Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe, super-charged by human-caused warming. According to Michael Mann, presidential distinguished professor at the University of Pennsylvania, the upcoming presidential race will not only determine the fate of democracy but also the future of our planet. With Project 2025, the conservative playbook for the next Republican president, looming over the race, another Trump presidency would guarantee the dismantling of federal climate and environmental policies. Polluters have a wishlist, warns Mann. “They didn’t accomplish everything they hoped to in Trump’s first term,” he says. “They’re going to make sure to accomplish them in a prospective second Trump administration.”