EJToday: Top Environmental Politics Headlines

Mass Firing: Trump Removes Independent Inspectors General At 17+ Agencies [9]

"The Trump administration has fired about 17 independent inspectors general at government agencies, a sweeping action to remove oversight of his new administration that some members of Congress are suggesting violated federal oversight laws." EPA, Energy Dept., Interior, Commerce, Agriculture are included in the list.

Chemicals [10]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Politics [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Pollution [15]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: AP [18], 01/27/2025
- Read more about Mass Firing: Trump Removes Independent Inspectors General At 17+ Agencies [9]
US Is Trying To Unravel A Hacking Plot That Targeted Climate Activists [19]

"A yearslong U.S. Justice Department investigation of a global hacking campaign that targeted prominent American climate activists took a turn in a London court this week amid an allegation that the hacking was ordered by a lobbying firm working for ExxonMobil. Both the lobbying firm and ExxonMobil have denied any awareness of or involvement with alleged hacking."

Activism [20]
Climate Change [21]
Environmental Politics [13]
Journalism & Media [22]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
International [23]
Source: NPR [24], 01/27/2025
- Read more about US Is Trying To Unravel A Hacking Plot That Targeted Climate Activists [19]
134M Poultry And Counting: Charts Show Counties Hardest-Hit By Bird Flu [25]

"The latest data from the CDC and USDA show the continued devastating effects of bird flu outbreaks across the United States – with Iowa, the nation's leading egg producer, suffering substantial losses."

Agriculture [26]
Biodiversity [27]
Consumer [28]
Economy & Business [29]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Politics [13]
Food [30]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Wildlife [31]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: Investigate Midwest [32], 01/27/2025
- Read more about 134M Poultry And Counting: Charts Show Counties Hardest-Hit By Bird Flu [25]
EPA Proposal For Pesticide Tied To Reproductive Harm Lands Back With Trump [33]

"US environmental regulators are planning to change allowable levels of a weedkiller linked with reproductive health problems to a concentration critics say discounts years of documented health and environmental risks — potentially marking a new battlefront within the Trump administration."

Agriculture [26]
Chemicals [10]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Politics [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Pollution [15]
Water & Oceans [34]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: The New Lede [35], 01/27/2025
- Read more about EPA Proposal For Pesticide Tied To Reproductive Harm Lands Back With Trump [33]
"Senate Committees Advance Trump’s Energy, Environment Nominees" [36]

"President Trump’s picks to lead the nation’s energy and environment-focused agencies all sailed through committee votes on Thursday morning."

Climate Change [21]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Politics [13]
Government [37]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: The Hill [38], 01/24/2025
- Read more about "Senate Committees Advance Trump’s Energy, Environment Nominees" [36]
"Bloomberg To Fund UN Climate Agency After US Exit From Paris Accord" [39]

"Billionaire former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday that his foundation would fund the UN climate change agency after President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement. Bloomberg’s pledge will cover the 22 percent of its $96.5 million budget previously provided by the US for 2024-2025."

Activism [20]
Climate Change [21]
Economy & Business [29]
Environmental Politics [13]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
International [23]
Source: France24 [40], 01/24/2025
- Read more about "Bloomberg To Fund UN Climate Agency After US Exit From Paris Accord" [39]
"Elon Musk’s DOGE Sued Minutes After Trump Inauguration" [41]

"A lawsuit claiming billionaire Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” violates federal transparency rules was filed within minutes of President Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday, kicking off a legal battle over a key aspect of the incoming administration’s agenda."

Environmental Politics [13]
Government [37]
Journalism & Media [22]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: Washington Post [42], 01/24/2025
- Read more about "Elon Musk’s DOGE Sued Minutes After Trump Inauguration" [41]
"Revealed: US Climate Denial Group Working With European Far-Right Parties" [43]

"Climate science deniers from a US-based thinktank have been working with rightwing politicians in Europe to campaign against environmental policies, the Guardian can reveal."

Climate Change [21]
Environmental Politics [13]
Science [44]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Europe [45]
Source: Guardian [46], 01/24/2025
- Read more about "Revealed: US Climate Denial Group Working With European Far-Right Parties" [43]
Health Researchers Alarmed As Trump Pauses Travel, Communications [47]

"Health officials and experts said this week they are reeling after the new Trump administration on Tuesday abruptly halted external communication at the Department of Health and Human Services and its agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health."

Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Politics [13]
Health [48]
Journalism & Media [22]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Science [44]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: Washington Post [49], 01/24/2025
- Read more about Health Researchers Alarmed As Trump Pauses Travel, Communications [47]
"Trump Resurrects ‘God Squad’ To Bend The ESA" [50]

"The committee that decides the fate of endangered species is rarely summoned. But the president’s “energy emergency” could change that."

"The Trump administration is putting its faith in an empowered “God Squad” that might help energy projects maneuver around Endangered Species Act obstacles.

In verse meant to be far-reaching, President Donald Trump’s new executive order designating an “energy emergency” strengthens what the landmark environmental law formally calls the “Endangered Species Act Committee.”
Biodiversity [27]
Environmental Politics [13]
Environmental Studies [51]
Government [37]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [52]
Wildlife [31]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: E&E News [53], 01/24/2025
- Read more about "Trump Resurrects ‘God Squad’ To Bend The ESA" [50]
"Amid Raging Fires, House Passes Contentious Forestry Bill" [54]

"The House on Thursday passed legislation that supporters say will improve how the nation manages its forests to prevent fires but opponents argue will undercut environmental safeguards."

Biodiversity [27]
Environmental Politics [13]
Forests [55]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [52]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: The Hill [56], 01/24/2025
- Read more about "Amid Raging Fires, House Passes Contentious Forestry Bill" [54]
"With EPA Support, The Corps Is Moving Forward With The Yazoo Pumps" [57]

"The U.S Army Corps of Engineers announced last Friday it’s moving forward with an altered version of the Yazoo Pumps, a flood relief project that the agency has touted for decades. The project now also has the backing of the Environmental Protection Agency, whose veto killed a previous iteration in 2008 because of the pumps’ potential to harm 67,000 acres of valuable wetland habitat."

Biodiversity [27]
Disasters [58]
Environmental Politics [13]
Environmental Studies [51]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [52]
Water & Oceans [34]
Wildlife [31]
Public [16]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [59]
Source: Mississippi Today [60], 01/24/2025
- Read more about "With EPA Support, The Corps Is Moving Forward With The Yazoo Pumps" [57]
Trump Wants To Upend Calif. Water Policy. Officials Say It Could Do Harm [61]

"In one of the first acts of his second term, President Trump is seeking to put his stamp on California water policy by directing the federal government to put “people over fish” and send more water from Northern California to the Central Valley’s farms and Southern California cities."

Agriculture [26]
Consumer [28]
Environmental Politics [13]
Fish & Fisheries [62]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [52]
People & Population [63]
Water & Oceans [34]
Public [16]
California [64]
Source: LA Times [65], 01/24/2025
- Read more about Trump Wants To Upend Calif. Water Policy. Officials Say It Could Do Harm [61]
Fossil Fuel Companies Use Twitter/X Social Media To Block Climate Progress [66]

"To the extent that X ever was the “public square” of the internet, it is clearly no longer such a place. The platform — known as Twitter until it was rechristened in 2023 by Elon Musk — has become an echo chamber for extremist conspiracy theories and hate speech — or, depending on what you’re looking for, a porn site."

Climate Change [21]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [67]
Environmental Politics [13]
Journalism & Media [22]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: Grist [68], 01/23/2025
- Read more about Fossil Fuel Companies Use Twitter/X Social Media To Block Climate Progress [66]
"EPA Moves To Withdraw Decision On Paraquat, Delays Report On Risks" [69]

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving to withdraw its interim regulatory decision on paraquat, announcing that it needs more time to examine the potential health effects of the weed killing chemical that has been widely used in agriculture for decades, but also linked for years to the incurable brain ailment known as Parkinson’s disease."

Agriculture [26]
Chemicals [10]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Politics [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: The New Lede [70], 01/23/2025
- Read more about "EPA Moves To Withdraw Decision On Paraquat, Delays Report On Risks" [69]

Pages