Banderas.
October
Clean energy is bringing new jobs, investments, and more affordable utility bills to states nationwide. Moms’ Ashley Hillard sat down with Bob Keefe, Executive Director of E2, to talk about the local benefits of large-scale clean energy projects in North Carolina and Florida—and how the Trump administration has put these projects at risk.
November
The Trump administration has spent all their first year in office trying to revive a dying fossil fuel industry, stripping electric power plant pollution protections, spending millions to prop up the outdated coal industry, and reopening ancient generating stations already set for closure. Moms’ Vanessa Lynch spoke at a virtual press event about one gas plant forced to reopen: Eddystone in Pennsylvania, expected to cost families $70 million annually in increased electricity bills!
December
Given all of the above, we are closing out the year with a bang, calling for EPA Administrator Zeldin to resign—full stop. Zeldin has essentially declared war on clean air and climate stability. Month after month, his EPA has announced rollbacks of protections from the most dangerous air pollutants known to humankind, pollutants we breathe. He’s Making America Sick Again, not doing his job—and you all agree. Our petition, launched earlier this week, already has thousands of signatures and is getting attention from news media and Congress.
Stick with Moms as we keep up the drumbeat, on behalf of our children, into 2026.