EJToday: Top Headlines

As Wildfires Mount, So Do Efforts To Use Less Plastic in Homebuilding [9]

"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."

Chemicals [10]
Disasters [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Infrastructure [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
People & Population [15]
Pollution [16]
Technology [17]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Source: Thomson Reuters Fdn. [20], 12/16/2025
- Read more about As Wildfires Mount, So Do Efforts To Use Less Plastic in Homebuilding [9]
"Indiana Says It’s Retiring Two Coal Plants, But Is It Making Other Plans?" [21]

"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."

Climate Change [22]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Politics [24]
Infrastructure [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Pollution [16]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Source: Canary Media [25], 12/16/2025
- Read more about "Indiana Says It’s Retiring Two Coal Plants, But Is It Making Other Plans?" [21]
Nation Famous for Marine Conservation Is Bankrolling Its Own Destruction [26]

"Costa Rica’s fuel subsidies are funding widespread poaching and overfishing in supposedly protected waters."

Biodiversity [27]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Fish & Fisheries [28]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Public [18]
Central America & the Caribbean [29]
Source: Inside Climate News [30], 12/16/2025
- Read more about Nation Famous for Marine Conservation Is Bankrolling Its Own Destruction [26]
Wyo. Ranchers Wanting Solar Say Utilities and State Stand in Their Way [31]

"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."

Agriculture [32]
Climate Change [22]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [33]
Source: Inside Climate News [34], 12/16/2025
- Read more about Wyo. Ranchers Wanting Solar Say Utilities and State Stand in Their Way [31]
"How the Pandemic Lockdowns Changed a Songbird’s Beak" [35]

"For ecologists, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented a remarkable natural experiment in what can happen to wild animals when humans stay home."

Biodiversity [27]
Environmental Studies [36]
Wildlife [37]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
California [38]
Source: NYTimes [39], 12/16/2025
- Read more about "How the Pandemic Lockdowns Changed a Songbird’s Beak" [35]
Gaza Faces Another Catastrophic Winter as Devastation Mounts [40]

"While Israel restricts lifesaving aid and multiple reports show it violating the ceasefire, Gazans suffer flooded tents, starvation, pollution and disease."

Climate Change [22]
Disasters [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [41]
Military [42]
People & Population [15]
Public [18]
Middle East [43]
Source: Inside Climate News [44], 12/15/2025
- Read more about Gaza Faces Another Catastrophic Winter as Devastation Mounts [40]
Trump EPA Adds Another Industry Lobbyist To Ranks Of Conflicted Regulators [45]

"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."

Chemicals [10]
Economy & Business [46]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [41]
Environmental Politics [24]
Government [47]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Pollution [16]
Science [48]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Source: The New Lede [49], 12/15/2025
- Read more about Trump EPA Adds Another Industry Lobbyist To Ranks Of Conflicted Regulators [45]
"Trump, Administration Heads Sued Over East Wing Demolition" [50]

"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."

Environmental Studies [36]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Planning & Growth [51]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Source: Bloomberg Environment [52], 12/15/2025
- Read more about "Trump, Administration Heads Sued Over East Wing Demolition" [50]
"Hundreds Quarantined As South Carolina Measles Outbreak Accelerates" [53]

"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."

Environmental Health [12]
Health [54]
Laws & Regulations [14]
People & Population [15]
Science [48]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [55]
Source: Washington Post [56], 12/15/2025
- Read more about "Hundreds Quarantined As South Carolina Measles Outbreak Accelerates" [53]
Climate Change, New Mining May Push Alaska’s Arctic Past The Brink [57]

"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."

Biodiversity [27]
Climate Change [22]
Environmental Politics [24]
Environmental Studies [36]
Infrastructure [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
People & Population [15]
Transportation [58]
Wildlife [37]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Alaska and Hawaii [59]
Source: AP [60], 12/15/2025
- Read more about Climate Change, New Mining May Push Alaska’s Arctic Past The Brink [57]
Trump FWS Delays Decision On Federal Protections For Monarch Butterflies [61]

"President Donald Trump’s administration has delayed a decision on whether to extend federal protections to monarch butterflies indefinitely despite years of warnings from conservationists that populations are shrinking."

Laws & Regulations [14]
Wildlife [37]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Mexico [62]
Source: AP [63], 12/15/2025
- Read more about Trump FWS Delays Decision On Federal Protections For Monarch Butterflies [61]
"Colorado River Water Is Too Cheap, Particularly for Agricultural Users" [64]

"A new report from UCLA and the Natural Resources Defense Council found nearly a quarter of Colorado River water is basically provided for free by the federal government."

Agriculture [32]
Climate Change [22]
Consumer [65]
Economy & Business [46]
Environmental Politics [24]
Environmental Studies [36]
Government [47]
Laws & Regulations [14]
People & Population [15]
Planning & Growth [51]
Water & Oceans [66]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Source: Inside Climate News [67], 12/15/2025
- Read more about "Colorado River Water Is Too Cheap, Particularly for Agricultural Users" [64]
"FirstEnergy Bribery Scheme Sank Lake Erie Offshore Wind, Lawsuit Says" [68]

"The corruption that led to Ohio’s infamous HB 6 also torpedoed what would have been the Great Lakes’ first wind farm, the suit alleges. FirstEnergy is pushing back."

Climate Change [22]
Economy & Business [46]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Politics [24]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Water & Oceans [66]
Public [18]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [69]
Source: Canary Media [70], 12/15/2025
- Read more about "FirstEnergy Bribery Scheme Sank Lake Erie Offshore Wind, Lawsuit Says" [68]
"Green California’s Big Oil Problem" [71]

"While Gov. Newsom touted the state’s environmental efforts at the UN climate summit, toxic spills and a new law speeding drilling tarnished its reputation at home."

Climate Change [22]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Politics [24]
Infrastructure [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Pollution [16]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
California [38]
Source: Inside Climate News [72], 12/15/2025
- Read more about "Green California’s Big Oil Problem" [71]
"FDA Moves To Approve New Sunscreen Ingredient Used In Asia And Europe [73]

"The FDA has proposed adding bemotrizinol, a new sunscreen ingredient, to the U.S. approval list, which could expand consumer options and help prevent skin cancer."

Consumer [65]
Environmental Health [12]
Laws & Regulations [14]
People & Population [15]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Source: Washington Post [74], 12/15/2025
- Read more about "FDA Moves To Approve New Sunscreen Ingredient Used In Asia And Europe [73]

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