EJToday: Top Headlines

Published on SEJ (https://www.sej.org)

EJToday is a daily weekday digest of top environment/energy news and information of interest to environmental journalists, independently curated by Editor Joseph A. Davis [1]. Sign up below to receive in your inbox. For queries, email EJToday@SEJ.org [2]. For more info, read an EJToday FAQ [3]. Plus, follow EJToday on social media at @EJTodayNews [4], and flag stories of note by including the @EJTodayNews handle on your posts. And tell us how to make EJToday even better by taking this brief survey [5].

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How Trump Is Trying to Crush California’s Environmental Policies [9]

"The Trump administration has taken a series of extraordinary steps to attack California’s position as a national leader in environmental protection, enlisting at least a half-dozen federal agencies to undermine the state’s efforts to pivot away from fossil fuels."

Climate Change [10]
Conflict/Corruption [11]
Economy & Business [12]
Energy & Fuel [13]
Environmental Health [14]
Environmental Politics [15]
Government [16]
Laws & Regulations [17]
Pollution [18]
Transportation [19]
Public [20]
National (U.S.) [21]
California [22]
Source: New York Times [23], 08/21/2026
- Read more about How Trump Is Trying to Crush California’s Environmental Policies [9]
Trump Lifts Summer Gasoline Restrictions Early As Prices Remain Stubborn [24]

"The Trump administration is ending summertime smog restrictions on gasoline early this year in a bid to offer relief for high prices at the pump."

Chemicals [25]
Consumer [26]
Energy & Fuel [13]
Environmental Health [14]
Environmental Politics [15]
Government [16]
Laws & Regulations [17]
People & Population [27]
Pollution [18]
Transportation [19]
Public [20]
National (U.S.) [21]
Source: The Hill [28], 08/21/2026
- Read more about Trump Lifts Summer Gasoline Restrictions Early As Prices Remain Stubborn [24]
Japan's Farmers Go Nocturnal As Deadly Heat Intensifies [29]

"Long after sunset, Motoaki Iijima’s illuminated greenhouse north of Tokyo glows like a lantern as the flower farmer harvests pink and orange gerberas, avoiding a daytime sun fierce enough to be deadly."

Agriculture [30]
Climate Change [10]
Economy & Business [12]
Environmental Health [14]
People & Population [27]
Public [20]
Asia [31]
Source: Reuters [32], 08/21/2026
- Read more about Japan's Farmers Go Nocturnal As Deadly Heat Intensifies [29]
A Pizza-Sized Ocean Predator And A Tribe Are Trying To Protect Each Other [33]

"On a spring morning so blustery that the National Weather Service issued a small craft advisory, a Samish Indian Nation research boat, called the Chinook (Yómech), set out from Anacortes, Washington, just east of the San Juan Islands."

Activism [34]
Biodiversity [35]
Environmental Justice [36]
Fish & Fisheries [37]
People & Population [27]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [38]
Water & Oceans [39]
Public [20]
Northwest (OR WA) [40]
Source: NPR [41], 08/21/2026
- Read more about A Pizza-Sized Ocean Predator And A Tribe Are Trying To Protect Each Other [33]
12 Picks For Your Last Book Of The Summer [42]

"August though it is, there’s still at least one good book left of summer. So this month’s post offers 12 possible choices for your final summer read: six non-fiction and six fiction."

Journalism & Media [43]
Public [20]
National (U.S.) [21]
International [44]
Source: Yale Climate Connections [45], 08/21/2026
- Read more about 12 Picks For Your Last Book Of The Summer [42]
Enviros Sue Over Trump Push For Deep-Sea Mining Around American Samoa [46]

"A legal environmental group sued the U.S. government on Tuesday to halt the Trump administration’s plans announced last month to auction off sections of water surrounding American Samoa for potential deep-sea mining."

Activism [34]
Biodiversity [35]
Climate Change [10]
Economy & Business [12]
Energy & Fuel [13]
Environmental Politics [15]
Environmental Studies [47]
Fish & Fisheries [37]
Government [16]
Infrastructure [48]
Laws & Regulations [17]
Pollution [18]
Technology [49]
Water & Oceans [39]
Public [20]
National (U.S.) [21]
International [44]
Australia & Oceania [50]
Source: AP [51], 08/20/2026
- Read more about Enviros Sue Over Trump Push For Deep-Sea Mining Around American Samoa [46]
Data Centers Could Use More Power Than All Alabama Homes. Who Will Pay? [52]

"Alabama Power has guaranteed that residents’ power bills won’t increase as a result. Can the state’s largest utility keep its promise?"

Climate Change [10]
Consumer [26]
Economy & Business [12]
Energy & Fuel [13]
Environmental Health [14]
Environmental Justice [36]
Environmental Politics [15]
Infrastructure [48]
Laws & Regulations [17]
Public [20]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [53]
Source: Inside Climate News [54], 08/20/2026
- Read more about Data Centers Could Use More Power Than All Alabama Homes. Who Will Pay? [52]
As Seas Rise, Scientists Race to Save Coastal Marshes From Drowning [55]

"A majority of coastal wetlands are on track to shift inland or disappear in the coming decades without intervention. That will have major consequences."

Agriculture [30]
Biodiversity [35]
Climate Change [10]
Economy & Business [12]
Energy & Fuel [13]
Environmental Health [14]
Environmental Politics [15]
Fish & Fisheries [37]
Food [56]
Infrastructure [48]
Laws & Regulations [17]
Natural Resources [57]
People & Population [27]
Science [58]
Water & Oceans [39]
Wildlife [59]
Public [20]
National (U.S.) [21]
Canada [60]
Mexico [61]
Source: Inside Climate News [62], 08/20/2026
- Read more about As Seas Rise, Scientists Race to Save Coastal Marshes From Drowning [55]
Court Upholds EPA Rule Forcing Polluters To Pay For PFAS Pollution [63]

"An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule putting polluters on the hook to clean up toxic “forever chemicals” was upheld in court on Tuesday despite an industry challenge."

Chemicals [25]
Consumer [26]
Disasters [64]
Environmental Health [14]
Environmental Politics [15]
Food [56]
Laws & Regulations [17]
Pollution [18]
Water & Oceans [39]
Public [20]
National (U.S.) [21]
Source: The Hill [65], 08/20/2026
- Read more about Court Upholds EPA Rule Forcing Polluters To Pay For PFAS Pollution [63]
4 In 10 Americans Say Extreme Weather Damaged Their Towns In Past Year [66]

"Nearly 4 in 10 Americans say their communities were damaged by extreme weather events over the past year, according to a new survey released Tuesday."

Biodiversity [35]
Climate Change [10]
Disasters [64]
Environmental Health [14]
Environmental Justice [36]
Environmental Politics [15]
Food [56]
Government [16]
Health [67]
Infrastructure [48]
Laws & Regulations [17]
People & Population [27]
Water & Oceans [39]
Public [20]
National (U.S.) [21]
Source: The Hill [68], 08/20/2026
- Read more about 4 In 10 Americans Say Extreme Weather Damaged Their Towns In Past Year [66]
Sage Geosystems Brings Its First Next-Gen Geothermal Plant Online [69]

"It’s only the third such project to hook up to the U.S. grid. It comes as surging electricity demand drives interest in the source of around-the-clock clean power."

Climate Change [10]
Consumer [26]
Energy & Fuel [13]
Environmental Health [14]
Infrastructure [48]
Natural Resources [57]
Technology [49]
Water & Oceans [39]
Public [20]
National (U.S.) [21]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [70]
Source: Canary Media [71], 08/20/2026
- Read more about Sage Geosystems Brings Its First Next-Gen Geothermal Plant Online [69]
North Carolina Poultry Industry Grows As Manure Oversight Lags: Report [72]

"North Carolina’s poultry industry continues to add more birds to already highly concentrated barns, generating millions of tons of manure that is largely unregulated by the state, according to a new report."

Agriculture [30]
Environmental Health [14]
Environmental Justice [36]
Environmental Politics [15]
Government [16]
Laws & Regulations [17]
People & Population [27]
Pollution [18]
Waste [73]
Water & Oceans [39]
Public [20]
National (U.S.) [21]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [53]
Source: The New Lede [74], 08/20/2026
- Read more about North Carolina Poultry Industry Grows As Manure Oversight Lags: Report [72]
Musk Posted, And She Lost Her FEMA Job. Now, She Seeks To Clear Her Name. [75]

"A senior Federal Emergency Management Agency official fired early last year is seeking to clear her name after Elon Musk blamed her for allowing payments to New York City to house immigrants, which she said was approved by a U.S. DOGE Service aide."

Climate Change [10]
Disasters [64]
Environmental Health [14]
Environmental Politics [15]
Government [16]
Laws & Regulations [17]
People & Population [27]
Public [20]
National (U.S.) [21]
Source: Washington Post [76], 08/20/2026
- Read more about Musk Posted, And She Lost Her FEMA Job. Now, She Seeks To Clear Her Name. [75]
US To Send Hospital Ship To Peru As El Nino Threat Looms [77]

"The United States will send a military hospital ship to Peru’s Pacific coast next year to help Peru cope with the effects of the El Nino climate phenomenon as part of a broader collaboration with the South American country, U.S. Ambassador to Peru Bernie Navarro announced Wednesday."

Climate Change [10]
Environmental Health [14]
Fish & Fisheries [37]
Food [56]
Health [67]
People & Population [27]
Water & Oceans [39]
Public [20]
South America [78]
Source: AP [79], 08/20/2026
- Read more about US To Send Hospital Ship To Peru As El Nino Threat Looms [77]
Florida Jellyfish Museum All About The Mesmerizing Floating Predators [80]

"The floating tentacled predators pulse and swirl in hypnotic patterns in the dark museum space, lit primarily by images projected on the walls and the glowing light from the saltwater tanks."

Biodiversity [35]
Diversity [81]
Economy & Business [12]
Journalism & Media [43]
Natural Resources [57]
Science [58]
Water & Oceans [39]
Wildlife [59]
Public [20]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [53]
Source: AP [82], 08/20/2026
- Read more about Florida Jellyfish Museum All About The Mesmerizing Floating Predators [80]

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Source URL:https://www.sej.org/headlines/list/%2A/206?page=1

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