A man smiles while holding a remote control in front of a wall-mounted heat pump unit inside a home. The image has a green overlay with the Heat Pump Week logo and text reading 'Heat Pump Week CA, April 11–19, 2026.

It's California's first-ever #HeatPumpWeek! Heat pumps use electricity to heat and cool homes, lowering utility bills and carbon emissions. Rising Sun will be installing no-cost heat pumps for Central CA residents this year. We're proud to be part of this movement. ☀️ #HeatPumpWeekCA #ClimateSky

Over half of all California workers are immigrants of children of immigrants Immigrants are essential to California’s labor force, with a total of 5.9 million immigrants employed in California from 2020 to 2022, representing 1 in 3 workers in the state.

In California, over HALF of our workforce are immigrants or children of immigrants (see link).

Rising Sun will continue to fight poverty & climate change by helping people get good, green jobs. But we need safe, whole communities, justice, diversity, equity, belonging, & inclusion.

Tell HUD: Keep Families Together and Housed! HUD’s new proposal is cruel, costly, and counterproductive. It would rip families apart and increase eviction & homelessness during a housing crisis. Join me in telling HUD Secretary Scott Turner to ...

Trump’s HUD is proposing a new rule that would overturn decades of precedent & kick mixed immigration status families out of their housing.

Tell HUD to withdraw this cruel, costly & counterproductive proposal today. actionnetwork.org/letters/keep...

@aforhj.org

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Workforce Development, Alternative Pathways to Support Student Success. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Schools are looking to offer work-oriented learning experiences beyond a traditional four-year college as student demand for such opportunities continues to rise. This webinar will provide clear guida...

Our very own Marlin Jeffreys is on the panel of OneGoal’s next webinar! Learn how to guide students toward diverse #career and technical pathways & how to build connections with institutions offering high-quality #workforce development.

🗓️Thursday, Feb 26 at 1:00 PM PT
🔗https://onegoal.com/4bQlQSl

To Solve the Affordability Crisis, Start with Better Jobs and Pay Seven evidence-backed strategies state and local policymakers can implement to make life more affordable for working Americans by improving job quality.

Costs are only half of the #affordability crisis conversation, though. Urban Institute's research shows we need better jobs and fair wages too.

Great article by Elisabeth Jacobs and Catherine Harvey on how both policymakers can and should address both sides of the affordability conversation:

@urbaninstitute.bsky.social research finds that, since 2017:
- workers’ earnings have increased 38%
- childcare & healthcare costs have increased 40%
- rent has increased by 50%

Income Qualified Energy Assistance and Electrification Programs Income Qualified Energy Assistance and Electrification Programs BayREN Efficiency and Sustainable Energy (EASE) Home Program California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) Program Disadvantaged Communit...

Check out the income-qualified programs that are available: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

#greensky #energy #climateresilience

Renters can participate too; On-bill financing programs let tenants make energy upgrades with landlord approval. Some CA programs include safeguards from rent increases and eviction related to energy upgrades.

Examples of electric alternatives:
- Heat pump water heaters
- Electric heat pumps (for heating & cooling)
- Electric dryers
- Induction cooktops
- Electric stoves/ovens
- Bonus: proper insulation & air sealing maximizes efficiency

Why switch to electric?

1. It’s 4x more efficient than gas furnaces with lower operating costs
2. Zero toxic fumes, prevents carbon monoxide poisoning
3. Safer & reduces risks from gas leaks, explosions, fires
4. Can cut emissions up to 90% by 2050 compared to homes using both gas & energy

RESIDENTIAL DECARBONIZATION!

It's the process of reducing or eliminating CO2 emissions from apartments/homes/smaller housing complexes, often through electrification, replacing fossil fuel appliances with electric alternatives.

10% of California's greenhouse gases come from where people live (ww2.arb.ca.gov/ghg-inventor...).

Many homes still use gas appliances that contribute to emissions.

CA is tackling this with zero-emission standards for new space/water heaters starting in 2030.

How we can make a difference:

The BLM sign on our #BayArea office is getting refurbished for a few months. In the meantime, check out what the lumenCrew put up!

Racial equity is crucial to economic equity & climate resilience. We’re honored that we get to host these messages to thousands of people daily, especially right now.

Policy and Advocacy - Rising Sun Center for Opportunity Rising Sun advocates for state and local policy updates and programs to equitably improve job quality and climate resilience.

Introducing our 2026 Policy Priorities, shaped by 75+ stakeholder interviews. We’re advocating for systemic change at the intersection of climate, equity, and jobs. We’ve got a small but mighty policy team with big impact ahead. Learn more: risingsunopp.org/policy/

We call on state leaders to embed equity in decisions, strengthen community power sharing, and build real accountability. We urge partners and state leaders to uplift community priorities and stay engaged in this next phase of work. @governor.ca.gov @caspeakerrivas.bsky.social

As a member of the CA Racial Equity Coalition, Rising Sun celebrates the release of the Racial Equity Framework. It offers tools and strategies to advance equity across state governments. We’re committed to supporting its implementation and driving the equitable change Californians deserve.

This #GivingTuesday, every dollar will be matched 100% up to $10K by our Board of Directors. Double your impact today.

When we can imagine a better future, we can build it.

Picture of high school students on graduation day for the Opportunity Build program, a program helping people enter the trades.

Picture of participants in Opportunity Build’s Women Building the Bay cohort, helping women and non-binary people enter the trades.

This year, Opportunity Build debuted its first-ever cohort for 21 high school students pursuing pathways into the trades.

We continue to host Women Building the Bay, where women & non-binary individuals can access high quality jobs for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Beyond training, Opportunity Build provides mental health counseling, childcare support stipends, and financial coaching.

Data from the CA Employment Development Department shows that graduates earn 50% more in the 1st year after program graduation, & double their earnings by the 3rd year.

“This is one of my favorite organizations to work with; I work for Webcor Builders, a general contractor—and we hire people directly from Rising Sun.”

For Cynthia, Rising Sun = opportunity where it’s needed most. If you want to support our work, every dollar donated will be DOUBLED tomorrow by our Board of Directors, up to $10,000.

Please donate whatever is meaningful to you: secure.qgiv.com/event/rising...

Rising Sun's End of Year Peer-to-Peer Campaign 2025 Rising Sun is building career pathways for economic equity and climate resilience in the California Bay Area and San Joaquin County. I just donated to support their work—and you can too: https://secur...

After over 30 years of work, we’re doubling down on building accessible pathways to good, green jobs. We hope you’ll stand with us. Please give what you can: secure.qgiv.com/event/rising...

Your support today can help us build careers that lift communities.

The U.S. could throw away 320 million pounds of food this Thanksgiving » Yale Climate Connections But you can reduce waste by following these steps.

How are you planning to reduce your food waste this Thanksgiving?

Instructor talking with cohort participants in welding room

Instructor talking with cohort participants in piping room

Instructor showing cohort participants tools on wall for welding, pipe fitting, steam fitting, plumbing, and HVAC/R servicing

Instructor revealing his arm full of tattoos related to welding

Field trip time! Our Women Building the Bay cohort of Opportunity Build visited UA342 in Concord last week. Check out Johnny’s welding-themed sleeve.

Shoutout to this steadfast partner of Rising Sun’s work.
#Union #Trades #WomenInTrades #Apprenticeship

Boston is piloting window heat pumps in affordable housing Housing authorities in Boston and two nearby cities are installing plug-in heat pumps from startup Gradient to try to swiftly and affordably cut emissions.

Boston is trying these plug-in, window-straddling heat pumps as it moves to decarbonize its public housing.

We are heartbroken to hear of the passing of Jane Goodall today. Jane’s conservation work was groundbreaking. She was a tireless advocate for the protection of our natural world.

We join all of those who were inspired by Jane’s work in honoring this pioneering, remarkable human.

AASHE’s Campus Decarbonization Academy returns in 2026, and applications are now open! This six-month, cohort-based program offers actionable solutions to guide your institution through the complex process of decarbonization, with support from campus and industry experts every step of the way.

You're working to decarbonize your campus, right? If you want a 6 month opportunity to get smart on decarbonization, the 2026 Campus Decarbonization Academy is worth checking out.

www.aashe.org/calendar/cam...

Electrify 101 Sep 25, 2025 at 12:00 PM Pacific

⚡ Register now to join BDC’s Ted Tiffany on Thur. Sept 25 at 3 pm ET for Electrify 101, a Clean Air Week webinar on how to make your home safer, more energy efficient & more comfortable using the latest generation of #HeatPumps and other zero-emission appliances. bit.ly/4nO81GO #ElectrifyEverything

💚 💛 Ballers fam, @MayorBarbaraLee just announced that we're going to keep the party going! 🎉 See you there! 🍾

It’s never been more important for CA to lead the US in innovative policies to decarbonize our economy. Signing #SB787 into law presents an opportunity we can’t miss to grow clean economy industries. @governor.ca.gov: let's continue to lead environmental policy while delivering high quality jobs!