— Written by Lyle Jarvis & Dana Fisher

📚 Saving Ourselves, Now Available in Paperback!

We’re thrilled to welcome Dana Fisher to this week’s edition of Pique Behind The Curtain. Dana serves as Director of the Center for Environment, Community, & Equity and a Professor in the School of International Service at American University. Her most recent book is Saving Ourselves: from Climate Shocks to Climate Action, a powerful investigation into how we can mobilize more effectively in the face of escalating climate crises.

She joins us today for a timely reflection of No Kings Day, and how the climate movement can rethink its action plan to scale its progress.

Building on the Momentum of No Kings Day to Save Ourselves from the Growing Polycrisis

Words by Dana Fisher

On June 14th, millions of Americans participated in the No Kings Day-of-Action, which was the one of the largest days of protest in US history.  In over 2000 locations across the country, people came together to push back against the Trump Administration and the ways its policies are threatening the ideals of America and our democracy. 

Across the US, protesters flooded the streets with signs and banners to listen to speeches, rally, and march.

No Kings Day was unprecedented in its reach: actions took place in every congressional district.  Working with the coalition that coordinated the event, I collected data from a sample of 3,934 participants and local organizers who demonstrated at actions across America. These data provide detailed information about who participated and what motivated them to protest.

With Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers raiding workplaces and schools across the US, and President Trump deploying the military to suppress resistance efforts in California, it should come as no surprise that the top motivations for both local organizers and participants in the No Kings Day actions were Immigration and President Trump himself.

Although immigration and Trump were the most popular motivations, many participants reported being inspired to join the actions by the cascading crises of both our political system and our natural environment, which is what scholars of sustainability call a ‘polycrisis.’

Over half of participants identified climate change as an issue that motivated them to join No Kings Day. Participants from across the country also reported personally experiencing the effects of the climate crisis in the past 6 months: 59% had experienced extreme heat and 56% had experienced wildfire and smoke from wildfire.

As summer 2025 wears on and hurricane season gets underway, there is overwhelming evidence that the polycrisis will get worse while the Trump Administration continues to cut federal emergency management, rollback the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, repeal environmental protections, and curtail our civil liberties.

Such efforts to stop climate action and hamstring emergency response while Americans experience the effects of the climate crisis firsthand are likely to inspire more Resistance to Trump in the streets and beyond.  One key question now is: what comes after days of mass mobilization like No Kings Day?

My recent book, Saving Ourselves: from Climate Shocks to Climate Action, provides insights into how activism can be most effective in building a movement that achieves its goals: 

First, activism must channel the outrage in the streets into meaningful political action that creates real solidarity across identities, orientations, and social classes.  

With so many people feeling threatened in the current moment, movements that have historically competed for resources and attention have the opportunity to work together and support one another with the common goal of pushing back against the Trump Administration and its policies. The ongoing struggle for climate justice, racial justice, and due process can bring people together, especially when so many people are threatened by policies that remove social benefits, rights and protections.

Second, this moment provides an opportunity to build power in our communities.  The No Kings Day of Action showed how locally embedded activism can push back and cultivate resilience simultaneously.  Research shows that so much more is possible when our power is grounded in where we live, work, and experience climate shocks along with creeping authoritarianism. 

By organizing in our communities with our friends and neighbors (rather than with strangers online), we can affect change at the local level in our communities, while also creating a strong grassroots base to push back against the Trump Regime collectively.  

Recalibrating How We Look At “Progress”

Fisher’s book draws from years of studying the climate movement from the inside out, arguing that traditional policy-focused activism alone won’t get us where we need to go.

Instead, she calls for a shift toward “disruptive activism,” creating strategies that challenge power structures more directly and demand transformational change.

In many ways, Saving Ourselves is a call to recalibrate. It invites us to reflect on which actions truly move the needle, and which ones offer only the illusion of progress. As we think about our own role in advancing climate solutions, Fisher’s work challenges us to not just participate, but to organize smarter, agitate more effectively, and build movements rooted in solidarity.

For more Dana:

Order Saving Ourselves (paperback out in August) from the publisher for a 20% discount here:  (use code “CUP20” at checkout).

TED Talk: Dana Fisher on “How to be an apocalyptic optimist”

Lastly, Let’s Talk About Texas (and how to help)

Before we close, we wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the heartbreaking situation unfolding this week in Central Texas. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all the communities being impacted by these floods.

This tragedy is yet another painful reminder of how the climate crisis is showing up — not just in stronger storms and rising waters, but lives being upended in an instant. As always, we're helping to amplify the people and organizations leading relief and recovery on the ground. Find links to a few resources we've gathered below, and a couple key articles to learn more:

Article: How to Help, Volunteer or Donate to Texas flood victims, responders | The Washington Post

Article: How to Help the Texas Flood Victims | The New York Times

📣 Austin Climate Community! Hungry to help? Go eat!
 These Austin Restaurants are donating 100% of today’s profits to flood relief!

Resources:

Kerr County Flood Relief Fund – Managed by the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country; donations aid vetted rescue, relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts in Kerr, Hunt, Ingram, Center Point, Comfort, etc

Austin Disaster Relief Network (ADRN) – Accepts monetary donations (preferred over goods). Transforms funds into gift cards used for essentials like housing, food, and meds. Also has an Amazon wish list for cleaning supplies.

Austin Pets Alive! – Caring for 150+ displaced pets; needs funds, pet carriers, food, medications, kennels, cleaners. 

👀 Some Good News Stories You Might Have Missed This Week 🗞️📺:

1. As nations lag on climate action, their cities are stepping up. Here’s proof. (Grist)

2. US cities got better for biking in 2025, see the report (Smart Cities Dive)

3. Paris opens river Seine for public swimming for first time since 1923 (Reuters) 

4. Zooplankton has been quietly battling back against global warming (BBC)