"An Ohio Newspaper Has A New Star Writer. It Isn’t Human."
"At the 184-year-old Cleveland Plain Dealer, a top editor’s push to let AI draft news articles is boosting traffic — and spooking staffers."
Source: Washington Post, 03/02/2026
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).
"Birds Aren’t Just Declining. They’re Declining Faster, a New Study Finds."
"Birds in the United States are not only declining, but they are declining faster, especially in areas with intensive agriculture, according to new research. Overall drops in bird population, measured from 1987 to 2021, were sharpest in warm and warming areas, suggesting that climate change may play a role."
Source: NYTimes, 02/27/2026Enbridge Begins Rerouting Pipeline Around Wisconsin Reservation
"MADISON, Wis. — Energy company Enbridge has finally started work on rerouting an aging oil pipeline around a tribal reservation in northern Wisconsin after seven years of legal wrangling, moving ahead despite two new lawsuits that still could delay the project indefinitely.
Source: AP, 02/27/2026"Trump’s EPA Is Yanking Support For Electric School Buses"
"There’s $2.3 billion left unspent from a Biden-era clean school bus program. The Trump admin wants more of it to go to buses that run on fuels and not batteries."
Source: Inside Climate News, 02/27/2026Lawyers For Cancer Victims Challenge Bayer’s $7.25B Roundup Settlement
"A group of 14 law firms representing nearly 20,000 plaintiffs is seeking to intervene in Bayer’s $7.25 billion proposed class action settlement of Roundup litigation, citing concerns that the settlement deal will not be fair to cancer victims."
Source: The New Lede, 02/27/2026"States Sue to Block Trump’s ‘Anti-Science’ Vaccine Policy"
"Climate change helps spread vaccine-preventable diseases. But the Trump administration’s reduced vaccine schedule 'throws science out the window,' and makes Americans more vulnerable to infections, state attorneys general charge in a new lawsuit."
Source: Inside Climate News, 02/27/2026"Crews In Florida Battle A 25,000-Acre Wildfire Near ‘Alligator Alcatraz’"
"Crews in South Florida were trying to contain a wildfire in Big Cypress National Preserve that had burned more than 25,000 acres (100 square kilometers) near the immigration detention facility known as 'Alligator Alcatraz' as of Wednesday."
Source: AP, 02/27/2026Judge Orders Changes To Columbia and Snake River Dam Operations To Help ‘Disappearing’ Salmon
"A federal judge in Oregon has ordered narrow changes to hydropower dam operations on the Columbia and Snake rivers in the Pacific Northwest in order to help salmon, saying the Trump administration’s plans for the massive structures would harm salmon runs that are 'disappearing from the landscape.'”
Source: AP, 02/27/2026"Power Plant Pollution Rose Last Year, Green Group Analysis Finds"
"U.S. power plant pollution rose last year, according to a green group’s analysis of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data."
Source: The Hill, 02/27/2026"The US Had a Big Battery Boom Last Year"
"The US added a record-breaking amount of energy storage in 2025, according to a new solar industry report published Monday. The growth of battery storage across the US is a rare success story for clean energy during the renewables-hostile second Trump administration—and also a sign of how utilities may be thinking about reorienting electric grids as demand goes up across the country."
Source: WIRED, 02/27/2026"Illinois Cities Move To Cut Ties With A Massive Coal Plant"
"Two communities seeking cleaner, cheaper energy are resisting pressure to extend deals that bind them to getting power from one of the nation’s dirtiest plants."
Source: Canary Media, 02/27/2026Feds Give $26.5 Billion Loan For Electric Expansion In Georgia And Alabama
"Federal energy officials on Wednesday announced a record $26.5 billion loan to electric utilities in Georgia and Alabama, saying the loan will save customers money as the companies undertake a huge expansion driven by demand from computer data centers."
Source: AP, 02/26/2026"Trump’s BLM Nominee Waffles On Public Land Sell-Off Stance"
"President Donald Trump’s controversial pick to head the Bureau of Land Management, Steve Pearce, offered contradictory explanations about his record of pushing for federal land sell-offs at his nomination hearing Wednesday."
Source: Public Domain, 02/26/2026"Deadly Bird Flu Found In California Elephant Seals For The First Time"
"The H5N1 bird flu virus that devastated South American elephant seal populations has been confirmed in seals at California's Año Nuevo State Park, researchers from UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz announced Wednesday."
Source: LA Times, 02/26/2026"Regulators Rely On Fossil Fuel Industry Data. How Often Is It Wrong?"
"From Colorado to Texas, government officials are grappling with concerns about unreliable reports from oil and gas companies."
Source: E&E News, 02/26/2026
