PIVOT 2025: A New Framework for Environmental Advocacy
PIVOT 2025 is a suggested framework to help NGOs and communities shift
We must recognize that the nature of the fight has changed. And if we want to stay relevant—and effective—we have to change with it.
I’ve developed a comprehensive strategy to help NGOs and environmental funders support communities in building food, water, and energy sovereignty. I often use the terms security and sovereignty interchangeably, depending on the context. This approach is organized under a framework I call Communities of Care—a simple, non-threatening name I chose deliberately. It’s straightforward, easy to communicate, and, importantly, it’s not on the current administration’s list of banned terms.
pivot 2025: food security, ENERGY security, water security & Personal safety
The following is a high-level framework, or starting roadmap, that is written to be easily digestible for any group or organization. It’s a step-by-step guide to help people consider the next steps, but also provides some specific ideas for what those steps should be. I hope this guide proves valuable to your work.
I. SPECIFIC ACTIONS & ACTORS
NGOs/Advocacy Organizations/Grassroots Groups/Communities
Pivot your community to help your constituencies achieve food, water, and energy security. These three areas will create climate-resilient communities and economic resilience.
Communities need more climate disaster preparedness training. In the past, FEMA helps disaster preparedness training certifications for communities across extreme weather vulnerability zones. Now, experienced FEMA training emergency preparedness professionals or groups with this specialized training should be on the road training community- now! FEMA assistance is either non-existent or sketchy at best now.
Food Systems security and resilience training. Our nations domestic food supply chain is in the crosshairs and most people don’t know how to plant and maintain so much as a kitchen window herb garden. Black Farmers and the Black Farmers Network are pivotal to our communties now. Widespread community gardens
Solarize Programs for bulk solar panel buying and a mass education campaign is needed to teach everyday people about solar. Over the past years, the solar boom has been wrought with scams and poorly deployed solar leasing programs, so consumers are skittish. Somebody needs to flood every social media site with education-based ads on how rooftop solar works for the next year!
Some areas can support ground wells for water, and others allow livestock. People need to know how to build a 100% fully sustainable home with water, energy, and food security. Find experts to teach communities how to achieve these things and prioritize the most vulnerable communities.
Get involved ONLY in your local city/county politics and work to get the things listed below in the Local Elected leaders list.
What Local Elected Leaders Can Do:
Pass local ordinances to allow homeowners and residents to use more single-family home land for urban gardening and small livestock, such as fowl.
Ensure your city’s water infrastructure is sound; a water supply issue can kill an entire city economically and population-wise.
Pass an ordinance requiring new developments to build only single-family homes with solar or wind energy. Start securing your city's energy supply with distributed energy.
Pass a bill requiring monopoly utilities to allow for monthly net-metering to stimulate your state energy market by incentivizing people who can afford rooftop solar to buy it now.
Open your state’s renewable energy market for independent utility-scale energy developers to secure your constituency’s energy needs.
Create more citywide/countywide food forests. Crime will spike when the food supply chain is disrupted and people are hungry. Make food more accessible, and plant trees at local parks. Work with your local tree advocacy groups; they know exactly what to do.
Direct funding to your local Black Farmers Network to teach communities some farming basics. Black Farmers have been categorically excluded from most federal farm subsidies. They know the true economics of how to run a farm under a hostile government. They are the experts now, engage them.
1. Energy Sovereignty
Energy security isn’t just about keeping the lights on—it’s about keeping people safe. In an era of climate disruption, energy security is foundational to emergency preparedness, public health, and overall community resilience. When extreme weather events strike—whether it’s heatwaves, wildfires, hurricanes, or ice storms—access to reliable, decentralized energy can mean the difference between stability and crisis.
Energy security is, at its core, climate resilience. And for frontline communities, it's also a matter of justice.
That’s where energy democracy comes in.
Energy democracy is the idea that energy systems should be owned by, operated for, and made accountable to the communities they serve. It means moving away from centralized, polluting utilities and toward clean, local, and community-controlled energy sources. This shift not only reduces emissions, but also builds energy sovereignty—the ability of communities to control their own energy future, especially in times of crisis.
ACTIONABLE SOLUTIONS
Project Drawdown outlines several high-impact climate solutions that also advance energy democracy:
Distributed Solar Photovoltaics: Rooftop and community solar projects allow households, schools, and neighborhoods to generate their own clean energy, reducing dependence on vulnerable grid infrastructure.
Microgrids and Energy Storage: These systems enable communities to maintain power during outages, especially critical for hospitals, shelters, and emergency operations.
Clean Cooking Solutions: For rural and low-income communities globally, transitioning from biomass or kerosene to solar or induction-based cooking reduces indoor air pollution and deforestation while increasing energy independence.
Energy Efficiency in Buildings: Upgrading insulation, lighting, and appliances lowers energy demand, reducing strain on grids and household budgets—particularly important during extreme weather events.
2. Energy Security: Localizing Power
With federal support for clean energy dwindling, states and municipalities must double down on their commitments. Decentralized energy—such as solar co-ops, microgrids, and community-owned renewables—will provide stability in an uncertain market. The less we rely on a centralized, politically vulnerable energy system, the better.
3. Water Security: Guarding quality & shortages
Water access is already a growing crisis, exacerbated by droughts, pollution, and mismanagement. Communities should prioritize rainwater harvesting, water recycling initiatives, and conservation programs. Individuals and local governments alike need to rethink water usage and build systems that ensure long-term access to clean, affordable water.
The next few years will be unpredictable, but the path forward is clear: we must take matters into our own hands. Investing in food, energy, and water security at the local level is no longer just an option—it’s a necessity. The federal government may remain in turmoil, but communities that act now will be more resilient in the face of whatever comes next.
The time to pivot is now.