So Much Solar: List of Every US Power Plant That Went Online This Year
"Utility-scale solar leads by a mile, followed by batteries. Fossil fuels, not so much."
Source: Inside Climate News, 08/14/2026
EJToday: Top Environmental Politics Headlines
EJToday is a daily weekday digest of top environment/energy news and information of interest to environmental journalists, independently curated by Editor Joseph A. Davis. Sign up below to receive in your inbox. For queries, email EJToday@SEJ.org. For more info, read an EJToday FAQ. Plus, follow EJToday on social media at @EJTodayNews, and flag stories of note by including the @EJTodayNews handle on your posts. And tell us how to make EJToday even better by taking this brief survey.
Want to join the EJToday team? Volunteer time commitments can vary from just an hour a month up to a daily contribution, and would involve helping to curate content of interest. To learn more, reach out to the director of publications, Adam Glenn, at sejournaleditor@sej.org.
Note: Members have additional options to choose from (you'll need your log-in info).
White House Reviews Expanding Hunting And Fishing In Wildlife Refuges
"A proposal to expand hunting and fishing access within wildlife refuges advanced this week to the White House review stage." "The Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed opening 14 refuges to new hunting or sport fishing access."
Source: E&E News, 08/14/2026Trump Cancels Biden-Era Bid To Speed Power Line Construction
"The Trump administration is canceling a Biden-era effort to speed up power line construction in parts of Pennsylvania, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Nebraska and the Dakotas."
Source: The Hill, 08/14/2026Scientists Warn Senate TSCA Overhaul Could Put Children At Greater Risk
"A group of over 30 scientists, health professionals, and public health advocates is urging the Senate not to weaken the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), a move they say will put children in harm’s way from toxic chemicals and pollutants."
Source: The New Lede, 08/14/2026AI Push in Rulemaking Adds New Legal Risks for Federal Agencies
"The US government’s experimentation with AI in rulemaking carries the risk that actions associated with the technology may be overturned in court, former federal officials warn."
Source: Bloomberg Environment, 08/14/2026Utility, Tech Firms ‘Educate’ Regulators With Donations, Secret Retreats
"As a pink-and-gold sunset faded over the waterside Ben Hotel, Republican state utility officials streamed out of a reception where they had been imbibing with executives from the industries they regulate."
Source: Washington Post, 08/13/2026Trump’s ‘Energy Emergency’ Could Speed Expansion Of La. LNG Terminal
"Less than two years after opening, a liquefied natural gas terminal near New Orleans is seeking a multi-billion-dollar expansion under a new Trump administration “emergency” permitting process that shortens environmental review and may weaken protections for surrounding wetlands and waterways."
Source: Verite News, 08/13/2026Neighbors of Pipeline Leak Live in Fear, Regulatory Neglect in Trump Era
"As Trump’s agencies shrink, narrow their role and reduce enforcement, politically connected Energy Transfer is steering a slow clean-up of fuel it spilled into drinking water near the Delaware River."
Source: Inside Climate News, 08/13/2026Chicago Mayor Seeks to Curb Environmental Health Harm of Data Centers
"Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order on Tuesday directing a new task force to work on tighter regulations aimed at restricting data centers’ air and noise pollution, tempering water and energy usage and preventing utility bill spikes."
Source: Inside Climate News, 08/13/2026Alito Gained Up To $2.9M From Oil And Gas Assets Since Joining Court
"The supreme court justice Samuel Alito gained up to $2.9m from his fossil fuel interests between 2005 and 2024, a new review of financial disclosures shows." "Critics argue US high court justice should recuse himself from upcoming fossil fuel firms’ climate accountability case".
Source: Guardian, 08/12/2026"Trump Administration Kills a Flagship Annual Report on the Arctic"
"The Trump administration has pulled federal funding for an annual report chronicling the changing environment of the Arctic, where rapid warming is upending ecosystems, reconfiguring trade routes and scrambling Great Power strategy."
Source: New York Times, 08/12/2026Opinion: Drought, Rationing And Dry Rivers: Global Water Crisis Is Here
"Disturbing news about our water resources is now constant and unrelenting. In just the past few weeks, media have reported that Puerto Rico is suffering a deep water crisis as severe drought has cut water supplies to thousands. The Rhine and Po rivers in Europe are at record low levels. The seven states sharing the Colorado River in the US are fighting over unprecedented shortages, while its major reservoirs have shrunk to their lowest levels since they were built."
Source: Guardian, 08/12/2026Anti-Uranium Advocates Swamp Hearing On Proposed Mine Near Navajo Land
"A recent hearing meant to inform the public about a new uranium mine proposal near Church Rock instead exposed wounds around the legacy of mining’s impacts on Navajo communities, as well as fresh concerns about whether technology that promises to safely extract the mineral is as clean as the industry claims."
Source: Source New Mexico, 08/12/2026One Year On And The Global Plastics Treaty 'Is Going Backwards'
"A new Aid to Negotiations document for the Global Plastics Treaty has been released a year after Geneva's collapse, but campaigners warn it dilutes key measures and retreats from the ambition needed to end plastic pollution."
Source: Oceanographic, 08/12/2026Trump Signs Order Attempting To Override CDC Vaccine Schedule
"Donald Trump has signed an executive order with plans for sweeping changes to the childhood vaccination schedule that attempts to override the authority of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)."
Source: Guardian, 08/11/2026
