EJToday: Top Headlines

Texas Continued Permitting Data Centers After Abbott’s Pause, Report Finds [9]

"Regulators in Texas did not stop processing permits for data center projects when Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a pause last month, according to an analysis of public records released Monday by the oil and gas watchdog group FracTracker."

Climate Change [10]
Conflict/Corruption [11]
Economy & Business [12]
Energy & Fuel [13]
Environmental Health [14]
Environmental Justice [15]
Environmental Politics [16]
Infrastructure [17]
Laws & Regulations [18]
Public [19]
National (U.S.) [20]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [21]
Source: Inside Climate News [22], 10/20/2026
- Read more about Texas Continued Permitting Data Centers After Abbott’s Pause, Report Finds [9]
Fla. Cleanup Set to Begin This Fall, Decades After Superfund Designation [23]

"Plenty of storms have hit Pensacola, Florida’s westernmost city, in the 450 years since its founding, but among the worst has been the storm over the toxic waste site nicknamed “Mount Dioxin.”

Chemicals [24]
Consumer [25]
Environmental Health [14]
Environmental Politics [16]
Laws & Regulations [18]
People & Population [26]
Pollution [27]
Public [19]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [28]
Source: Inside Climate News [29], 10/20/2026
- Read more about Fla. Cleanup Set to Begin This Fall, Decades After Superfund Designation [23]
US Is Reviving Shuttered Nuclear Plants To Power Grid, Data Centers [30]

"The United States is making an unprecedented attempt to revive three shuttered nuclear plants to meet rising energy demand, including from large-scale data centers."

Energy & Fuel [13]
Environmental Health [14]
Environmental Politics [16]
Laws & Regulations [18]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [31]
Public [19]
National (U.S.) [20]
Source: AP [32], 10/20/2026
- Read more about US Is Reviving Shuttered Nuclear Plants To Power Grid, Data Centers [30]
Criminal Networks Threaten The Amazon. Indigenous Leaders Want UN To Act [33]

"Indigenous leaders from across the Amazon are taking their fight against illegal mining, drug trafficking and deforestation to a United Nations conference in Vienna starting Monday."

Biodiversity [34]
Environmental Politics [16]
Government [35]
Laws & Regulations [18]
Natural Resources [36]
Water & Oceans [37]
Wildlife [38]
Public [19]
International [39]
South America [40]
Source: AP [41], 10/20/2026
- Read more about Criminal Networks Threaten The Amazon. Indigenous Leaders Want UN To Act [33]
‘Pitchfork Populism’ Over Data Centers Rattles Ohio’s U.S. Senate Race [42]

"

A proposal for a large data center has upended politics in this Republican-leaning suburb of Columbus. That could spell trouble for U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, a longtime fixture in state Republican politics who was appointed to his seat in 2025 after former Sen. J.D. Vance became vice president. Husted is running against Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who served three terms in the Senate before losing his seat two years ago."

Air [43]
Climate Change [10]
Energy & Fuel [13]
Environmental Politics [16]
Infrastructure [17]
Laws & Regulations [18]
Pollution [27]
Technology [44]
Public [19]
National (U.S.) [20]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [45]
Source: Inside Climate News [46], 10/20/2026
- Read more about ‘Pitchfork Populism’ Over Data Centers Rattles Ohio’s U.S. Senate Race [42]
Deep-Sea Species Struggle to Recover After Deepwater Horizon Spill [47]

"Across hundreds of miles of the northern Gulf of Mexico, a deep-water ecosystem collapsed after the massive 2011 Deepwater Horizon oil and gas spill, and recovery is uncertain, new research concludes."

Chemicals [24]
Disasters [48]
Energy & Fuel [13]
Environmental Health [14]
Environmental Studies [49]
Fish & Fisheries [50]
Natural Resources [36]
Pollution [27]
Water & Oceans [37]
Public [19]
National (U.S.) [20]
Source: Inside Climate News [51], 10/20/2026
- Read more about Deep-Sea Species Struggle to Recover After Deepwater Horizon Spill [47]
Judge Refuses DOJ’s Demand To Step Aside From Golf Course Hearing [52]

"A federal judge refused the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) demand to step aside from a key hearing on Monday over the future of East Potomac Park, which President Trump wants to renovate into a championship-style golf course."

Environmental Politics [16]
Infrastructure [17]
Laws & Regulations [18]
People & Population [26]
Public [19]
National (U.S.) [20]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [53]
Source: The Hill [54], 10/20/2026
- Read more about Judge Refuses DOJ’s Demand To Step Aside From Golf Course Hearing [52]
Wyoming Environmental Groups Debate Best Way to Manage Data Center Growth [55]

"Concerns about siting, water and electricity demand have led to calls for more oversight of data center construction in the Cowboy State, but not alignment on how to achieve it."

Energy & Fuel [13]
Environmental Politics [16]
Infrastructure [17]
Laws & Regulations [18]
People & Population [26]
Planning & Growth [56]
Pollution [27]
Technology [44]
Public [19]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [57]
Source: Inside Climate News [58], 10/20/2026
- Read more about Wyoming Environmental Groups Debate Best Way to Manage Data Center Growth [55]
Bringing More Beavers To Watersheds Is A Powerful Drought-Fighting Tool [59]

"On Jackson Ramsay’s family ranch late in the summer, there were few signs it had just weathered the worst-ever winter snowpack and record-setting heat."

Biodiversity [34]
Infrastructure [17]
Water & Oceans [37]
Wildlife [38]
Public [19]
National (U.S.) [20]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [57]
Source: AP [60], 10/20/2026
- Read more about Bringing More Beavers To Watersheds Is A Powerful Drought-Fighting Tool [59]
A Cleaner Solution To America’s Aluminum Crunch Is Hiding In Landfills [61]

"A global supply shortage and U.S. tariffs have roiled the aluminum market this year, putting greater pressure on the United States to produce more of its own metal. ... Recycling aluminum, on the other hand, uses only 5% of the energy needed to make virgin metal in smelters, and the U.S. has an abundance of scrap.

Climate Change [10]
Consumer [25]
Energy & Fuel [13]
Environmental Politics [16]
Waste [62]
Public [19]
National (U.S.) [20]
Source: Canary Media [63], 10/20/2026
- Read more about A Cleaner Solution To America’s Aluminum Crunch Is Hiding In Landfills [61]
S.Calif. Fires Ease As Santa Ana Winds Die Down. Rain Threatens New Risks [64]

"Strong Santa Ana winds that fueled a rash of wildfires in Southern California have abated, and crews were turning a corner Sunday on the blazes that closed highways, damaged a military base and destroyed multimillion-dollar homes. But an incoming storm system could pose new risks for the region as crews continue to brace for more wild weather this fall."

Climate Change [10]
Disasters [48]
Environmental Health [14]
Public [19]
California [65]
Source: Los Angeles Times [66], 10/19/2026
- Read more about S.Calif. Fires Ease As Santa Ana Winds Die Down. Rain Threatens New Risks [64]
Brazil’s Election Could Determine The Fate Of The Amazon [67]

"Brazilians filling out presidential ballots earlier this month saw three-term incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pitted against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Environmental observers saw something else: a referendum on the future of the Amazon rainforest."

Climate Change [10]
Energy & Fuel [13]
Environmental Politics [16]
Forests [68]
Government [35]
Laws & Regulations [18]
Natural Resources [36]
Public [19]
South America [40]
Source: Grist [69], 10/19/2026
- Read more about Brazil’s Election Could Determine The Fate Of The Amazon [67]
US Corporate Lobbyists in ‘Blitz’ To Dilute EU Deforestation Law: Report [70]

"US corporate lobbyists launched a two-year “blitz” to postpone and weaken the world’s most progressive legislation to protect forests, according to a new investigation by the environmental watchdog Mighty Earth."

Economy & Business [12]
Environmental Politics [16]
Forests [68]
Government [35]
Journalism & Media [71]
Laws & Regulations [18]
Public [19]
National (U.S.) [20]
Europe [72]
Source: Guardian [73], 10/19/2026
- Read more about US Corporate Lobbyists in ‘Blitz’ To Dilute EU Deforestation Law: Report [70]
Workers Facing Deadly Heat Borrow From Tomato Pickers To Win Protections [74]

"As efforts to protect people from extreme heat stall, organizers are embracing an approach that targets major brands’ reputations"

Agriculture [75]
Climate Change [10]
Environmental Health [14]
Environmental Justice [15]
Government [35]
Laws & Regulations [18]
People & Population [26]
Public [19]
National (U.S.) [20]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [28]
Source: Guardian [76], 10/19/2026
- Read more about Workers Facing Deadly Heat Borrow From Tomato Pickers To Win Protections [74]
EPA Quietly Backtracks On Claims US Has Phased Out Toxic Pfas Compounds [77]

"The Environmental Protection Agency has quietly backtracked on a claim that the US has phased out two of the most dangerous Pfas compounds – Pfoa and Pfos."

Chemicals [24]
Consumer [25]
Environmental Health [14]
Environmental Politics [16]
Laws & Regulations [18]
Pollution [27]
Technology [44]
Public [19]
National (U.S.) [20]
Source: Guardian [78], 10/19/2026
- Read more about EPA Quietly Backtracks On Claims US Has Phased Out Toxic Pfas Compounds [77]

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