Despite court orders to release federal grants, many organizations working on climate projects still don't have access to contractually obligated money.

Without federal support, American communities will struggle to deal with a challenge as pervasive as climate change, market analysts and environmental advocates say.

Leaders of local nonprofits worry that they may have to make painful cuts. One said that if funding didn't start flowing, she would have to shut down her organization.

Gabriel Filippelli got the form letter from the U.S. State Department on a Monday morning two and a half weeks ago. Since October, Filippelli has been teaching students and faculty in Pakistan how to use air quality devices to monitor air pollution exacerbated by rising temperatures — a consequence of climate change.