As a child, Halloween was fun. My mom is a skilled seamstress, and when I was in kindergarten she made me a beautiful witch costume and let me put on makeup. “Trick or treating” was something I really looked forward to.
Back then, Halloween was about creativity and community. Nowadays, the real horror in Halloween is not in the costumes, horror movies or haunted houses, but in the escalating impacts of climate disasters compounded by cutting environmental protections and illegal cuts to disaster response at FEMA by the current administration. The rollback of core Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) safeguards — like the Endangerment Finding — turns our neighborhoods into scenes of genuine terror, with disproportionate harm aimed at Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities.
What’s Scary: Deregulation and Disaster
The scariest part about this October is the reality that the current administration has put profits for polluters before Americans’ health and safety with its move to repeal the EPA’s Endangerment Finding, the legal backbone for regulating climate pollution. The Endangerment Finding concludes that planet-warming greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health. This vital protection against deadly pollution is under attack, and its repeal would be a devastating “trick” for frontline families already haunted by more intense extreme weather events and heightened pollution-related health issues. There is the real possibility that federal climate protections will disappear right when we need them most.
READ MORE: Climate Progress at Risk as Government Shutdown Continues
This comes on the heels of a proposed 54% cut to the EPA budget — gutting state and federal funding for clean air and water, eliminating nearly 90% of key grants for environmental health, and eradicating the EPA’s Environmental Justice office. In cities like Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Detroit, and my hometown of Memphis, the cuts mean fewer air monitors, less lead testing, and weaker disaster response. The ongoing government shutdown has made a bad situation worse, giving polluters more leeway and putting our communities’ health and futures at risk as extreme weather, toxic air, and unsafe water push us further into danger.
RELATED: Don’t Let Your Climate Power Slip Away
Climate change is making extreme weather more frequent, more intense, more costly – and more deadly. Extreme weather events continue, and climate disasters grow more severe as the systems meant to protect us weaken.
In 2024 alone, the U.S. saw 27 separate billion-dollar disasters, with Black communities hit hardest and recovering least. In the first half of 2025, the U.S. experienced 14 separate extreme weather disasters totaling $101.4 billion in damages. This marks the costliest first six months for weather and climate disasters on record, with events ranging from unprecedented California wildfires in Los Angeles and the historic Altedena community, and severe storms and tornado outbreaks across the country.
In Altadena, Black households disproportionately experienced more damage or destruction from the Eaton Fire, with 61%, compared to 50% of non-Black households. Additionally, almost half (48%) of Black households were destroyed or had significant damage, compared to 37% for non-Black households.
Climate Change Costs Lives and Wealth
The aftermath of disasters is not just about physical loss. It’s a complex web of interconnected issues. Black survivors are more likely to face health problems such as heart disease, asthma, PTSD, and depression. The complexity is further underscored by the fact that power outages can lead to an increase in emergency room visits for Black women experiencing pregnancy complications. Additionally, communities near highways, factories, and refineries often experience poorer air quality, leading to more asthma attacks and fewer resources to recover from future climate disasters. Shortcomings in disaster response deepen wealth disparities and leave neighborhoods more vulnerable to future crises.
We lose wealth and opportunity, too — studies show Black and Latino families suffer tens of thousands in disaster losses. By 2050, almost 17% of Black-owned homes are projected to be at risk of storm damage amid worsening inequities. Black and Latino families face the brunt of property damage, higher insurance costs, and far steeper barriers to rebuilding.
Hope Depends on Action
Still, there’s hope. Hope lies in our actions. This year’s Young, Gifted & Green’s 40 Under 40 honorees, environmental organizations including Green the Church, the Southern Environmental Law Center, Environmental Development Fund, and local community members are at the forefront advocating for clean energy investments, fair disaster relief, stricter pollution regulations and urging local officials and lawmakers in Congress determined to erase our protections to restore them. When we refuse to stay silent and rally our communities, even the scariest threats lose their power.
Let’s redefine trick-or-treating not as a warning, but as a rally for climate justice. We demand fundamental protections, not regulatory tricks. Our communities — especially frontline leaders — hold the knowledge and the power to turn fear into action and policy.
Next Halloween, we want children and communities to celebrate not just creative costumes, like I did as a child, but to have the opportunity to breathe cleaner air, live healthier lives, and have equal protection from pollution. No tricks. Only treats.
LaTricea D. Adams is the founder, CEO, and president of Young, Gifted & Green.