"Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai Is Convicted of National Security Charges"
"The former publisher of a pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily, is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison."
Source: CJR, 12/16/2025
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"Trump Goes To War With States Over AI"
"The president’s order to limit states’ ability to regulate the spread of artificial intelligence is poised to set off political and legal fireworks that mirror his efforts to curb climate action."
Source: E&E News, 12/16/2025"Arizona City Rejects Data Center After AI Lobbying Push"
"Officials in this Phoenix suburb on Thursday rejected a proposed artificial intelligence data center despite pressure from a former U.S. senator and the tech industry — capping a fight over local control that has captured national attention."
Source: E&E News, 12/16/2025"How The US Freight Rail Industry Got Dirtier Than Coal Power Plants"
"U.S. railroads together produced about 485,000 tons of nitrogen oxide in 2024, compared to 452,000 tons emitted by U.S. coal-fired power plants, according to a Reuters calculation of reported annual fuel consumption multiplied by the EPA’s 2023 weighted-average emission rates."
Source: Reuters, 12/16/2025"Ford Will Take $19.5 Billion Hit as It Rolls Back E.V. Plans"
"Ford Motor said the costs came from its decision to make fewer electric vehicles than it had planned and more hybrids that use both gasoline engines and batteries."
"Ford Motor said Monday that it would scale back plans to produce electric vehicles and take a $19.5 billion hit to its profit to cover the costs of a major change in strategy.
Source: NYTimes, 12/16/2025As Wildfires Mount, So Do Efforts To Use Less Plastic in Homebuilding
"As wildfires driven by climate change are spurring efforts to build homes with fire-safe materials, the dangers of the use of plastic in construction needs more recognition, experts say." "Plastic used in building construction burns hotter than traditional materials and produces toxic smoke and runoff."
Source: Thomson Reuters Fdn., 12/16/2025"Indiana Says It’s Retiring Two Coal Plants, But Is It Making Other Plans?"
"The Trump administration’s determination to keep fossil-fueled power plants running beyond their scheduled closure dates is creating uncertainty about the fate of two Indiana coal facilities set to retire by the end of this year."
Source: Canary Media, 12/16/2025Nation Famous for Marine Conservation Is Bankrolling Its Own Destruction
"Costa Rica’s fuel subsidies are funding widespread poaching and overfishing in supposedly protected waters."
Source: Inside Climate News, 12/16/2025Wyo. Ranchers Wanting Solar Say Utilities and State Stand in Their Way
"Tim Teichert and Jason Thornock want the sun to help them survive as ranchers in Cokeville, Wyoming. On an overcast May day, the two drove around the one-restaurant town, lamenting high electricity prices and restrictive Wyoming laws that they say have thrown an unnecessary burden onto their broad shoulders."
Source: Inside Climate News, 12/16/2025"How the Pandemic Lockdowns Changed a Songbird’s Beak"
"For ecologists, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented a remarkable natural experiment in what can happen to wild animals when humans stay home."
Source: NYTimes, 12/16/2025Gaza Faces Another Catastrophic Winter as Devastation Mounts
"While Israel restricts lifesaving aid and multiple reports show it violating the ceasefire, Gazans suffer flooded tents, starvation, pollution and disease."
Source: Inside Climate News, 12/15/2025Trump EPA Adds Another Industry Lobbyist To Ranks Of Conflicted Regulators
"The nation’s main office for protecting Americans from harmful chemicals is welcoming its fourth prominent industry insider since President Trump took office, adding to an administration full of former lobbyists and corporate executives who are making environmental policy."
Source: The New Lede, 12/15/2025"Trump, Administration Heads Sued Over East Wing Demolition"
"President Donald Trump and several administration officials were hit with a lawsuit Friday over the demolition of the White House’s East Wing to make way for a 90,000 square foot ballroom."
Source: Bloomberg Environment, 12/15/2025"Hundreds Quarantined As South Carolina Measles Outbreak Accelerates"
"South Carolina’s measles outbreak is “accelerating” in the wake of Thanksgiving travel and a lack of vaccinations, an epidemiologist for the state’s Department of Public Health (DPH) warned Wednesday, after authorities traced a sizable outbreak to a church in the state’s northwest."
Source: Washington Post, 12/15/2025Climate Change, New Mining May Push Alaska’s Arctic Past The Brink
"Ice blocks drift past Tristen Pattee’s boat as he scans the banks of Northwest Alaska’s Kobuk River for caribou. His great uncle Ernest steadies a rifle on his lap. It’s the last day of September, and by every measure of history and memory, thousands should have crossed by now. But the tundra is empty, save for the mountains looming on the horizon — the Gates of the Arctic National Park."
Source: AP, 12/15/2025
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