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The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down President Trump’s order denying birthright citizenship to children born on U.S. soil, affirming that the Fourteenth Amendment means what it has always meant. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which filed an amicus brief in Trump v Barbara, welcomed the ruling and issued the following:

Dariely Rodriguez, chief counsel at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said:

“Today’s ruling solidifies what we have known to be true for over a hundred years and what our Constitution and federal laws have supported: that anyone born on American soil, regardless of the legal status of their parents, is born an American citizen. We have endured an incredible test of our collective will as a nation and have prevailed. We are glad ideological gamesmanship failed, and the right result was reached here.”

Olivia Sedwick, counsel at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said:

“We are satisfied with today’s result, however, we know it should have never been a question from the start. This part of our democracy’s foundation remains intact. The domicile status of one’s parents has never been a part of the calculus to determine who is born an American citizen. We hope this ends the attack on the citizenship of our American-born brothers and sisters who are born to immigrant parents. That question has finally been asked, answered, and laid to rest, hopefully, forever.”

In response to the Supreme Court’s ruling allowing states to ban trans youth and some intersex youth from participating in school sports, the Center for Constitutional Rights released the following statement:

Today's decision confirms what trans and intersex advocates have known for some time: we are in the Plessy v. Ferguson/Bowers v. Hardwick era of trans rights, which is to say that we have entered a period when the legal recognition and legal protections for trans and intersex people are at an all-time low. As was the case for Black Americans after Plessy was rebuked by Brown v. Board of Education, and for the LGBTQIA+ community after Lawrence v. Texas overturned Bowers, eventually this moment will be seen for what it is: a disgrace, a legal wrong, and a failure of moral clarity for which we must atone.

We stand in solidarity with trans and intersex people as they face a wave of persecution and hatred much more vast than is commonly recognized. A comprehensive campaign years in the making – one that includes a raft of executive orders and federal rules driven by anti-LGBTQIA+ animus, 797 anti-trans bills in 43 states (with exceptions impacting intersex youth), efforts to censor speech and punish professors, cuts to funding for nonprofits that serve LGBTQIA+ people, and shameful kowtowing by hospitals – has endangered the health, rights, and safety of trans and intersex people across the country.

The anti-trans policymakers and activists have, through their actions and rhetoric, made their goal clear: to terrorize trans people and remove them from public life.

And yet, with today’s decision, the Supreme Court has once again abdicated duty to be a bulwark against state-sponsored persecution of trans and intersex people that is so severe that, according to the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security, trans and intersex people are experiencing the early stages of genocide.

Rather than document this persecutory campaign, the mainstream press has boosted anti-trans propaganda in the deceptive name of “science” and “balance,” while many Democratic Party leaders are sacrificing trans and intersex people on the altar of political expediency.

We cannot defeat hatred with equivocation, we cannot mollify fascists, sadists, and bigots, and we cannot fixate on the presumed predilections of “swing voters” when the rights and wellbeing of fellow citizens are under sustained assault. What is needed is simple yet elusive: unshakable support from the broad left.

Awed and inspired by the courage of trans and intersex people in the face of this mounting threat, we are proud to stand with them, and we are eager to join others ready to bring unwavering fierceness and love to this urgent civil rights struggle.

In response to the Supreme Court decision in West Virginia v. BPJ, Karla Gonzales Garcia, Gender, Sexuality, and Identity Director at Amnesty International USA said:

“This decision comes at a time of rising authoritarian practices under the Trump administration, which use gender and sexuality as a cultural battle for political gain. Amid escalating efforts to legalize discrimination against transgender people, this decision could pave the way for broader laws that exclude transgender people from public life altogether.

“Transgender youth should have the same opportunities afforded to their cisgender peers. Athletic programs are essential to the growth and development of all young people. Today’s ruling would deny transgender youth the ability to participate in recreational activities with their friends and peers – simply due to their gender identity.

“Transgender people are our family, neighbors, friends, coworkers and community members, and the U.S. government will not force them from existence. We are united in solidarity with every young transgender athlete whose future feels less certain today.

“Together, we will continue to fight for a better future – one where transgender people can enjoy their human right to bodily autonomy and a life of freedom, safety and dignity.”

Nearly one third of all corporate political spending on elections since the 2010 Citizens United decision has occurred in the current election cycle – months before the general election, a new report from Public Citizen finds.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court greenlit direct corporate spending to influence election outcomes in 2010, corporations have spent $1.58 billion on federal elections. In the 2026 election cycle alone, they have spent $517 million, a figure sure to soar as the November general election approaches (these totals reference disclosed political spending, not any contributions from Dark Money organizations that keep donors secret).

The 2026 cycle spending already far exceeds the $461 million corporate spending during the 2024 presidential cycle. Driving this unprecedented surge of political spending are crypto, Big Tech and online betting corporations. Altogether, those three sectors are responsible for 57 percent of the corporate spending in the 2026 midterms. The new corporate spending is going primarily to corporate supremacist super PACs, which, unlike most super PACs, prioritize the interests of specific corporate sectors over either major political party or any particular candidate.

The report, “The Rise of Corporate Supremacist Super PACs,” also finds that the biggest beneficiary of corporate contributions besides the industry-prioritizing super PACs is the Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. MAGA Inc. received $120.6 million in direct contributions from corporations including Crypto.com, Energy Transfer Partners, UnitedHealthcare, and Reynold’s American.

“A decade and a half after Citizens United, corporations are starting to spend on politics like never before,” said Rick Claypool, Research Director at Public Citizen and author of the report. “Crypto corporations shattered norms against corporate spending in elections last cycle and now many others are following suit – and still more are sure to follow.”

“This corporate spending is a disaster for democracy,” said Claypool. “If the current, broken campaign finance system remains unchallenged – and corporate spending is allowed to drown out the voices of real voters and real people – these corporate campaigns will keep multiplying, even as voting rights for individual Americans face escalating attacks.”

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The post Latest Newsletter first appeared on Labor Network for Sustainability.

Three Roads: Labor, Music, Ecology is a new book by LNS president and founder Joe Uehlein. Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants/Communication Workers of America says, “Three Roads is both an instruction manual for building campaigns to win big fights and a deeply personal and uplifting memoir. Joe is a true champion for working people and our planet, and he makes the stories of our fight sing off the page.”

Now Joe is giving a series of readings and performances from Portland Me to Seattle WA:

Here’s where to catch Joe’s Show:

More info here

The post LNS Prez Joe Uehlein Touring with New Book and Guitar first appeared on Labor Network for Sustainability.

Image Source: “Protest against ICE in downtown Minneapolis 23 January 2026 – ICE OUT – Fuera ICE” by Fibonacci Blue via Wikimedia Commons.

Minnesota trade unionists are among 15 people indicted in mid-June on charges of “conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer” during ICE attacks on Minneapolis since December 2025. The indictment cited participation in assemblies of trade unionists and other workers held at the United Labor Centre in Minneapolis as evidence that the activists participated in a criminal conspiracy.

Kieran Knutson, president of Communications Workers of America Local 7250, described these worker assemblies as “an attempt to create a democratic space for workers to be part of decision making about how the workers’ movement participates in the anti-ICE resistance, and in the labor movement in general.”

“Most union members can go to their union meetings if their unions have meetings and participate this way, but this was a way of doing that across different unions, across different industries, across different trades, in a way that’s directly democratic, to talk about and discuss and debate issues. It wasn’t a front group for any one political trend. A number of unions sponsored it.”

More than fifty labor and community groups responded to the conspiracy indictment with a statement signed by SEIU Local 26, UNITE HERE Local 17, CWA Local 7250, UFCW locals 1189 and 663, Education Minnesota, and the Minnesota AFL-CIO, among others. It read in part:

“A hundred thousand of us peacefully marched in minus twenty degrees. No matter what we look like, how we pray, or what language we speak, we looked out for our neighbors and stood up to attacks on our state. But now, ahead of our midterm elections, the Trump regime’s weaponized DOJ is lashing out in hopes of intimidating people who challenge their corruption, abuses of power, and attacks on our freedoms.

“But Minnesotans have already proven we won’t cave to bullies and their billionaire backers, no matter their fearmongering and division. We’ll continue to stand together and stand up for what is right, because that’s what neighbors do for each other.”

For more on this story:

• “Sweeping Federal Indictments of Ice Observers Net Minnesota Unionists” from In These Times
• “We’ll Continue to Stand Together”: Minnesota Labor Slams Federal Indictments as Political Repression from Workday Magazine

The post “Then They Came for the Trade Unionists…” first appeared on Labor Network for Sustainability.

Today, by a vote of 6-3, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the long-standing federal limit on campaign spending coordination between political parties and candidates. This limit was passed by Congress in 1971 to guard against the corrupting effect of large campaign contributions flowing through party committees to candidates to circumvent federal limits on the amount of direct campaign contributions to candidates. The case is National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission. Public Citizen filed an amicus brief in the case arguing in support of the law.

“This Supreme Court twisted the First Amendment to help billionaires and corporations buy our elections and bend our government to their will,” said Public Citizen Democracy Advocate Jon Golinger. “We have to combat this outcome by increasing transparency so voters know who’s paying for election ads, empowering small donors and public matching funds, and passing the Democracy For All Amendment to empower Congress, the states, and the voters to put in place reasonable protections to guard against campaign finance corruption.”

Data centers are large warehouse-like structures filled with digital electronics that process artificial intelligence (AI). They can encompass more than a million square feet. Today by one count there are 4,149 data centers in the US, with 2,788 more under construction or planned. LNS is currently preparing an informational guide about the impact of data centers on workers.

The companies planning data centers maintain they will benefit local communities and produce large numbers of much-needed jobs. Some unions have joined them. But according to a recent Gallop poll, seven in ten Americans oppose constructing data centers in their local area. Nearly half, 48%, are strongly opposed. Barely a quarter favor these projects, with only 7% strongly in favor. Community coalitions in hundreds of locations are organizing to oppose them. Just in the first quarter of 2026, the number of groups actively opposing data centers more than doubled to 833 across 49 states. They say they will corner local energy supplies and therefore raise electric rates; drain scarce water resources; pollute the environment; accelerate global warming; and create heat and noise pollution for miles around.

Patrick Schloesser, a software engineer at Amazon Web Services, recently testified in support of regulation of new data center construction in Seattle: “It’s been reported that this year, Amazon is spending $200 billion on capital, with most of it going to data centers and AI. Microsoft is spending $190 billion. Meanwhile, the leaders at my company have laid off 30,000 corporate employees in the last eight months.” (The Seattle City Council ultimately voted for a yearlong moratorium of local data center construction.)

Tech workers, joined by the American Federation of Teachers, the American Association of University Professors, and the Working Families Party, have just founded the Guardrail Alliance, a super PAC designed to “take on moneyed entities that oppose reining in A.I., while supporting legislation to safeguard the technology.”

The post Why All the Fuss about Data Centers? first appeared on Labor Network for Sustainability.

Image Source: “Renewable Energy Systems Engineering” by Getty Images Signature via Canva (Altered)

The Green Workers Alliance is an organization of 1,800 renewable energy workers across the country who are mobilizing to win more and better jobs in the sector. In early June GWA members joined allies from the United Ratepayers campaign to crash the Edison Electric Institute annual summit in Las Vegas, joining activists from across the nation to call for an end to rate hikes and increased use of renewable energy, the most affordable way to power our nation. As the CEO of Nevada Energy spoke, ratepayers demanded the utility cancel the daily demand charge, which is being imposed as Nevada residents face worsening struggles paying their utility bills. GWA says that expanding renewable energy means jobs for its members and affordable energy for hard-pressed utility customers.

Source: https://www.greenworkers.org/post/gwa-on-the-move-this-spring

The post Green Workers Alliance Crashes Edison Electric Institute Summit first appeared on Labor Network for Sustainability.

Image Source: The White House, Public Domain

In two new pieces in his Commentary on Solidarity and Survival series, LNS co-founder and senior strategic advisor Jeremy Brecher reviews Donald Trump’s war against fossil-free energy and examines to what extent it has succeeded.

Trump’s Anti-Greentech Counter-Revolution by Jeremy Brecher | Jun 1, 2026

From the day of his inauguration until long after the closing of the Straits of Hormuz, President Donald Trump and his fossil fuel supporters have conducted an unrelenting war against the Greentech revolution and fossil free energy.

Irresistible Greentech Revolution Meets Immovable Trump Counter-Revolution by Jeremy Brecher | Jun 15, 2026

As we saw in the previous commentary, Donald Trump is conducting a full spectrum counter-revolution against the Greentech revolution that is transforming energy production and consumption worldwide. This commentary shows that he has managed to significantly impede the onward march of Greentech in the US, but that Greentech is marching on nonetheless.

 

The post Has Trump Defeated the Greentech New Deal? first appeared on Labor Network for Sustainability.

Image source: “Piles Judicial Court Files” by AndreyPopov via Canva (Altered).

In March, 2023 the UN General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, to rule on the obligation of nations to protect the climate under international law. In July 2025 the Court ruled that States have an obligation to protect the environment from greenhouse gas emissions. The Court also ruled that if States breach these obligations, they are legally responsible and may be legally required to stop the wrongful conduct, offer guarantees that it won’t happen again, and make full reparation, depending on the circumstances.

Now the General Assembly has passed a new resolution, affirming the Court’s ruling that States are obliged to protect the environment from greenhouse gas emission. There were 141 votes in favor, and 28 abstentions, with Belarus, Iran, Israel, Liberia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the US, and Yemen voting against.

Source: https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/05/1167561

The post UN General Assembly Backs World Court: International Law Says Governments Legally Responsible to Protect the Climate first appeared on Labor Network for Sustainability.

Image Source: “Global Climate Strike 09-20-2019” by Markus Spiske via Canva (Altered).

In an advisory opinion issued May 21, the International Court of Justice ruled that the right to strike is protected under the International Labor Organization’s Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement,

“At a moment when workers’ organizations face sustained attacks around the world, this opinion reaffirms that the freedom to withhold one’s labor is not a privilege granted by the powerful, but a fundamental human right grounded in international law.”

Check out “Labor Unions Celebrate World Court’s Ruling That Enshrines the Right to Strike” from Truthout for more information.

The post World Court Affirms: Workers Have a Right to Strike first appeared on Labor Network for Sustainability.

Today in Trump v. Barbara the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of citizenship to everyone born in the United States.

Thomas Wolf, director of democracy initiatives at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, had the following reaction:

“Today’s ruling is the right one amid an avalanche of Supreme Court opinions undermining our democracy. The Court could not have defensibly ruled any differently. The Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed citizenship to everyone born here over 150 years ago. The Supreme Court affirmed that 20 years later in Wong Kim Ark. Meanwhile, the Court has been on an anti-democratic rampage.

“In just the past few weeks alone, the Court further undermined the Voting Rights Act, encouraged more aggressive partisan gerrymandering, dangerously expanded presidential power over federal agencies, and further depleted protections for immigrants. This ruling does not make up for all the damage the Court has done this term.”

In an important victory for all Americans, today the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a presidential executive order that would have changed the 14th Amendment’s process for U.S. citizenship.

But while today is a victory, attacks on communities of color continue to persist both with the president and in cases with this court.

“While we welcome the Court finally upholding a constitutional amendment ratified nearly two centuries ago, upholding the law is no cause for celebration, it is a requirement” Common Cause President & CEO Virginia Kase Solomón said. “Let today be a stark reminder that this court continues to systematically dismantle voting protections for Black and brown communities, tilting the scales of justice toward a dark era where a wealthy, privileged few dictate the rules for the rest of us. Today may be a brief victory for the rule of law, but our fight to protect our multiracial democracy continues.”

It’s not easy being green — especially when you’re a scientist in an environmental field. Sometimes we’ve been at it for so long we lose sight of the many sympathetic folks and resources that surround us.

But there’s much we can do to find local, national, and international colleagues, and more importantly help the public understand the importance of what we do every day.

 

 

Dear Dr. Green,

I’ve been active in the environmental movement ever since high school. I’m a microbiologist studying the ability of bacteria and fungi to break down pollution. I also partner with organizations like Mossy Earth to restore degraded land. I’m seeing a lot of burnout and pessimism in environmentalist circles, but I’m really optimistic about humanity’s odds to beat climate change, habitat destruction, and our other problems. The scientific discoveries I make show me that nature is resilient. I can’t seem to convince anyone, though. My question is: How do people find hope again? Sometimes it feels like I’m carrying a torch in the dark all by my lonesome.

T.F.

Hello T.F.,

First, thank you for your service and dedication to environmentalism. We need people with the optimistic, whole-hearted commitment to our natural world more than ever. Your  optimism is invigorating and your work sounds fascinating and fulfilling.

Loneliness seems to be part of the package, too, but you don’t have to feel alone. Like the discoveries you’ve made about nature’s resilience, you need to nurture your own resilience and gather other environmentalists around you in a vibrant collective.

Let’s look at how we can get you more grounded with others who share your values and work ethic and how you can inspire hope in the process.

Start with yourself, then friends and colleagues, and expand from there.

Do you like to write about your ecological science work in language accessible to the public? That might be a great way to contribute to local and regional newspapers’ editorial sections; or contact the editors of regional media and suggest an environmental section if there isn’t one already. Such pieces can get people involved in local issues that affect their health and wealth.

Look for local events like farmers’ markets and monthly town celebrations where you might try having an informational table or booth and meet and greet. It may cost you a bit, but you can set out a donation jar to offset costs and get friends involved to help. The World Wildlife Fund has a great guide on how to host an information booth.

Next, reach out to your circle of professional contacts, groups and colleagues — even if you haven’t talked to them in ages. I’m not a fan of Facebook, but it can be a handy place to seek out old comrades and colleagues in your field, as can other social media platforms or LinkedIn. You mentioned your work with Mossy Earth; did you make connections there? Reach out and find where they are gathering with other environmental scientists. What are some other environmental circles you have worked or participated in?

Consider becoming an educator and mentor for younger folks interested in the work you do.

Young people — and really, anyone at any age — love learning about cool stuff like using bacteria and fungi to destroy pollutants. Mentor school kids: They might want to follow in your footsteps. Look for some public presentation opportunities at your local library, community and youth centers, the YMCA/YWCA, Rotary and other clubs (Lions Club, Elks, Veterans), local outdoors clubs — like hiking, gardening, surfing, boating — churches, schools (especially science classes), and community colleges and universities. These places are always looking for guest speakers or experts.

Develop a PowerPoint projected slideshow, handouts, and other educational materials. Again, a little out-of-pocket cost for screens, projectors, and your time is cheaper than feeling lonely or despairing.

In giving these talks, you’ll meet people and have a chance to enlighten them. Remember to speak in layman’s terms: Explain any concept in simple easy-to-understand language and don’t get in the weeds with overly academic or scientific terms. Focus on the enthusiasm you have for what you do, and the audience will be enthusiastic too.

People can rediscover hope when you show them good news about new  developments in environmental science.

Shine a light for everyday people who are not scientists, but who are eco-curious. Communicate to them what you and your colleagues are doing to save the environment, such as with Mossy Earth and other organizations and teams. Your rich experience and optimism will get people engaged.

Scientific achievements mean little to the public unless people in the sciences, like us, get out there and talk about what we’re doing.

Let our readers know how it’s going and ask more questions about the dissemination of scientific work to the public. We want to know how you move forward with this!

See you next time!

Cheers, my friend

Dr. Green

What are you struggling with as a dedicated environmentalist and global citizen? Let us know by sending your questions and success stories in the text box below.

All participants are anonymous. Even Dr. Green has no idea who you are.

Send Dr. Green your questions and stories below:

All questions are considered intended for publication; published questions will be kept anonymous. Individual replies are not possible.

Disclaimer: This column is not a replacement for therapy, and the advice given is educational in nature, not a replacement for professional psychological or psychiatric therapy. This is a peer-driven support effort by The Revelator to inform and build community with environmental and wildlife defenders.

If you are feeling critically depressed and suicidal, it’s time to immediately find professional help. Go to your closest emergency room or call the following numbers to get immediate help in your area:

SUICIDE HOTLINES

Worldwide: http://www.befrienders.org/support/

United Kingdom: http://www.samaritans.org

USA: http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

1-800-273-TALK

Resources:

“Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan” (The Revelator)

“Yes, Your Friends and Neighbors Want to Talk to You About Climate Change” (The Revelator)

WWF: “How to Host a Booth or Table at a Community Event”

The Nature Conservancy: “Ways to Get Involved”

Mossy Earth: A Team Restoring Nature & Fighting Climate Change

American Scientist: “12 Tips for Scientists Writing for the General Public” by Katie L. Burke

Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World by Katharine Hayhoe

What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

The post Dr. Green: An Environmentalist Scientist Asks About Finding Connections and Inspiring Hope appeared first on The Revelator.

Today, the Supreme Court ruled for the Republican Party and JD Vance in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission, reversing previous decisions and removing one of the last restrictions preventing wealthy donors from funneling huge sums to their preferred candidates through political parties. The decision strikes down limits on "coordinated expenditures" and opens the door to even more billionaire influence in American elections.

Stand Up America’s Managing Director of Policy and Political Affairs, Brett Edkins, issued the following statement on today’s decision:

“The right-wing supermajority on the Supreme Court thinks Citizens United didn’t go far enough. Today they gave their blessing for billionaires to buy even more influence over the politicians who represent us.

“Americans deserve a Supreme Court that upholds our fundamental freedoms–not one that consistently sides with billionaire donors and diminishes the power of everyday citizens in our democracy. Congress should rein in this rogue Court once Trump leaves office by enacting major reforms, including term limits, an enforceable code of ethics, and expanding the Court with justices who will defend our democracy and our fundamental freedoms.”

Since 2021, Stand Up America has been on the front lines of the fight for Supreme Court reform, mobilizing its members to take nearly one million actions in support of Supreme Court term limits, expansion, and a binding code of ethics.

The introduction of environmentally friendly products sometimes winds up increasing overall environmental harm, according to a new study that upends the conventional wisdom about greening the marketplace.

Businesses, policymakers, and environmental organizations often assume that if only more consumers can be convinced to care about the environment and buy eco-friendly products then the problem of ecological harm from consumer goods will be solved.

But it’s not that simple. Instead, a complex interplay between shifting consumer preferences and company pricing strategies can lead to paradoxical results, the analysis reveals.

In the study, researchers adapted a standard mathematical model of the marketplace for durable goods such as appliances, consumer electronics, and cars. Consumers typically replace these items every so often, not necessarily because the old one stops working but because a new and improved one hits the market.

At the same time, consumers genuinely are getting more eco-conscious. The researchers tweaked the model to capture these dynamics, distinguish between innovations that improve the function of an item in some way and those that reduce its environmental impact, and separate ecological harm that occurs in the course of using an item from the harm that occurs from discarding it.

Growing consumer eco-consciousness spurs companies to introduce new, eco-friendly versions of their products. If the new version is substantially more efficient than the older one, overall environmental harm still falls, the researchers’ model indicates: the reduction in environmental harm during the use phase of the new product outweighs the environmental harm from prematurely discarding the older one.

 

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In other words, big jumps in efficiency wind up being a win-win that increase company profits and reduce environmental harm at the same time.

Companies that plan to introduce new, more eco-friendly version of their product sometimes first discount the existing, less-efficient version in an attempt to lock in sales now. Some consumers who might otherwise have purchased the new eco-friendly model will be swayed by the low price and buy the old one.

This gives rise to a paradox at middling levels of efficiency improvement, the researchers found. If the new model is modestly but not wildly more eco-friendly than the old one, these dynamics wind up increasing overall environmental harm, even as consumers get more eco-conscious on the whole.

That situation also yields smaller profits for companies: a lose-lose.

But there is a way out of the bind. Trade-in programs and recycling incentives shrink the window where paradoxical increased environmental harm occurs, the analysis indicates, often resulting in less environmental harm along with greater profits and cycling the dynamic back to win-win.

Source: Sudhir K. et al. “Can Rising Eco-sensitivity Hurt Sustainability? Eco-impact of Durable Goods Innovations.” Marketing Science 2026.

Image: © Anthropocene Magazine

 

• June 30, 2026

(Op-Ed) Ska Fela Moya: Don’t Give Up, Just Breathe The Fumes

When a corporation wraps itself in the language of human endurance while polluting the air that athletes breathe, we should name it for what it is. A lost opportunity.

Gerda Steyn crossed the Comrades Marathon finishing line in Pietermaritzburg in 5 hours 44 minutes and 53 seconds, her fifth (and fourth consecutively), setting a new Up Run course record. It was, by any measure, one of the great performances in the history of the race.

Gerda is a Global Team Toyota Athlete. Toyota announced that partnership at last year’s Comrades and it returned with her to the 2026 race.

Two diesel-powered Toyota Hilux vehicles led her to the finish line.

I have spent more than 25 years working at the intersection of energy, environment and community rights in South Africa. In that time, I have seen many examples of corporations saying one thing and doing another. It is particularly disappointing that Toyota seems to have regressed by only providing fossil fuel-powered vehicles at Comrades 2026. This deserves to be examined clearly.

The Language Of Values, The Reality Of Diesel
Before the race, Toyota South Africa issued a release describing its 22-year Comrades partnership as an expression of values ‘deeply aligned with the Toyota brand,’ including ‘human endurance and determination.’ It provided 14 Hilux bakkies, three Quantum mini-buses, two Urban Cruisers and two Starlet Cross models to support the event.

Not one of those vehicles is electric. Toyota produces the BZ4X electric SUV and, through Lexus, the RZ 450e. Neither appears in the Comrades fleet. The official lead vehicles for the route from Durban to Pietermaritzburg were two diesel Hilux models, burning diesel directly in front of runners for hours on end.

When the language of human spirit is used to sell a brand while exhaust emissions from that brand’s products harm the environment and the health of the people it claims to celebrate, that is a contradiction dressed in marketing.

What The Science Tells Us About Diesel And Human Health
I am a scientist by training. I rely on evidence. There have been a number of published peer reviewed articles that show that breathing in diesel fumes is not good for your health.

Diesel particles cause inflammation in the body. A controlled chamber study by Xu et al., published in Particle and Fibre Toxicology, found that healthy volunteers exposed to diesel exhaust for three hours showed measurable drops in lung function, airway irritation, and elevated inflammatory markers in the blood.

A 2021 peer-reviewed study in PeerJ by Zoladz and Nieckarz found that elite marathon runners ventilate at over 110 litres of air per minute during a race, absorbing substantially more particulate matter than a person at rest. The researchers called for ‘clean air marathon runs’ as a public health measure. A 2024 Brown University study in Sports Medicine quantified the performance effect: higher race-day air pollution could mean slower finish times.

“It’s a missed opportunity. Leading the Comrades Marathon in an electric vehicle would have promoted the brand, the safety of electric vehicles, and the lack of harm. It is slightly incongruous that you are leading a marathon with a diesel engine,” said Professor Richard van Zyl-Smit, professor of pulmonology at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital. “Diesel particles are known to cause inflammation in the body. They are associated with cardiovascular disease and the development of asthma.”

Van Zyl-Smit is right. And there is a further dimension to this that goes beyond the elite runners at the front of the field.

The runners who spend twelve hours on the Comrades route are not professional athletes with medical teams and optimal conditions. They are ordinary South Africans, many from communities that already bear a disproportionate burden of air pollution from industry, traffic and energy poverty.

Every runner on that road was already breathing elevated levels of traffic pollution on a public highway for up to twelve hours, with lungs working at many times their resting capacity.

Instead of seizing the opportunity to promote the future and highlight how electric vehicles can showcase a future driven by clean transport, Toyota disappointingly chose to supply a fossil fuel fleet as the official, branded, celebrated centrepiece of a race-day environment that in my view should have focused on clean air.

The Athlete In The Exhaust
The Gerda Steyn detail sharpens this further. Toyota announced her as a Global Team Toyota Athlete in 2025. She returned to Comrades in that capacity and won, emphatically, smashing her own Up Run record by nearly five minutes and becoming only the second woman in history to claim five Comrades titles.
South Africa and Toyota will celebrate that, as it should. But Steyn, ventilating at elite pace for nearly six hours, was absorbing airborne particulate matter every step along the road.

Why not lead with a fully-electric vehicle?

The Technology Exists. So Why Not Showcase It?
In 2025, Toyota led the Comrades elite races with a Corolla Cross Hybrid. In 2026, it was replaced by a diesel Hilux, a vehicle that burns more fuel, not less. The Toyota BZ4X has a range of over 400 km on a single charge. The Comrades route is 86 km. Other major marathons have already made the shift: the 2025 Berlin Marathon was led by an all-electric BMW iX3, and the London Marathon is supported by an all-electric Ford fleet.

There are various electric vehicle initiatives underway in South Africa. For example, for logistics and people-mover duties, peer-reviewed research by Professor Thinus Booysen and Joshua Sello of Stellenbosch University (conducted in partnership with GoMetro) has demonstrated that electric minibus taxis are operationally viable in South African conditions.

Toyota has previously shown a willingness to supply even rare, commercially unavailable vehicles when it suits the brand. In October 2023, it brought a hydrogen-powered Mirai to the Smarter Mobility Africa Summit in Gauteng for a proof-of-concept demonstration, with the Gauteng Premier in the passenger seat. The Mirai is not for sale in South Africa. Toyota went to the effort regardless. The will to deploy experimental technology for brand purposes exists. Why not seize the opportunity to deploy existing, locally available electric vehicle technology that showcases the future in front of 21 000 runners and a much larger television audience?

The CMA Must Account For Its Choices Too
Toyota does not operate at Comrades without the agreement of the Comrades Marathon Association. Sponsorship contracts are negotiated. The CMA has the standing to require that its official vehicle partner supply electric vehicles and also engage a zero-emissions logistics provider. Neither condition was apparently set.

The CMA’s theme for 2026 is “Ska Fela Moya.” “Don’t give up.” Those words carry weight for everyone who has kept moving through the pain of the last 20 kilometres. But clean air is not a luxury for marathon runners. It is the medium through which they perform. Toyota and the CMA missed the opportunity to deploy electric vehicles and demonstrate that the future of transport is clean, consistent with their celebration of human endurance and determination.

The 100th Comrades Is Eleven Months Away
We live in climate-constrained world, and a move to electric vehicles is an important part of our just energy transition package. South Africa’s Just Energy Transition (JET) aims to decarbonize the economy while protecting vulnerable workers and communities, and its Electric Vehicles White Paper predicts that 75% of total new vehicle sales by 2035 will be electric vehicles. There appears to be an amazing opportunity to showcase South Africa as a country which is moving away from polluting fossil fuels, and that Toyota is committed to leading this charge.

The 2027 Comrades Marathon will be the 100th edition of the race. It will draw global attention and carry symbolic weight that goes well beyond a single sporting event. It is an opportunity to demonstrate what South African sport, and Toyota, stand for over the next 100 years.

A fully electric lead vehicle and fleet at the centenary Comrades would be a genuine expression of the values of sustainability and endurance that lie behind ensuring another 100 years of long-distance running. Corporate environmental responsibility is not measured in mission statements. It is measured in decisions that make a difference in the real world: in this case, what you burn and what you do not burn, and whose air you choose to protect and whose you choose to compromise.

Let us ensure that the 100-year celebration of The Comrades Marathon is a celebration of human endurance and determination to move towards electric-driven mobility.

Liziwe McDaid is Strategic Lead at The Green Connection and co-recipient of the 2018 Goldman Environmental Prize for Africa.

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