While media attention focused on the recent elections, beyond the spotlight Americans continue to press for ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect their immigrant neighbors, and make businesses and not consumers bear the cost of new infrastructure investments to support their growth.
Voters Dissatisfied Under Trump
Like the recent 2700 No Kings rallies, last week’s state and local elections generated a loud rejection of Trump policies and a repudiation of Project 2025. ICE detentions of immigrants who are welcome members of their communities, the rising cost of living, and concerns about healthcare coverage were top of mind for voters who chose candidates and ballot initiatives not associated with the Republican Party. Fears of creeping authoritarianism were clearly on some voters’ minds, at least in California, where voters endorsed partisan gerrymandering as a means to counter Trump-requested gerrymanders in Republican states, and in Maine, where voters rejected an initiative that would have made it harder for some people to vote.
Hydrogen Power Persists in Ohio
Hydrogen power projects in Ohio are still moving forward despite uncertainty surrounding continued government support for the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2). ARCH2 is a public-private collaboration initiated by the Biden administration to build a safe and sustainable clean hydrogen ecosystem in Appalachia – a key part of Biden’s response to climate change. A 2022 study determined that Ohio was positioned to be a leader in the developing hydrogen economy in the coming years.
Colorado’s Immigrant Protection Teams
Following Trump’s election in 2024, Coloradans who were concerned about the president-elect’s aggressive posture toward immigrants organized Immigrant Protection Teams (IPT) in more than 20 local communities. The teams are designed to partner and work with other local groups, complementing rather than duplicating their efforts to pursue justice for their immigrant neighbors. The IPT seeks to dispel myths about immigrants and educate the immigrant community about their rights.
Michigan Imposes Tariffs on Data Centers
Michigan’s Public Service Commission voted to have businesses operating data centers in the state to pick up the cost of building new power plants to serve their growing electricity demands. The move protects residential and other business consumers from subsidizing high-energy-consumption businesses. As power companies around the country strive to satisfy the electricity requirements of the burgeoning data center business, they have typically sought to have consumers pick up unfairly large portions of the tab. In Virginia, for example, Dominion Power expects the data centers to pay just 11% of the cost for a new plant in Chesterfield County, while consumers would pay 50% of the cost.
The Right Question About Climate Risk
Insurers were among the first businesses to acknowledge and adapt to the risks of climate change. And why not? Assessing risk is their business, and in their business, climate change is a market force that can have a devastating impact on their ability to profitably provide affordable insurance.
Susan Crawford, emeritus professor at Harvard Law School and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, urges the rest of us, particularly those in state and local government, to look at climate risk in the same way.
Author: George Linzer
Published: November 10, 2025
Feature image: Original, using power line image by Andrej Lišakov
Sources
The URLs included with the sources below were good links when we published. However, as third party websites are updated over time, some links may be broken. We do not update these broken links. If you are interested in the source, it may be possible to find it by copying and pasting the URL into a search on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. From the search results, be sure to choose a date near the accessed date.
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Zach Beauchamp, “The Democrats’ big election revealed a hidden constraint on Trump”, Vox, Nov 6, 2025, https://www.vox.com/politics/467643/2025-election-results-virginia-california-democracy, accessed Nov 10, 2025
Julia Simone, Brad Rogers, Matthew Bourgault, “Maine voters reject voter ID requirement, absentee voting changes”, WGME, Nov 5, 2025, https://wgme.com/news/local/no-on-1-campaign-declares-victory-against-voter-id-referendum-in-maine, accessed Nov 10, 2025
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Donovan Slack, Gareth Evans, “Democrats hit back and a winning message – four election night takeaways”, BBC, Nov 5, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy40qx532e0o, accessed Nov 10, 2025
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Kathiann M. Kowalski, “In Ohio, hydrogen industry presses on despite federal uncertainty”, Canary Media, Nov 6, 2025, https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/hydrogen/ohio-industry-outlook-federal-funding-uncertainty, Nov 7, 2025
Brian Dabbs, Christa Marshall, Corbin Hiar, “DOE cancellations hit hydrogen, air capture hubs”, E&E News by Politico, Oct 2, 2025, https://www.eenews.net/articles/doe-cancellations-hit-hydrogen-air-capture-hubs/#:~:text=Absent%20on%20the%20list%20are,cornerstone%20of%20America’s%20energy%20economy.”, accessed Nov 7, 2025
Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2), “About”, https://www.arch2hub.com/about/arch2-concept/, accessed Nov 7, 2025
Mark Henning, Andrew R. Thomas, Peter Psarras, Michael Triozzi, “Developing a Hydrogen Economy in Ohio: Challenges and Opportunities”, Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs, Mar 2022, https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2756&context=urban_facpub, accessed Nov 7, 2025
Stark Area Regional Transit Authority, “Jobsohio, Sarta Study Says Ohio is Poised to Lead Hydrogen Economy, is a Prime Location for Clean Hydrogen Hub”, Apr 21, 2022, https://www.sartaonline.com/jobsohio-sarta-study-says-ohio-is-poised-to-lead-hydrogen-economy-is-a-prime-location-for-clean-hydrogen-hub/, accessed Nov 7, 2025
Colorado Immigrant Protection Teams, “About Colorado IPT”, https://coloradoipt.org/studio/, accessed Nov 7, 2025
Up2Us Golden, “Up2Us Golden: Protecting Immigrants (Task Force)”, https://www.up2usgolden.org/task-forces, accessed Nov 7, 2025
Kelly House, “Michigan OKs landmark regulations that push up-front costs to data centers”, Bridge Michigan, Nov 6, 2025, https://bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/michigan-oks-landmark-regulations-that-push-up-front-costs-to-data-centers/, accessed Nov 7, 2025
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Kathryn McGrath, “Michigan Regulators Approve the State’s First Data Center Tariff Provisions an Important Step Toward Protecting Ratepayers from Skyrocketing Energy Costs”, Earth Justice, Nov 6, 2025, https://earthjustice.org/press/2025/michigan-regulators-approve-the-states-first-data-center-tariff-provisions-an-important-step-toward-protecting-ratepayers-from-skyrocketing-energy-costs, accessed Nov 7, 2025
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Susan Crawford, “Insurers plan for extreme events that could crater their solvency. Shouldn’t all levels of government do the same?”, Substack, Nov 7, 2025, https://susanpcrawford.substack.com/p/insurers-plan-for-extreme-events, accessed Nov 7, 2025
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