Environmental Health

Trump DOJ Bids To Block Public From Suing To Enforce Environmental Laws

"Reducing rampant pollution across the United States was so important that when Congress passed many environmental protection laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, it didn’t want to leave enforcement only to the executive branch. Congress specifically wrote into those laws ways for citizens to enforce them through the courts when the government does not act to address the problem."

Source: The Conversation, 08/04/2026

Extremely Hot Weather Cooks Up Unusually Awful Air Pollution

Summertime and the livin' is smoggy. American air may be clearer now than when the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, but pollutants still abound. Heat and sunlight stoke chemical reactions that exacerbate health hazards. And worsening wildfires mix in harmful smoke. The latest TipSheet has more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

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Taming the Freight Beast

The U.S. freight system delivers significant environmental impacts nationwide, especially in states that host major rail-and-road hubs and seaports. Meanwhile, new federal laws and policies are making it harder to curtail pollution generated by freight trucks, trains and warehouses. Journalist John Lippert looks at how the public, private and nonprofit sectors are rising to this challenge.

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Radioactive Waste Stack Looms and Expands Beside Fla. Black Community

"Progress Village was established decades ago to provide affordable housing for Black residents near Tampa. The phosphogypsum stack, containing the toxic waste of fertilizer production, is right next door."

Source: Inside Climate News, 08/03/2026

Scope of Hacks on U.S. Water Supply Widens as Evidence Points to Iran

"The scope of cyberattacks on U.S. water systems has grown to include at least seven states and may be far wider, officials and experts warned, as the authorities raced to safeguard the nation’s water supply against an assault that increasingly appeared to be the work of Iran."

Source: New York Times, 08/03/2026

Study Spotlights Threat Of Overlooked Mold-Associated Illnesses

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A first-of-its-kind U.S. study suggests invasive mold infections may be an underappreciated — and potentially deadly — threat. The researchers detected about 450 cases in Atlanta-area hospitals over five years. About a third of the patients died in the hospital."

Source: AP, 07/31/2026

Trump DOE To Turn Ky. Uranium Plant Into Gas-Powered AI Data Center

"The U.S. Department of Energy is harnessing the artificial intelligence boom in its bid to convert another Cold War-era uranium enrichment site, tapping private equity to fund a $100 billion data center complex that will include its own new natural gas and battery storage power plant in Kentucky."

Source: AP, 07/31/2026

Amid AI Boom, Coal Returns — With a Familiar Cost To Black Neighbors

"Trump’s order keeping an Orlando coal plant online renews environmental justice concerns over who pays AI’s pollution bill." "The fight over Stanton Unit 1 illustrates how America's AI boom could prolong coal pollution that has historically fallen hardest on Black communities."

Source: Word in Black, 07/31/2026

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