EJToday: Top Environmental Politics Headlines

Megacity Lagos Reshapes Its Coast By Dredging And Puts Environment At Risk [9]

"Beneath an eight-lane expressway, Nigerian men stand waist-deep in the Lagos Lagoon, lowering buckets into murky water. Each load brings up sand, reshaping the coastline of Africa’s largest city and driving away fish and livelihoods for some of its poorest people."

Economy & Business [10]
Environmental Justice [11]
Environmental Politics [12]
Infrastructure [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [15]
Water & Oceans [16]
Public [17]
Africa [18]
Source: AP [19], 01/14/2026
- Read more about Megacity Lagos Reshapes Its Coast By Dredging And Puts Environment At Risk [9]
"EPA to Stop Considering Lives Saved When Setting Rules on Air Pollution" [20]

"In a reversal, the agency plans to calculate only the cost to industry when setting pollution limits, and not the monetary value of saving human lives, documents show."

Chemicals [21]
Climate Change [22]
Consumer [23]
Economy & Business [10]
Environmental Health [24]
Environmental Justice [11]
Environmental Politics [12]
Environmental Studies [25]
Health [26]
Laws & Regulations [14]
People & Population [27]
Pollution [28]
Science [29]
Public [17]
National (U.S.) [30]
Source: NYTimes [31], 01/13/2026
- Read more about "EPA to Stop Considering Lives Saved When Setting Rules on Air Pollution" [20]
"Trump Administration Moves To Reverse Mining Ban Near Boundary Waters" [32]

"The Trump administration and northeast Minnesota Republican Congressman Pete Stauber are taking action to end a 20-year mining ban near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area that was imposed three years ago under former President Joe Biden."

Biodiversity [33]
Environmental Politics [12]
Fish & Fisheries [34]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [15]
Pollution [28]
Water & Oceans [16]
Wildlife [35]
Public [17]
National (U.S.) [30]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [36]
Source: MPR [37], 01/13/2026
- Read more about "Trump Administration Moves To Reverse Mining Ban Near Boundary Waters" [32]
States Need More Help Replacing Lead Pipes. Congress May Cut Funds Instead. [38]

"The Senate is taking up a spending package passed by the House of Representatives that would cut $125 million in funding promised this year to replace toxic lead pipes. "

Chemicals [21]
Consumer [23]
Economy & Business [10]
Environmental Health [24]
Environmental Justice [11]
Environmental Politics [12]
Infrastructure [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
People & Population [27]
Pollution [28]
Water & Oceans [16]
Public [17]
National (U.S.) [30]
Source: Inside Climate News [39], 01/13/2026
- Read more about States Need More Help Replacing Lead Pipes. Congress May Cut Funds Instead. [38]
"Congress Is Rejecting Trump’s Steep Budget Cuts to Science" [40]

"Congress is racing to undo thousands of cuts to federal science programs that President Trump called for last year when planning the government’s current budget." "After the White House called for billions of dollars in funding reductions, senators and representatives said they wanted to safeguard and even boost funds for basic research."

Climate Change [22]
Economy & Business [10]
Environmental Politics [12]
Fish & Fisheries [34]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Science [29]
Public [17]
National (U.S.) [30]
Source: NYTimes [41], 01/13/2026
- Read more about "Congress Is Rejecting Trump’s Steep Budget Cuts to Science" [40]
Court Says Trump Illegally Blocked Clean Energy Grants To Dem States [42]

"A federal judge ruled Monday that the Trump administration acted illegally when it canceled $7.6 billion in clean energy grants for projects in states that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 election."

Climate Change [22]
Economy & Business [10]
Energy & Fuel [43]
Environmental Politics [12]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Public [17]
National (U.S.) [30]
Source: AP [44], 01/13/2026
- Read more about Court Says Trump Illegally Blocked Clean Energy Grants To Dem States [42]
Trump’s Biggest Inaugural Donor Benefits from Worker Safety Weakening [45]

"Meatpacking giant JBS gave $5 million; industry soon celebrated a decision to make those on the assembly line work faster."

Agriculture [46]
Consumer [23]
Environmental Health [24]
Environmental Politics [12]
Food [47]
Laws & Regulations [14]
People & Population [27]
Public [17]
National (U.S.) [30]
International [48]
Source: Capital & Main [49], 01/13/2026
- Read more about Trump’s Biggest Inaugural Donor Benefits from Worker Safety Weakening [45]
Miccosukee Blocked Alligator Alcatraz. Then Trump Blocked Land Return Bill. [50]

"After the tribe sued to stop an immigration detention center, the White House vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have expanded Miccosukee land and environmental stewardship."

Environmental Justice [11]
Environmental Politics [12]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [15]
People & Population [27]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [51]
Public [17]
National (U.S.) [30]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [52]
Source: Grist [53], 01/13/2026
- Read more about Miccosukee Blocked Alligator Alcatraz. Then Trump Blocked Land Return Bill. [50]
Poor Areas Threatened By Aging Sewers See Crucial Aid Slashed Under Trump [54]

"Yvette Lyles thought of the modest brick ranch home as a Christmas present for her family. It was close to a state park where she and her kids could picnic, fish and enjoy the outdoors. A place to make memories. But she soon learned her southern Illinois community had a big problem: Recurring floods from heavy rains sent untreated sewage into streets, yards and homes where they buckled floors, cracked walls and destroyed belongings."

Consumer [23]
Disasters [55]
Environmental Health [24]
Environmental Justice [11]
Environmental Politics [12]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Pollution [28]
Water & Oceans [16]
Public [17]
National (U.S.) [30]
Source: AP [56], 01/12/2026
- Read more about Poor Areas Threatened By Aging Sewers See Crucial Aid Slashed Under Trump [54]
"EPA Plans To Give 11 Coal Plants A Free Pass On Toxic Ash Disposal" [57]

"The Environmental Protection Agency plans to let 11 coal plants dump toxic coal ash into unlined pits until 2031 — a full decade later than allowed under current federal rules."

Chemicals [21]
Energy & Fuel [43]
Environmental Health [24]
Environmental Politics [12]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Pollution [28]
Waste [58]
Water & Oceans [16]
Public [17]
National (U.S.) [30]
Source: Canary Media [59], 01/12/2026
- Read more about "EPA Plans To Give 11 Coal Plants A Free Pass On Toxic Ash Disposal" [57]
"How Community Solar Turned A Superfund Site Into Savings In Illinois" [60]

"A new 9.1-MW solar array will help residents of Waukegan, Illinois, reduce energy bills. State incentives for low-income solar made the project possible."

Energy & Fuel [43]
Environmental Health [24]
Environmental Justice [11]
Environmental Politics [12]
Infrastructure [13]
Pollution [28]
Waste [58]
Public [17]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [36]
Source: Canary Media [61], 01/12/2026
- Read more about "How Community Solar Turned A Superfund Site Into Savings In Illinois" [60]
"How Chevron Played The Long Game In Venezuela" [62]

"Chevron met with Trump and spent millions lobbying him to let it continue operating in Venezuela. Now it is uniquely positioned to profit from the country’s vast oil reserves."

Energy & Fuel [43]
Environmental Politics [12]
Public [17]
National (U.S.) [30]
South America [63]
Source: Grist [64], 01/12/2026
- Read more about "How Chevron Played The Long Game In Venezuela" [62]
"Conservation Groups Say USFWS Cuts Will Put Wildlife At Risk" [65]

"The House passed a final spending bill on January 8 with deep cuts to the Department of the Interior. While the bill holds steady the budget for the National Park Service, it cuts the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s listing budget by 44 percent, bringing it to 2004 levels. The legislation will now head to the Senate where it is expected to pass."

Biodiversity [33]
Environmental Politics [12]
Environmental Studies [25]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Wildlife [35]
Public [17]
National (U.S.) [30]
Source: National Parks Traveler [66], 01/12/2026
- Read more about "Conservation Groups Say USFWS Cuts Will Put Wildlife At Risk" [65]
"Trump Withdrawal From Bedrock UN Climate Treaty Raises Legal Questions" [67]

"The Trump administration's decision to withdraw the United States from the foundational U.N. climate treaty, which the U.S. Senate unanimously adopted more than 30 years ago, may be illegal, according to some legal experts who say that Congress would need to approve its exit."

Climate Change [22]
Environmental Politics [12]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Public [17]
National (U.S.) [30]
International [48]
Source: Reuters [68], 01/09/2026
- Read more about "Trump Withdrawal From Bedrock UN Climate Treaty Raises Legal Questions" [67]
Trump’s EPA Could Limit Its Own Ability to Strengthen Air Pollution Rules [69]

"In government records that have flown under the radar, the EPA is questioning its legal authority to revise pollution rules more than once when new science shows unacceptable health risks."

Air [70]
Chemicals [21]
Environmental Health [24]
Environmental Politics [12]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Pollution [28]
Public [17]
National (U.S.) [30]
Source: ProPublica [71], 01/09/2026
- Read more about Trump’s EPA Could Limit Its Own Ability to Strengthen Air Pollution Rules [69]

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