EJToday: Top Environmental Politics Headlines

"Controversial Dakota Pipeline Gets a Big, Belated Government Boost" [9]

"A delayed environmental review cleared the Dakota Access Pipeline to continue operating. Separately, a North Dakota judge expressed unusual exasperation over the tangled legal battles."

Activism [10]
Climate Change [11]
Disasters [12]
Economy & Business [13]
Energy & Fuel [14]
Environmental Justice [15]
Environmental Politics [16]
Infrastructure [17]
Laws & Regulations [18]
Pollution [19]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [20]
Public [21]
National (U.S.) [22]
Canada [23]
Source: NYTimes [24], 12/22/2025
- Read more about "Controversial Dakota Pipeline Gets a Big, Belated Government Boost" [9]
"The World’s Last Flock of Wild Whooping Cranes Gets More Living Space" [25]

"On an isolated stretch of Texas coastline, conservation groups have acquired more than 3,000 acres of nearly pristine prairie to preserve as habitat for endangered whooping cranes, one of the rarest birds in North America."

Biodiversity [26]
Environmental Politics [16]
Natural Resources [27]
Wildlife [28]
Public [21]
National (U.S.) [22]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [29]
Source: Inside Climate News [30], 12/22/2025
- Read more about "The World’s Last Flock of Wild Whooping Cranes Gets More Living Space" [25]
"SPEED Act Passes in House Despite Changes That Threaten Clean Power" [31]

"The Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act, or SPEED Act, overcame opposition from environmentalists and many Democrats who oppose the bill’s sweeping changes to a bedrock environmental law."

Climate Change [11]
Energy & Fuel [14]
Environmental Politics [16]
Environmental Studies [32]
Infrastructure [17]
Laws & Regulations [18]
Pollution [19]
Public [21]
National (U.S.) [22]
Source: Inside Climate News [33], 12/19/2025
- Read more about "SPEED Act Passes in House Despite Changes That Threaten Clean Power" [31]
Senate Confirms Isaacman as NASA Administrator In Do-Over After Musk Feud [34]

"The Senate on Wednesday confirmed billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to be NASA administrator on Wednesday, placing him atop the agency after a monthslong saga where President Donald Trump revoked his nomination as part of a feud with tech billionaire Elon Musk."

Climate Change [11]
Environmental Politics [16]
People & Population [35]
Science [36]
Technology [37]
Public [21]
National (U.S.) [22]
Source: AP [38], 12/19/2025
- Read more about Senate Confirms Isaacman as NASA Administrator In Do-Over After Musk Feud [34]
"Trump Officials Dive Into The West’s Biggest Water War" [39]

"The Trump administration is turning up the pressure on Western states to cut a deal to shrink their water use as the drought-stricken Colorado River careens towards crisis."

Agriculture [40]
Climate Change [11]
Disasters [12]
Economy & Business [13]
Environmental Politics [16]
Laws & Regulations [18]
Water & Oceans [41]
Public [21]
National (U.S.) [22]
Source: Politico [42], 12/19/2025
- Read more about "Trump Officials Dive Into The West’s Biggest Water War" [39]
"Is RFK Jr. Backing Big Food’s Drive To Overturn Tough New State Laws?" [43]

"Secretary Kennedy echoes industry talking points on food safety laws"

Agriculture [40]
Consumer [44]
Economy & Business [13]
Environmental Health [45]
Environmental Politics [16]
Food [46]
Laws & Regulations [18]
People & Population [35]
Public [21]
National (U.S.) [22]
Source: U.S. Right to Know [47], 12/19/2025
- Read more about "Is RFK Jr. Backing Big Food’s Drive To Overturn Tough New State Laws?" [43]
"PJM’s Capacity Costs Hit Record As Grid Falls Short On Supply" [48]

"Data center construction and clogged-up generation queues are driving costs — and political backlash — in the country’s biggest power market."

Energy & Fuel [14]
Environmental Politics [16]
Infrastructure [17]
Laws & Regulations [18]
Technology [37]
Public [21]
National (U.S.) [22]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [49]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [50]
Source: Canary Media [51], 12/19/2025
- Read more about "PJM’s Capacity Costs Hit Record As Grid Falls Short On Supply" [48]
DOE Watchdog Will Audit Trump Cuts Of Nearly $8B In Clean Energy Grants [52]

"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."

Climate Change [11]
Economy & Business [13]
Energy & Fuel [14]
Environmental Politics [16]
Laws & Regulations [18]
Public [21]
National (U.S.) [22]
Source: AP [53], 12/19/2025
- Read more about DOE Watchdog Will Audit Trump Cuts Of Nearly $8B In Clean Energy Grants [52]
Trump Admin Plans to Break Up Premier Weather and Climate Research Center [54]

"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."

Agriculture [40]
Climate Change [11]
Disasters [12]
Economy & Business [13]
Energy & Fuel [14]
Environmental Health [45]
Environmental Politics [16]
Environmental Studies [32]
People & Population [35]
Science [36]
Technology [37]
Water & Oceans [41]
Public [21]
National (U.S.) [22]
International [55]
Source: NYTimes [56], 12/18/2025
- Read more about Trump Admin Plans to Break Up Premier Weather and Climate Research Center [54]
"Trump’s EPA Paid Employees $86.5 Million Not To Work For Months" [57]

"Data obtained by The Post via a FOIA request shows that through August, the EPA spent millions to compensate staff on administrative leave."

Economy & Business [13]
Environmental Health [45]
Environmental Politics [16]
Laws & Regulations [18]
People & Population [35]
Pollution [19]
Public [21]
National (U.S.) [22]
Source: Washington Post [58], 12/18/2025
- Read more about "Trump’s EPA Paid Employees $86.5 Million Not To Work For Months" [57]
Trump Admin Admits To Targeting Blue States For Energy Grant Cuts [59]

"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."

Economy & Business [13]
Environmental Politics [16]
Government [60]
Infrastructure [17]
Laws & Regulations [18]
People & Population [35]
Pollution [19]
Public [21]
National (U.S.) [22]
Source: Washington Post [61], 12/18/2025
- Read more about Trump Admin Admits To Targeting Blue States For Energy Grant Cuts [59]
"Data Centers Have A Political Problem — And Big Tech Wants To Fix It" [62]

"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."

Climate Change [11]
Economy & Business [13]
Energy & Fuel [14]
Environmental Politics [16]
Infrastructure [17]
Laws & Regulations [18]
Pollution [19]
Technology [37]
Public [21]
National (U.S.) [22]
Source: Politico [63], 12/18/2025
- Read more about "Data Centers Have A Political Problem — And Big Tech Wants To Fix It" [62]
As Trump Promotes Coal, No Respite For Communities Choking On Industry Dust [64]

"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."

Climate Change [11]
Energy & Fuel [14]
Environmental Health [45]
Environmental Politics [16]
Laws & Regulations [18]
Pollution [19]
Public [21]
National (U.S.) [22]
Source: The New Lede [65], 12/18/2025
- Read more about As Trump Promotes Coal, No Respite For Communities Choking On Industry Dust [64]
‘No Significant Impact’: The Secret NPS Review Of Trump’s Ballroom Plans [66]

"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."

Environmental Politics [16]
Environmental Studies [32]
Infrastructure [17]
Laws & Regulations [18]
Natural Resources [27]
Planning & Growth [67]
Public [21]
National (U.S.) [22]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [49]
Source: E&E News [68], 12/18/2025
- Read more about ‘No Significant Impact’: The Secret NPS Review Of Trump’s Ballroom Plans [66]
"American Academy of Pediatrics Loses HHS Funding After Criticizing RFK Jr." [69]

"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."

Consumer [44]
Economy & Business [13]
Environmental Health [45]
Environmental Justice [15]
Environmental Politics [16]
Health [70]
Laws & Regulations [18]
People & Population [35]
Science [36]
Public [21]
National (U.S.) [22]
Source: Washington Post [71], 12/18/2025
- Read more about "American Academy of Pediatrics Loses HHS Funding After Criticizing RFK Jr." [69]

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