EJToday: Top Headlines

Amid AI Boom, Coal Returns — With a Familiar Cost To Black Neighbors [9]

"Trump’s order keeping an Orlando coal plant online renews environmental justice concerns over who pays AI’s pollution bill." "The fight over Stanton Unit 1 illustrates how America's AI boom could prolong coal pollution that has historically fallen hardest on Black communities."

Air [10]
Chemicals [11]
Conflict/Corruption [12]
Consumer [13]
Energy & Fuel [14]
Environmental Health [15]
Environmental Justice [16]
Environmental Politics [17]
Infrastructure [18]
Laws & Regulations [19]
People & Population [20]
Pollution [21]
Technology [22]
Public [23]
National (U.S.) [24]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [25]
Source: Word in Black [26], 07/31/2026
- Read more about Amid AI Boom, Coal Returns — With a Familiar Cost To Black Neighbors [9]
Warming Mediterranean Waters Are Drawing Hundreds Of Invasive Species [27]

Scientists say climate change, caused mainly by burning oil, coal and gas, is making the Mediterranean Sea hotter, bringing hundreds of new and invasive fish species that decimate indigenous populations. As biodiversity diminishes, coastal communities will struggle to make ends meet in the ways they’ve known for generations."

Biodiversity [28]
Climate Change [29]
Environmental Studies [30]
Fish & Fisheries [31]
People & Population [20]
Water & Oceans [32]
Wildlife [33]
Public [23]
Africa [34]
Europe [35]
Source: AP [36], 07/31/2026
- Read more about Warming Mediterranean Waters Are Drawing Hundreds Of Invasive Species [27]
Trump DOE To Turn Ky. Uranium Plant Into Gas-Powered AI Data Center [37]

"The U.S. Department of Energy is harnessing the artificial intelligence boom in its bid to convert another Cold War-era uranium enrichment site, tapping private equity to fund a $100 billion data center complex that will include its own new natural gas and battery storage power plant in Kentucky."

Air [10]
Climate Change [29]
Disasters [38]
Energy & Fuel [14]
Environmental Health [15]
Infrastructure [18]
Laws & Regulations [19]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [39]
People & Population [20]
Pollution [21]
Technology [22]
Waste [40]
Public [23]
National (U.S.) [24]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [25]
Source: AP [41], 07/31/2026
- Read more about Trump DOE To Turn Ky. Uranium Plant Into Gas-Powered AI Data Center [37]
White House Looks To Reopen Refineries [42]

"The Trump administration is looking to reopen closed oil refineries, including an embattled one in the Virgin Islands, amid high gasoline prices caused by the Iran war."

Environmental Politics [17]
Government [43]
Infrastructure [18]
Pollution [21]
Technology [22]
Transportation [44]
Public [23]
National (U.S.) [24]
Central America & the Caribbean [45]
Source: The Hill [46], 07/31/2026
- Read more about White House Looks To Reopen Refineries [42]
Study Spotlights Threat Of Overlooked Mold-Associated Illnesses [47]

"

A first-of-its-kind U.S. study suggests invasive mold infections may be an underappreciated — and potentially deadly — threat. The researchers detected about 450 cases in Atlanta-area hospitals over five years. About a third of the patients died in the hospital."

Air [10]
Biodiversity [28]
Climate Change [29]
Disasters [38]
Environmental Health [15]
Health [48]
People & Population [20]
Pollution [21]
Science [49]
Water & Oceans [32]
Public [23]
National (U.S.) [24]
Source: AP [50], 07/31/2026
- Read more about Study Spotlights Threat Of Overlooked Mold-Associated Illnesses [47]
Trump Admin Is Repurposing Federal Land for A.I. Data Centers [51]

"The Trump administration is repurposing large chunks of federal land to host enormous data centers and the power plants needed to run them as officials seek to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence and overcome growing local opposition to the facilities."

Climate Change [29]
Economy & Business [52]
Energy & Fuel [14]
Environmental Health [15]
Environmental Politics [17]
Infrastructure [18]
Laws & Regulations [19]
Natural Resources [53]
Pollution [21]
Technology [22]
Public [23]
National (U.S.) [24]
Source: New York Times [54], 07/30/2026
- Read more about Trump Admin Is Repurposing Federal Land for A.I. Data Centers [51]
After Venezuela Quakes, Environmental And Health Risks Have Just Begun [55]

"More than a month has passed since Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes, and the constant sound of heavy machinery still echoes through the hardest-hit neighborhoods of La Guaira on the northern coast. Dust from collapsed buildings hangs in the humid air. Garbage has piled up. Families camp outside homes deemed too dangerous to enter. Water trucks weave through damaged streets."

Disasters [38]
Environmental Health [15]
Government [43]
People & Population [20]
Pollution [21]
Waste [40]
Public [23]
South America [56]
Source: AP [57], 07/30/2026
- Read more about After Venezuela Quakes, Environmental And Health Risks Have Just Begun [55]
Deadly Flooding In West Virginia Finds Prevention Plans Unaddressed [58]

"Last week, a flood devastated portions of north central West Virginia and killed two people in Upshur County. Lawmakers have done little to fund prevention and recovery as climate change puts more of the state at risk of flooding."

Disasters [38]
Environmental Health [15]
Infrastructure [18]
People & Population [20]
Public [23]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [59]
Source: Mountain State Spotlight [60], 07/30/2026
- Read more about Deadly Flooding In West Virginia Finds Prevention Plans Unaddressed [58]
In Ohio, Toxic Wastewater Is Bubbling Up Out of the Ground [61]

"The state is a major importer of fracking wastewater, which gets pumped underground but doesn’t always stay there. The city of Marietta is fighting back."

Chemicals [11]
Energy & Fuel [14]
Environmental Health [15]
Natural Resources [53]
Pollution [21]
Technology [22]
Waste [40]
Water & Oceans [32]
Public [23]
National (U.S.) [24]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [62]
Source: New York Times [63], 07/30/2026
- Read more about In Ohio, Toxic Wastewater Is Bubbling Up Out of the Ground [61]
EPA Halted Study On Gas Stoves And Asthma. Results Were Striking. [64]

"Research that used a federal grant to pay for asthma patients to have their gas stoves replaced showed a dramatic fall in asthma attacks. The program was cut short after President Donald Trump took office."

Air [10]
Climate Change [29]
Consumer [13]
Energy & Fuel [14]
Environmental Health [15]
Infrastructure [18]
Laws & Regulations [19]
Technology [22]
Public [23]
National (U.S.) [24]
Source: Washington Post [65], 07/30/2026
- Read more about EPA Halted Study On Gas Stoves And Asthma. Results Were Striking. [64]
Data Center Boom Sparks Lobbying Surge [66]

"The number of companies, associations and advocacy groups lobbying around data center issues more than doubled this spring compared to the same time last year as Congress and the Trump administration sought to address the industry’s rapid growth."

Climate Change [29]
Economy & Business [52]
Energy & Fuel [14]
Environmental Politics [17]
Laws & Regulations [19]
Water & Oceans [32]
Public [23]
National (U.S.) [24]
Source: E&E News [67], 07/30/2026
- Read more about Data Center Boom Sparks Lobbying Surge [66]
Trump Bets Chevron’s Fall Lets Him Rewrite Rules For Imperiled Wildlife [68]

"For decades, presidents of both parties and the Supreme Court have agreed that federal law prevents developers from destroying habitat critical to vulnerable wildlife. The Trump administration is now making the case that a landmark Supreme Court ruling ending judicial deference to federal agencies gives it room to reverse that longstanding interpretation."

Biodiversity [28]
Environmental Politics [17]
Government [43]
Laws & Regulations [19]
Wildlife [33]
Public [23]
National (U.S.) [24]
Source: E&E News [69], 07/30/2026
- Read more about Trump Bets Chevron’s Fall Lets Him Rewrite Rules For Imperiled Wildlife [68]
Half Of England Officially In ‘Exceptionally Serious’ Drought [70]

"Half of England is officially in drought, with July set to be the driest on record after winter floods, the Environment Agency has said. The “flash drought” developed quickly because of unusually low rainfall and high temperatures."

Agriculture [71]
Climate Change [29]
Consumer [13]
Water & Oceans [32]
Public [23]
Europe [35]
Source: Guardian [72], 07/30/2026
- Read more about Half Of England Officially In ‘Exceptionally Serious’ Drought [70]
Louisa, Va., Homeowner Sues Amazon Over Data Center Construction [73]

"Round-the-clock disruptions drive a Central Virginia man to file a lawsuit against the tech giant as it seeks to build its latest digital warehouse in the commonwealth."

Consumer [13]
Energy & Fuel [14]
Environmental Health [15]
Environmental Politics [17]
Laws & Regulations [19]
People & Population [20]
Pollution [21]
Technology [22]
Public [23]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [59]
Source: Virginia Mercury [74], 07/30/2026
- Read more about Louisa, Va., Homeowner Sues Amazon Over Data Center Construction [73]
In This Costa Rican Forest, Monkeys Come Face-to-Face With A.I. [75]

"CapuchinAI, a portable testing station equipped with a touch screen and facial recognition software, could help scientists study primate intelligence in the wild."

Biodiversity [28]
Environmental Politics [17]
Environmental Studies [30]
Science [49]
Technology [22]
Wildlife [33]
Public [23]
Central America & the Caribbean [45]
Source: New York Times [76], 07/30/2026
- Read more about In This Costa Rican Forest, Monkeys Come Face-to-Face With A.I. [75]

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