Virginia Organizing community activism

Op-ed: An engine for social justice leads the way to change

Virginia Organizing's 27-year history as a role model for The Daily Climate

I want to share a role model for impactful change.


For 27 years, Virginia Organizing has quietly – and not-so-quietly – pushed for equity and social justice in and around Virginia.

And for 20 of those years, Environmental Health Sciences, publisher of EHN.org and DailyClimate.org, has been part of the VO family. VO serves as our fiscal sponsor, handling our accounting and finances.

But VO does so much more, pushing us to report on environmental justice and fight climate and environmental inequities as we work to inform the world about the science of our planet and health.

Today, Friday, is our last day in that VO home. EHS has grown up: Tomorrow we take our first steps as our own independent nonprofit.

The Virginia Organizing model for change

VO made those steps possible.

In an era of Twitter campaigns and online petitions, VO has focused on grass-roots activism, showing up at city council meetings, building presence in the community and listening to community needs.

Every year the organization holds a "power analysis" – looking at who holds power over issues their constituents care about, and then figuring out how to leverage their networks to shift the power balance toward justice.

It's a remarkably effective approach.

  • VO reformed criminal justice in many localities and the state of Virginia with successful “ban the box” campaigns.
    • Removed the stigma of an arrest record or conviction that disproportionately affects minority communities.
  • It built coalitions that:
    • Brought tax relief to 150,000-plus low-wage earners,
    • Expanded Medicaid,
    • Shut down the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

Worth copying: VO's beliefs

There's one other area where Virginia Organizing serves as a role model: Their statement of beliefs.

The 12 point list keeps the organization focused laser-like on its target of social equity, racial justice, and accountability from those in power. They all resonate with me, especially this one:

We believe that community, economic, social, and environmental policy should be developed with the greatest input from the people it is meant to serve, and that the policies should promote, celebrate and sustain the human and natural resources of Virginia.

I admire them all – and when EHS set out to craft its own statement of beliefs, we stood on VO's shoulders.

A legacy of advocacy and justice

So while VO ostensibly did our accounting, in reality their values, over 20 years, have permeated every aspect of EHS, from how we treat employees to the accountability we demand of people in power.

We're leaving VO today, but we're bringing VO's fierce, clear-eyed focus on justice, equity and a healthier world with us.

Photo montage courtesy Virginia Organizing, via Youtube.

republican climate change denial
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. (Credit: Gage Skidmore)

Opinion: House Speaker Mike Johnson’s climate change playbook — deny the science, take the funding

The two-faced charade of climate denial while diving into the pot of federal renewable incentives and tax breaks.

It took no time for Mike Johnson to establish a hefty carbon footprint as new Speaker of the House.

Keep reading...Show less
Senator Whitehouse & climate change

Senator Whitehouse puts climate change on budget committee’s agenda

For more than a decade, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave daily warnings about the mounting threat of climate change. Now he has a powerful new perch.
Lake Winnipesaukee
Image by John French from Pixabay

Climate change impacting Lake Winnipesaukee ice-out and ice-in dates

Climate change is impacting weather patterns all around us, including milestones at Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire's largest body of water.

global warming
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

2023 is about to smash the record for the hottest year

For the sixth month in a row, Earth set a new monthly record for heat, and also added the hottest autumn to the litany of record-breaking heat this year, the European climate agency calculated.

Seeking higher ground: Western resorts take skiers where the snow is

New terrain development at ski resorts, primarily in Colorado, aims to chase and preserve snow, an invaluable commodity.
electric vehicle charger
Photo by Robert Linder on Unsplash

Biden’s EV tax credit rules are finally here

A year after the federal government promised new rules governing how electric vehicles can qualify for tax credits, the Treasury Department’s official guidance is finally here.

cop28
Big Stock Photo

Who is pledging climate finance at COP28, and how much?

At this year's U.N. climate summit, countries, development institutions and businesses are pledging more money for everything from the energy transition to health care initiatives, technology investments, disaster relief and more.

Least-studied areas of Brazilian Amazon at high risk from climate change

In the Brazilian Amazon, between 15 and 18% of the areas most overlooked by research are at high risk of severe climate and land-use changes by 2050, according to a new study.

From our Newsroom
childrens health climate change

Delays in joining the RGGI regional climate program means excess ER visits and child illness in Pennsylvania

Up to 128 premature deaths from air pollution could have been prevented if the state had entered the program in 2022 as planned.

environmental justice

LISTEN: Carlos Gould on wildfire smoke and our health

“Information matters a lot — trying to explain not just that there’s a problem, but how to do something about it.”

fracking PFAS

“Forever chemicals” in Pennsylvania fracking wells could impact health of surrounding communities: Report

More than 5,000 wells in the state were injected with 160 million pounds of undisclosed, “trade-secret” chemicals, which potentially include PFAS.

800,000 tons of radioactive waste from Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry has gone “missing”

800,000 tons of radioactive waste from Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry has gone “missing”

Poor recordkeeping on hazardous waste disposal points to potential for bigger problems, according to a new study.

drought climate farming

Opinion: Climate change and soil loss — the new Dust Bowl?

How we can save our soil, stabilize the climate, and prevent a new Dust Bowl.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.