We Want to Hear from You

The Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE) and the Society of Nurse Scientists, Innovators, Entrepreneurs & Leaders (SONSIEL) are launching a digital storytelling campaign to highlight the powerful and diverse ways nurses are already leading on climate and health. Nurses are promoting climate action every day—whether at the bedside, in the classroom, or in the boardroom. From cutting waste in clinics to advocating for healthy housing, nurses are protecting health and the planet in meaningful ways.

By naming and sharing what we’re doing, we connect our daily actions to the global movement for health and climate solutions—amplifying nurses’ voices.

We want to hear from you. Share how you are leading on climate and health—whether through patient education, policy advocacy, innovation, or sustainability initiatives. Your story could inspire others and strengthen the call for bold action at COP30.Learn more andsubmit your videotoday!

Deadlines Approaching: Your Rush Hour Commute Will Get Longer

Several clean energy policies are expiring at the end of September. The Trump Administration and Congress are cutting or not renewing several clean energy policies that will impact air quality and commutes.

EV HOV Lane Use Expiration

The exemption that allows single-occupant all-electric vehicles to use HOV lanes expires September 30^th, 2025.  Congress has not passed any law to extend or change this deadline. 

Why this matters – Electric Vehicle (EV) adoption is still in a crucial growth phase, and offering this perk helps encourage clean transportation. Ending HOV lane access for EVs sends a mixed message—one where we tell drivers we want electrification, but at the same time, we take away a program that costs nothing and supports that goal. Removing this free perk pushes single-occupant EVs into regular traffic lanes, which can increase congestion and lengthen commutes. This, in turn, raises fuel consumption, costing gas-powered drivers more and increasing emissions. In urban areas of Arizona, this results in more air pollution and more high-ozone days, which cause even hotter summer days as ozone and heat intensify.

EV Tax Credits

If you live in the United States and are in the market to buy or lease an electric vehicle, there’s a time-sensitive opportunity for you. The federal electric vehicle tax credit is set to expire on September 30, 2025. The credit provides up to $7,500 on a new qualifying EV and $4,000 for a used one, and Kiplinger has put together a comprehensive article that details eligibility requirements, income limits, qualifying vehicles, and more. If this is relevant to you, don't miss the chance: get it done this week!

Action Alert: Endangerment Finding

By September 22nd

What We Are Reading & Listening to Now

• Back to school, forward for climate (Katharine Hayhoe)
• Burns everywhere: AZ teen collapses from heatstroke on walk home from school (azcentral)
• Putting Drinking Water First: The Case for Sustained and Equitable Federal Water Infrastructure Investment (Clean Water Action)
• Do wildfires pose serious risks to human health (NAM)
• Air pollution from oil and gas causes 90,000 premature US deaths each year (The Guardian)
• As farmworkers face longer, hotter harvest seasons, their risk of heat-related illness grows (WHYY)

Join Us: Webinars & Events

• September 9^th: 9:00 am or 7:00 pm (ET): Let’s Teach Planetary Health Webinar (Register)
• September 12^th: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (AZ): Transforming Health Through Environmental Justice and Organizing Register
• September 17^th: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (MST): Reducing Waste Rethinking Care: An Approach to Sustainability in the OR Register
• September 24^th: 12 pm (ET): Advancing Climate & Health Equite – The Role of Nurses Ahead of COP30 Register
• October 8^th: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (MST): A Pediatrician’s Perspective on Climate Impacts Register
• October 16^th 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm (ET): Alliance for Heat Resilience and Health Heat Listening Session Register
• October 22^nd: 12 pm (ET): The Power of Nurses: Driving Climate Solutions at COP30 and Beyond Register
• November 19^th: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (MST): Promoting Climate Action through Quality and Safety Activities Register

   

  Join the ANHE West Regional Forum Today!

   

  Don’t forget to join the ANHE Regional Forums! Over 700 ANHE members in Arizona, California, and Nevada are committed to ensuring access to healthy food, water, air, and soil for all communities. The Regional Forums will host events, share information about current developments, and create opportunities for nurses to communicate with their legislators and with one another regarding issues in environmental health.

  Join Today

   

  Recordings

• Podcast: Healthy Climate America. New issues each week.Here
• Online: Extreme Heat & Health: Strategies for Prevention and Action (3 CEs) Link
• July 29^th: EPC Environmental Justice Poll Briefing Recording
• June 2^nd: Global Heat Action Day: Local Solutions to Protect Communities Recording
• The Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health: 2024 Communication Training Sessions Recordings
• May 14^th: Mitigating Heat-Related Health Risks in Arizona Recording
• March 6^th: Tap Water Affordability in Arizona Recording
• February 5^th: Region 9 Pacific Southwest Center for Emergency Public Health: Heat Surveillance, Preparedness Strategies and Community Response Webinar featuring LA County and Maricopa County Recording
• Recording: Webinar with author and Pediatrician Debra Hendrickson on her new book The Air They Breathe: A Pediatrician on the Front Lines of Climate Change. Recording.
• Recording from December 10^th’s webinar: Perspectives on Plastic Lifecycle Series: Plastics Use and Demand Recording.
• Recording from December 11^th’s webinar:A panel discussion on Extreme Weather in Arizona Recording.
• Recording from 3^rd Annual National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) National Meeting 2024 Here

Thank you for joining us in making a healthier planet today!