10 Simple Steps to a Smaller Carbon Footprint

By now, everyone outside the Trump administration and right-wing circles knows carbon pollution is a catastrophic problem for our planet. Climate change is heating the planet, extinguishing species and threatening our food supply.

To stop runaway climate change, we will ultimately need politicians to enact policies requiring that fossil fuels be left in the ground. While we fight for those policies, there are also actions we can take as individuals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Here are 10 easy things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint and help fight climate change.

1. Change your lightbulbs. A couple years ago, we were replacing our incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lightbulbs. Now we’re replacing our CFLs with LEDs, which use 40 percent less energy than CFLs, provide better-quality light and last for decades when used a few hours a day. You can reduce your carbon footprint by six tons per year just by installing LEDs in your home.1

Our favorite features of the new Nougat OS for Android

Google is in the process of rolling out the latest update to its operating system for Android devices. This new version, dubbed Nougat, comes with a number of tasty tweaks and refinements, including user interface improvements, notification enhancements and a new “Multi-Window mode” for split-screen capability.

Google made the update available for some devices last August and is gradually pushing it out to others. If you haven’t already, you’ll get a notification when Nougat is available for your device. Here are some of our favorite features.

Thank you from our March grantees

Each month, CREDO members and activists vote on how we distribute our monthly donation to three amazing organizations fighting for progressive causes. We’re making sure these donations are reaching the hands of organizations that are on the forefront of resisting the Trump agenda. Last month, a record-breaking 120,000 CREDO members voted on how to distribute our March donations to Americans for Tax Fairness, Detention Watch Network and Rainforest Action Network, three groups actively fighting Trump’s actions.

These donations are made possible by thousands of CREDO customers and the revenue they generate through using our services. Their distribution depends entirely on the votes of CREDO members like you. And for that, our March grant recipients thank you.

Americans for Tax Fairness
“Thank you for your vote in support of Americans for Tax Fairness. CREDO is an incredible partner in our fight for a fairer tax system. Together we’re demanding that Washington politicians create a tax system that works for everyone, not just the wealthy and large corporations.” To learn more, visit americansfortaxfairness.org.

These progressive groups need your vote this April

Every month CREDO Mobile lets you decide how we divide our monthly donations among three great progressive nonprofits. This April, we’ve chosen to support three groups fighting back against Donald Trump’s dangerous agenda by promoting activism and social justice, indigenous rights and the environment, and women’s rights and reproductive health. This month you can vote for Bend the Arc, Indigenous Environmental Network and Planned Parenthood. Learn more about these organizations and their work, and then cast your vote for one, two or all three by April 30.

Bend the Arc
Since 2012, Bend the Arc has organized the progressive Jewish community to fight alongside their partners for justice and equality in the United States. They are leading the Jewish resistance to Trump’s agenda.

Support from CREDO members will help Bend the Arc directly take on the Trump agenda by helping to grow its network of American Jewish grassroots activists who are committed to fundamentally rebalancing the distribution of power and resources across race, class, gender and faith.

CREDO Mobile will never sell your data

This week, irresponsible Republicans in Congress caved to powerful lobbies and voted to kill American consumers’ internet privacy with legislation that would allow internet service providers and mobile carriers like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon to sell your private internet data to the highest bidder without your permission. Whether you’ve searched for an illness, looked up information about a political protest or browsed sensitive material, your private data will be for sale. It’s a violation of consumer privacy that goes against everything CREDO believes in.

VICTORY: Maryland passes fracking ban

We won. This week, the Maryland Senate passed legislation to permanently ban fracking in the state. As the bill had already passed in the House, the only step left now is Gov. Larry Hogan’s signature. Gov. Hogan initially did not support the ban, but thanks to CREDO members and all the other Marylanders who raised their voices, he reversed course and said he would sign it into law.1


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This victory was the result of powerful, sustained grassroots activism – including the efforts of thousands of CREDO members. Over 7,000 CREDO members signed the petition to Maryland lawmakers and Gov. Hogan. CREDO members made 415 calls to Senate President Mike Miller and Gov. Hogan. And CREDO members joined the Don’t Frack Maryland coalition and other allies to march in Annapolis to demand the fracking ban.

An update from Heidi Hess, CREDO Action senior campaign manager

Last year, we spoke with Heidi Hess, CREDO Action senior campaign manager, about CREDO’s activism pushing back against right-wing attacks on women. We wanted to reach back out to get a update on the state of women’s rights. Heidi took a few minutes to chat with us.

New video: Combating climate change in the Trump era with 350.org

Our fight to combat climate change and stop the fossil fuel industry is becoming more important than ever. Donald Trump’s new Environmental Protection Agency administrator, climate-denier Scott Pruitt, has spent his career attempting to dismantle the agency he now oversees.

With Pruitt at the helm, climate denial could become more mainstream, especially as “fake news” and “alternative facts” have recently been trending topics. But the truth is the threat from climate change is real, and time is running out.

That’s why it was an honor to welcome May Boeve, executive director of 350.org, to CREDO headquarters Tuesday, Feb. 21 for a conversation about climate justice in the Trump era.

CREDO Co-founder Laura Scher: Speak, Act and Resist Together

The progressive movement faces a Republican administration determined to unravel more than a half century of social progress. With the stakes so high, we felt International Women’s Day was the right time to catch back up with Laura Scher, co-founder of CREDO.

When Laura launched CREDO/Working Assets in 1985, the for-profit model of social change didn’t exist. She and her co-founders pioneered it. Since then, CREDO has donated more than $83 million to progressive nonprofits, many of which are leading the fight against Trump’s hateful agenda. We dove into the impact of his agenda on women’s rights first.

1. Laura, talk to us about the state of women’s rights. What are the most pressing risks and opportunities?

Let me give you the good news first. Women’s rights, by and large, are at an all-time high. Birth control wasn’t fully legalized at the federal level until 1972. Take a moment to celebrate how far we’ve come since then.

This International Women’s Day, see how fighting for women’s equality is at the heart of the CREDO mission