EJToday: Top Headlines

Vibrio On The Rise As Climate Warms The Chesapeake Bay [9]

"One day last July, Vernon Spear scratched his forearm on a crab pot as he pulled it out of the Choptank River from his pier in Cambridge, MD. He put hydrogen peroxide on the tiny cuts, thinking that would disinfect them. That night, his forearm swelled up, and he spiked a high fever."

Climate Change [10]
Environmental Health [11]
Fish & Fisheries [12]
People & Population [13]
Pollution [14]
Water & Oceans [15]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [18]
Source: Bay Journal [19], 07/22/2026
- Read more about Vibrio On The Rise As Climate Warms The Chesapeake Bay [9]
States, NYC Sue EPA For Relaxing Climate Rule Over Hydrofluorocarbons [20]

"The Trump administration was sued on Tuesday by 18 Democratic-led states, Washington, D.C. and New York City over a new ‌federal rule they say would harm the climate by giving companies more time to stop using dangerous hydrofluorocarbons in commercial refrigeration equipment."

Air [21]
Climate Change [10]
Infrastructure [22]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Pollution [14]
Technology [24]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: Reuters [25], 07/22/2026
- Read more about States, NYC Sue EPA For Relaxing Climate Rule Over Hydrofluorocarbons [20]
Wildfire Smoke Kills Tens Of Thousands Of People A Year. Here’s How. [26]

"Smoke from wildfires — which are burning more of the Northern Hemisphere as Earth warms — attacks nearly every system in the human body, killing tens of thousands of people a year, numerous medical studies show."

Air [21]
Chemicals [27]
Climate Change [10]
Environmental Health [11]
Forests [28]
Government [29]
People & Population [13]
Pollution [14]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
International [30]
Source: AP [31], 07/22/2026
- Read more about Wildfire Smoke Kills Tens Of Thousands Of People A Year. Here’s How. [26]
Western Reservoirs That Supply California Fall To Record Low Levels [32]

"The Colorado River’s largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, have declined to their lowest combined levels on record.
Researchers say the new low underscores the urgent need to cut water use in the seven states that depend on the river."

Agriculture [33]
Climate Change [10]
Consumer [34]
Environmental Health [11]
Environmental Politics [35]
People & Population [13]
Planning & Growth [36]
Technology [24]
Water & Oceans [15]
Public [16]
California [37]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [38]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [39]
Source: Los Angeles Times [40], 07/22/2026
- Read more about Western Reservoirs That Supply California Fall To Record Low Levels [32]
Conservation Bringing Back Oystercatchers, Sharp-Billed R.I. Shorebird [41]

"On a pristine Rhode Island beach teeming with noisy seabirds, a group of biologists armed with nets sneak up on a pair of American oystercatcher chicks."

Biodiversity [42]
Environmental Politics [35]
Fish & Fisheries [12]
Water & Oceans [15]
Wildlife [43]
Public [16]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [44]
Source: AP [45], 07/22/2026
- Read more about Conservation Bringing Back Oystercatchers, Sharp-Billed R.I. Shorebird [41]
Trump Attacks Top US Scientific Body Over Climate Chapter in Manual [46]

"The president joined Republican officials who slammed the National Academies of Sciences for a chapter about climate science in an educational guide for judges."

Climate Change [10]
Conflict/Corruption [47]
Energy & Fuel [48]
Environmental Health [11]
Environmental Politics [35]
Pollution [14]
Science [49]
Transportation [50]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
International [30]
Source: New York Times [51], 07/21/2026
- Read more about Trump Attacks Top US Scientific Body Over Climate Chapter in Manual [46]
Trump Panel Seeks To Weaken Historic-Preservation Reviews Of Projects [52]

"The Trump administration is seeking to loosen federal rules intended to protect historic sites, alarming outside groups who say the changes would allow government agencies and developers to pursue major projects — such as President Donald Trump’s planned triumphal arch — without soliciting public input."

Environmental Politics [35]
Environmental Studies [53]
Infrastructure [22]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Natural Resources [54]
People & Population [13]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: Washington Post [55], 07/21/2026
- Read more about Trump Panel Seeks To Weaken Historic-Preservation Reviews Of Projects [52]
"‘A Better Way To Be Relevant’: Greens Embrace Data Center Fight" [56]

"The nation’s biggest green groups have joined the fray over data centers — and they’re starting to notch some victories after 18 months of stinging environmental setbacks under the Trump administration."

Activism [57]
Climate Change [10]
Consumer [34]
Energy & Fuel [48]
Environmental Health [11]
Environmental Politics [35]
Infrastructure [22]
Laws & Regulations [23]
People & Population [13]
Planning & Growth [36]
Pollution [14]
Technology [24]
Water & Oceans [15]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: E&E News [58], 07/21/2026
- Read more about "‘A Better Way To Be Relevant’: Greens Embrace Data Center Fight" [56]
Industry Helps Keep Louisiana Communities In The Dark On Toxic Air [59]

"The state’s air monitors are often miles from its biggest polluters and residents have little way of knowing what they’re breathing. That’s no accident."

Chemicals [27]
Environmental Health [11]
Environmental Justice [60]
Environmental Politics [35]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Pollution [14]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [61]
Source: Floodlight [62], 07/21/2026
- Read more about Industry Helps Keep Louisiana Communities In The Dark On Toxic Air [59]
Cancer Is Bipartisan: Poisoned Water Is Turning This Rural State Bluer [63]

"Democrats see an opening in rural states for the first time in decades. In Iowa, it’s about water."

Agriculture [33]
Chemicals [27]
Environmental Health [11]
Environmental Politics [35]
Food [64]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Pollution [14]
Water & Oceans [15]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: Politico [65], 07/21/2026
- Read more about Cancer Is Bipartisan: Poisoned Water Is Turning This Rural State Bluer [63]
"EPA Rollback Could Bring Dirtier Air to Black Communities" [66]

"Research shows Black neighborhoods bear the brunt of diesel pollution. New EPA changes could make that burden worse."
For decades, highways and industrial corridors have exposed Black communities to disproportionate levels of diesel pollution. As the Trump administration eases clean truck standards, environmental advocates warn those neighborhoods could once again pay the highest price."

Chemicals [27]
Consumer [34]
Environmental Health [11]
Environmental Justice [60]
Environmental Politics [35]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Pollution [14]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: Word in Black [67], 07/21/2026
- Read more about "EPA Rollback Could Bring Dirtier Air to Black Communities" [66]
States Join Fight Against Trump Defense Dept. Wind Farm Blockade [68]

"A coalition of 18 states and Washington, D.C., has moved to join an industry lawsuit challenging the Department of Defense’s freeze on onshore wind projects in America."

Agriculture [33]
Climate Change [10]
Energy & Fuel [48]
Environmental Politics [35]
Infrastructure [22]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Military [69]
Technology [24]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: Canary Media [70], 07/21/2026
- Read more about States Join Fight Against Trump Defense Dept. Wind Farm Blockade [68]
BLM Plans To Open 2,800 Acres Of Ohio’s Wayne Natl. Forest To Fracking [71]

"The U.S. Bureau of Land Management scheduled a September 2026 lease sale for 2,800 acres of Wayne National Forest, a preserve long sought by the oil and gas industry. This could mean fracking Ohio’s only national forest for the first time."

Chemicals [27]
Energy & Fuel [48]
Environmental Politics [35]
Forests [28]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Natural Resources [54]
Pollution [14]
Technology [24]
Water & Oceans [15]
Public [16]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [72]
Source: Signal Ohio [73], 07/21/2026
- Read more about BLM Plans To Open 2,800 Acres Of Ohio’s Wayne Natl. Forest To Fracking [71]
California Restricts Utility Shutoffs As Dangerous Heat Spreads [74]

"California bars utilities from cutting off power to customers who fall behind on their bills when it’s dangerously hot outside – a basic safety protection. Losing power in some rural areas can also mean losing water, and in cities, having no way to cool down can be dangerous, even deadly, when hot weather spans several days."

Climate Change [10]
Disasters [75]
Energy & Fuel [48]
Environmental Health [11]
Environmental Justice [60]
Health [76]
Laws & Regulations [23]
People & Population [13]
Technology [24]
Public [16]
California [37]
Source: CalMatters [77], 07/21/2026
- Read more about California Restricts Utility Shutoffs As Dangerous Heat Spreads [74]
Veterinarians Press Congress To Preserve State Animal Welfare Laws [78]

"More than 700 US veterinarians are asking Congress to leave out an industry-backed provision from the Farm Bill that would preempt states from having stricter animal welfare laws than other states. The provision — often referred to as the “Save Our Bacon Act” — was included in the House draft Farm Bill released in May, but was omitted in the Senate draft released last month."

Agriculture [33]
Environmental Politics [35]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: The New Lede [79], 07/21/2026
- Read more about Veterinarians Press Congress To Preserve State Animal Welfare Laws [78]

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