"PJM’s Capacity Costs Hit Record As Grid Falls Short On Supply"
"Data center construction and clogged-up generation queues are driving costs — and political backlash — in the country’s biggest power market."
Source: Canary Media, 12/19/2025
EJToday: Top 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).
"Gas Exports Are Driving Up Americans’ Energy Bills, Report Says"
"Higher exports of liquefied natural gas in 2025 played a significant role in rising utility bills, an analysis of federal data found."
Source: Inside Climate News, 12/19/2025Federal Judge Blocks Whitmer From Shutting Down Pipeline Under Great Lakes
"A federal judge on Wednesday blocked Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ‘s attempt to shut down an aging oil pipeline running beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes, finding that only the federal government can regulate interstate pipeline safety."
Source: AP, 12/19/2025DOE Watchdog Will Audit Trump Cuts Of Nearly $8B In Clean Energy Grants
"An internal watchdog in the U.S. Department of Energy will investigate the Trump administration’s termination of $7.6 billion in grants for hundreds of clean energy projects across 16 states that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election."
Source: AP, 12/19/2025Mississippi Residents Say Wood-Pellet Plant Harming Their Town
"Residents of Gloster, Mississippi, are suing plant that exports wood pellets to UK and Europe. Company says it is reducing emissions"
Source: Verite News, 12/19/2025Trump Admin Plans to Break Up Premier Weather and Climate Research Center
"The Trump administration said it will be dismantling the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, one of the world’s leading Earth science research institutions."
Source: NYTimes, 12/18/2025"Trump’s EPA Paid Employees $86.5 Million Not To Work For Months"
"Data obtained by The Post via a FOIA request shows that through August, the EPA spent millions to compensate staff on administrative leave."
Source: Washington Post, 12/18/2025Trump Admin Admits To Targeting Blue States For Energy Grant Cuts
"The Trump administration acknowledged in a court filing this week that a decision to cut energy grants during the government shutdown was influenced by whether the money would go to a state that tended to elect Democrats statewide or nationally."
Source: Washington Post, 12/18/2025Denying Trump Climate Report, Study Shows US Sea-Level Rise Is Accelerating
"The rate of sea-level rise along U.S. coastlines has more than doubled over the past 125 years, according to a new analysis that examined data from scores of tide gauges from around the country."
Source: Washington Post, 12/18/2025"Data Centers Have A Political Problem — And Big Tech Wants To Fix It"
"Tech companies and lobbyists are investing millions of dollars to tackle a new political problem for the industry: Data centers, the lifeblood of the growing artificial intelligence economy, are becoming toxic with voters."
Source: Politico, 12/18/2025As Trump Promotes Coal, No Respite For Communities Choking On Industry Dust
"David Jones Jr. is no stranger to treacherous work. For years, the 45-year-old South Baltimore resident made his living scaling tall buildings to install signs. But for Jones, the real danger has been in and around his home: Jones and his wife live a few hundred feet away from a large coal terminal where dust from mountainous, uncovered coal piles has blown over the community day after day for decades."
Source: The New Lede, 12/18/2025‘No Significant Impact’: The Secret NPS Review Of Trump’s Ballroom Plans
"The National Park Service gave President Donald Trump the go-ahead to tear down the White House’s East Wing earlier this year after a streamlined environmental review concluded the negative effects of the president’s planned ballroom wouldn’t be too significant and despite the final design remaining a work in progress, new court filings show."
Source: E&E News, 12/18/2025Bill Would Digitize Information On Federal Waterways, Improving Access
"The Modernizing Access to our Public Waters Act has been sent to President Donald Trump for signing after passing a vote in the Senate. The bill, once signed, would improve recreation on federal waterways by investing in modern technology to provide anglers, hunters, boaters, and other water users the information needed to safely and legally access and utilize public waters administered by federal agencies, according to the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership."
Source: National Parks Traveler, 12/18/2025"American Academy of Pediatrics Loses HHS Funding After Criticizing RFK Jr."
"The Department of Health and Human Services has terminated seven grants totaling millions of dollars to the American Academy of Pediatrics, including for initiatives on reducing sudden infant deaths, improving adolescent health, preventing fetal alcohol syndrome and identifying autism early, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post."
Source: Washington Post, 12/18/2025"Defense Bill Directs GAO To Probe Tick Conspiracy Promoted By RFK Jr."
"The House-passed National Defense Authorization Act would spur an investigation of whether the U.S. military bioengineered Lyme disease."
Source: E&E News, 12/18/2025
Advertisement 
