Newsletter

PITTSBURGH — Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro ran on a promise to regulate Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry more stringently. Two years into his term, the Environmental Health Project, a public health advocacy nonprofit focused on fracking, has published a report that assesses the Shapiro administration’s progress.

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President Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce have triggered firings, operational cuts, and email security problems at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Oliver Milman reports for The Guardian.

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Federal court documents reveal the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Trump has yet to produce evidence of fraud in a $20 billion climate grant program it moved to freeze earlier this year.

Lisa Friedman and Claire Brown report for The New York Times.

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Texas and other Republican-led states are advancing legislation that could slow or block new renewable energy projects, as political momentum shifts back toward fossil fuels.

David Montgomery reports for Stateline.

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A North Dakota jury found Greenpeace defamed pipeline builder Energy Transfer during protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, awarding $250 million in defamation damages. What does it mean for environmental activism and free speech?

Karen Zraick reports for The New York Times.

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Executives at a Houston conference warned that global overbuilding, slow economic growth, and policy uncertainty are shaking the foundation of the petrochemical industry as it faces pressure to go greener.

Alexander Tullo reports for Chemical & Engineering News.

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Government raids in Dhaka reveal the ongoing failure of Bangladesh’s plastic bag ban, as consumers and businesses continue to rely on cheap, single-use polythene bags.

Mohammad Al-Masum Molla reports for Mongabay.

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British Columbia’s energy regulator granted Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. a long-term exemption from pipeline decommissioning rules without public disclosure, raising concerns about transparency and industry influence.

Matt Simmons and Zak Vescera report for The Narwhal.

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Illinois may adopt California’s clean truck rules to cut diesel emissions, despite President Trump’s efforts to block state-level climate standards.

Kari Lydersen reports for Canary Media.

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Thousands of National Park Service employees face job cuts under President Trump’s plan to shrink the federal workforce, jeopardizing efforts to protect public lands from climate change.

Twilight Greenaway reports for Grist.

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Climate change could slash global income for the average person by 40% if temperatures rise 4C above pre-industrial levels, a new study shows, challenging decades of economic modeling.

Graham Readfearn reports for The Guardian.

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A new study has found that Los Angeles firefighters who battled January’s urban wildfires had significantly higher levels of mercury and lead in their blood cells than those who fought rural forest fires.

Maggie Astor reports for The New York Times.

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A legal battle in Central Texas reveals rising tensions as booming urban areas seek to secure groundwater supplies by pumping from rural aquifers.

Dylan Baddour reports for Inside Climate News.

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Seven Indigenous nations in Michigan have walked away from federal talks over a proposed oil pipeline tunnel, citing a lack of meaningful engagement and treaty violations.

Izzy Ross reports for Grist and Interlochen Public Radio.

In short:

  • The tribes oppose Enbridge’s Line 5 tunnel project, which would replace part of a 72-year-old pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac, a critical freshwater corridor between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
  • Their withdrawal follows the Army Corps of Engineers’ move to fast-track permitting under President Trump’s energy emergency order, which tribes say dismisses their environmental and legal concerns.
  • Tribal leaders and legal advocates argue that the project threatens water resources and violates both U.S. treaty obligations and international law requiring Indigenous consent.

Key quote:

“Tribal Nations are no longer willing to expend their time and resources as Cooperating Agencies just so their participation may be used by the Corps to lend credibility to a flawed [Environmental Impact Statement] process and document.”

— Letter from seven Indigenous nations to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Why this matters:

Buried beneath the Straits of Mackinac, where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron converge, Line 5 has become a flashpoint in the battle over fossil fuel infrastructure, Indigenous sovereignty, and environmental protection. The aging oil and gas pipeline — operated by Canadian energy giant Enbridge — moves millions of gallons of crude and natural gas liquids daily through a region that holds 20% of the planet’s surface freshwater. A proposed tunnel to house a replacement segment beneath the lakebed has drawn fierce opposition from tribal nations, who warn it risks catastrophic spills and continued desecration of sacred territory.

Related: Trump donor’s company set to profit from Michigan pipeline deal

Dow has applied for federal approval to build small nuclear reactors at its Seadrift, Texas, facility to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce its reliance on natural gas.

Jennifer McDermott reports for The Associated Press.

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The U.S. Department of Energy has rebranded its long-running Solar Decathlon as a broader building design event without a competition or emphasis on renewable energy.

Christa Marshall reports for E&E News.

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Some commercial fish like haddock and flatfish are gathering around offshore wind turbines, showing how these clean energy structures might reshape marine ecosystems.

Clare Fieseler reports for Canary Media.

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President Trump’s 25% tariff on imported cars threatens to slow U.S. electric vehicle adoption by raising prices and complicating supply chains dependent on China.

David Ferris and Benjamin Storrow report for E&E News.

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