EJToday: Top Headlines

FEMA Staffing Shortages Could Hinder Disaster Recovery Efforts, GAO Says [9]

"The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s past recovery efforts have been impeded by staffing shortages, and officials are facing an ongoing hurricane season with even fewer employees, according to a Government Accountability Office report released on Tuesday."

Climate Change [10]
Disasters [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Government [15]
People & Population [16]
Water & Oceans [17]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Source: Government Executive [20], 09/04/2025
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"Republicans Secure Massive Water, Environment Earmarks" [21]

"GOP lawmakers could nab hundreds of millions of dollars for major water projects if fiscal 2026 spending bills become law."

Economy & Business [22]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Politics [14]
Infrastructure [24]
Laws & Regulations [25]
Transportation [26]
Water & Oceans [17]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Source: E&E News [27], 09/04/2025
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Washington, D.C.: "The View From The Militarized Zone" [28]

"Bobbi Stevenson Bauer loves her flowers. The Arlington, Virginia, resident often travels to downtown Washington, D.C., to visit the Enid A. Haupt Garden at the Smithsonian and the U.S. Botanic Garden, two of the many tourist destinations that are situated along the National Mall. ... “I haven’t seen it this empty since Covid,” she reported during a recent visit."

Economy & Business [22]
Environmental Politics [14]
Government [15]
Infrastructure [24]
Laws & Regulations [25]
Military [29]
Natural Resources [30]
People & Population [16]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [31]
Source: National Parks Traveler [32], 09/04/2025
- Read more about Washington, D.C.: "The View From The Militarized Zone" [28]
Despite Trump's Brags, New Data Shows Massive Emissions From Texas Wells [33]

"Hakim Dermish moved to the small South Texas town of Catarina in 2002 in search of a rural lifestyle on a budget. The property where he lived with his wife didn’t have electricity or sewer lines at first, but that didn’t bother him."

Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
People & Population [16]
Pollution [34]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [35]
Source: ICN/ProPublica [36], 09/04/2025
- Read more about Despite Trump's Brags, New Data Shows Massive Emissions From Texas Wells [33]
Explosion at La. Oil Plant Leaves Black Community Coated in Toxic Fallout [37]

"As oily rain fell on Roseland, where 90% of kids live in poverty, the Trump administration is considering gutting chemical-disaster safeguards."

Chemicals [38]
Disasters [11]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [13]
Laws & Regulations [25]
People & Population [16]
Pollution [34]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [39]
Source: Capital B [40], 09/04/2025
- Read more about Explosion at La. Oil Plant Leaves Black Community Coated in Toxic Fallout [37]
"How Mass Emails Eroded Support For A North Carolina Pipeline" [41]

"Williams Cos. went online to seek local backing for its Transco expansion project, but the effort may have backfired."

Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Politics [14]
Infrastructure [24]
Journalism & Media [42]
Laws & Regulations [25]
Pollution [34]
Transportation [26]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [39]
Source: E&E News [43], 09/04/2025
- Read more about "How Mass Emails Eroded Support For A North Carolina Pipeline" [41]
"Dem NRC Members Warn They Could Be Fired Over Safety Decisions" [44]

"Democratic members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission told lawmakers Wednesday that it’s a possibility they could be fired by President Donald Trump at any moment for their regulatory decisions, while questioning recent White House executive orders to accelerate reactor design approvals."

Disasters [11]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Politics [14]
Infrastructure [24]
Laws & Regulations [25]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [45]
Technology [46]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Source: E&E News [47], 09/04/2025
- Read more about "Dem NRC Members Warn They Could Be Fired Over Safety Decisions" [44]
"Scientists May Have Identified a Culprit Behind Declining Amazon Rains" [48]

"For decades, the dry season in the Amazon rainforest has been getting drier. A new study, published on Tuesday, found that about 75 percent of the decrease in rainfall is directly linked to deforestation."

Biodiversity [49]
Climate Change [10]
Disasters [11]
Forests [50]
Natural Resources [30]
Water & Oceans [17]
Public [18]
South America [51]
Source: NYTimes [52], 09/04/2025
- Read more about "Scientists May Have Identified a Culprit Behind Declining Amazon Rains" [48]
"Wildfire Retardants Help Stop Fires — But Also Impact Ecosystems" [53]

"In the rush to put out wildfires, hundreds of millions of litres of fire retardant are dropped on forests across North America. New research shows the effects they can have on water and ecosystems — especially when accidents happen"

Biodiversity [49]
Chemicals [38]
Climate Change [10]
Disasters [11]
Fish & Fisheries [54]
Forests [50]
Natural Resources [30]
Pollution [34]
Technology [46]
Water & Oceans [17]
Wildlife [55]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
International [56]
Canada [57]
Source: The Narwhal [58], 09/04/2025
- Read more about "Wildfire Retardants Help Stop Fires — But Also Impact Ecosystems" [53]
"Dozens of Scientists Call DOE Climate Report ‘Fundamentally Incorrect’" [59]

"More than 85 climate scientists declared the Department of Energy’s new climate report unfit for policymaking in a comprehensive review released Tuesday. The DOE’s report cherry-picked evidence, lacked peer-reviewed studies to support its questioning of the detrimental effects of climate change in the U.S. and is “fundamentally incorrect,” the authors concluded."

Climate Change [10]
Environmental Politics [14]
Science [60]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Source: Inside Climate News [61], 09/03/2025
- Read more about "Dozens of Scientists Call DOE Climate Report ‘Fundamentally Incorrect’" [59]
"Prominent Critic Of RFK Jr. Blocked From FDA Vaccine Committee" [62]

"Paul Offit, a pediatrician who has sparred with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over childhood vaccination, has been blocked from participating in a vaccine advisory committee for the Food and Drug Administration."

Environmental Health [12]
Health [63]
Laws & Regulations [25]
Science [60]
Technology [46]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Source: Washington Post [64], 09/03/2025
- Read more about "Prominent Critic Of RFK Jr. Blocked From FDA Vaccine Committee" [62]
"Judges Say EPA Can Take Back Billions In Climate Grants" [65]

"A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that EPA can terminate $20 billion in climate grants that was awarded to nonprofit groups last year."

Climate Change [10]
Energy & Fuel [23]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Laws & Regulations [25]
People & Population [16]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Source: E&E News [66], 09/03/2025
- Read more about "Judges Say EPA Can Take Back Billions In Climate Grants" [65]
"EPA Plans To Dramatically Reduce Wetland Protection" [67]

"The Trump administration will soon propose a new Clean Water Act rule that could eliminate federal protections for many wetlands across the U.S., according to an internal EPA presentation obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News."

Agriculture [68]
Biodiversity [49]
Environmental Politics [14]
Environmental Studies [69]
Fish & Fisheries [54]
Laws & Regulations [25]
Natural Resources [30]
Pollution [34]
Water & Oceans [17]
Wildlife [55]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Source: E&E News [70], 09/03/2025
- Read more about "EPA Plans To Dramatically Reduce Wetland Protection" [67]
Chinese Mining Company Accused Of Covering Up Major Toxic Spill In Zambia [71]

"A Chinese-owned mining company has been accused of covering up the extent of a disastrous toxic spill in Zambia that polluted a major river that millions rely on with cyanide and arsenic."

Chemicals [38]
Disasters [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Natural Resources [30]
People & Population [16]
Pollution [34]
Water & Oceans [17]
Public [18]
Africa [72]
Asia [73]
Source: AP [74], 09/03/2025
- Read more about Chinese Mining Company Accused Of Covering Up Major Toxic Spill In Zambia [71]
Weather Service Union Sues Trump Over Order Ending Collective Bargaining [75]

"Unions representing employees of the National Weather Service and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office sued President Trump on Tuesday over an executive order that sought to end employee rights to collectively bargain with the government."

Climate Change [10]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Government [15]
Laws & Regulations [25]
Public [18]
National (U.S.) [19]
Source: The Hill [76], 09/03/2025
- Read more about Weather Service Union Sues Trump Over Order Ending Collective Bargaining [75]

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