EJToday: Top Headlines

"Big Oil Expresses Tepid Interest As Trump Seeks Deal On Venezuela" [9]

"Major oil firms expressed interest — with reservations — about doing business in Venezuela as President Trump said Friday he’s seeking a deal to decide which companies will drill in the Latin American nation."

Economy & Business [10]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Military [12]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
International [15]
Source: The Hill [16], 01/12/2026
- Read more about "Big Oil Expresses Tepid Interest As Trump Seeks Deal On Venezuela" [9]
Poor Areas Threatened By Aging Sewers See Crucial Aid Slashed Under Trump [17]

"Yvette Lyles thought of the modest brick ranch home as a Christmas present for her family. It was close to a state park where she and her kids could picnic, fish and enjoy the outdoors. A place to make memories. But she soon learned her southern Illinois community had a big problem: Recurring floods from heavy rains sent untreated sewage into streets, yards and homes where they buckled floors, cracked walls and destroyed belongings."

Consumer [18]
Disasters [19]
Environmental Health [20]
Environmental Justice [21]
Environmental Politics [22]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Pollution [24]
Water & Oceans [25]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
Source: AP [26], 01/12/2026
- Read more about Poor Areas Threatened By Aging Sewers See Crucial Aid Slashed Under Trump [17]
"‘Nightmare’ Fight in Coastal Big Oil Suits Reaches Supreme Court" [27]

"Six Louisiana coastal parishes sued Big Oil over the erosion of coastal wetlands a decade ago, but they’re still fighting over what court should hear the case."

Energy & Fuel [11]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Water & Oceans [25]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [28]
Source: Bloomberg Environment [29], 01/12/2026
- Read more about "‘Nightmare’ Fight in Coastal Big Oil Suits Reaches Supreme Court" [27]
"EPA Plans To Give 11 Coal Plants A Free Pass On Toxic Ash Disposal" [30]

"The Environmental Protection Agency plans to let 11 coal plants dump toxic coal ash into unlined pits until 2031 — a full decade later than allowed under current federal rules."

Chemicals [31]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [20]
Environmental Politics [22]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Pollution [24]
Waste [32]
Water & Oceans [25]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
Source: Canary Media [33], 01/12/2026
- Read more about "EPA Plans To Give 11 Coal Plants A Free Pass On Toxic Ash Disposal" [30]
Texas Enables Petrochemical Expansion as Experts Warn of Health Risks [34]

"Texas is responsible for more greenhouse-gas emissions than Saudi Arabia or the global maritime industry. Its oil, gas and petrochemical operations discharge tens of millions of pounds of toxic pollutants into the air each year, comprising almost one-fifth of such releases in the United States. It is the nation’s top emitter of the carcinogens benzene, ethylene oxide and 1,3-butadiene."

Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Justice [21]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Pollution [24]
Public [13]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [35]
Source: Public Health Watch [36], 01/12/2026
- Read more about Texas Enables Petrochemical Expansion as Experts Warn of Health Risks [34]
"How Community Solar Turned A Superfund Site Into Savings In Illinois" [37]

"A new 9.1-MW solar array will help residents of Waukegan, Illinois, reduce energy bills. State incentives for low-income solar made the project possible."

Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [20]
Environmental Justice [21]
Environmental Politics [22]
Infrastructure [38]
Pollution [24]
Waste [32]
Public [13]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [39]
Source: Canary Media [40], 01/12/2026
- Read more about "How Community Solar Turned A Superfund Site Into Savings In Illinois" [37]
"How Chevron Played The Long Game In Venezuela" [41]

"Chevron met with Trump and spent millions lobbying him to let it continue operating in Venezuela. Now it is uniquely positioned to profit from the country’s vast oil reserves."

Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Politics [22]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
South America [42]
Source: Grist [43], 01/12/2026
- Read more about "How Chevron Played The Long Game In Venezuela" [41]
"Meta Strikes Deals With Three Nuclear Energy Companies" [44]

"Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced deals Friday with three nuclear energy companies to help power its AI infrastructure, including the tech giant’s forthcoming Prometheus supercluster."

Climate Change [45]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [46]
Technology [47]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
Source: The Hill [48], 01/12/2026
- Read more about "Meta Strikes Deals With Three Nuclear Energy Companies" [44]
"Conservation Groups Say USFWS Cuts Will Put Wildlife At Risk" [49]

"The House passed a final spending bill on January 8 with deep cuts to the Department of the Interior. While the bill holds steady the budget for the National Park Service, it cuts the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s listing budget by 44 percent, bringing it to 2004 levels. The legislation will now head to the Senate where it is expected to pass."

Biodiversity [50]
Environmental Politics [22]
Environmental Studies [51]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Wildlife [52]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
Source: National Parks Traveler [53], 01/12/2026
- Read more about "Conservation Groups Say USFWS Cuts Will Put Wildlife At Risk" [49]
"The War Over a Weedkiller Might Be Headed to the Supreme Court" [54]

"The Supreme Court is poised to decide whether to take up a case involving weedkillers and cancer that could effectively curtail one of the largest waves of tort litigation in American history."

Agriculture [55]
Chemicals [31]
Environmental Health [20]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Pollution [24]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
Source: NYTimes [56], 01/12/2026
- Read more about "The War Over a Weedkiller Might Be Headed to the Supreme Court" [54]
"Trump Withdrawal From Bedrock UN Climate Treaty Raises Legal Questions" [57]

"The Trump administration's decision to withdraw the United States from the foundational U.N. climate treaty, which the U.S. Senate unanimously adopted more than 30 years ago, may be illegal, according to some legal experts who say that Congress would need to approve its exit."

Climate Change [45]
Environmental Politics [22]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
International [15]
Source: Reuters [58], 01/09/2026
- Read more about "Trump Withdrawal From Bedrock UN Climate Treaty Raises Legal Questions" [57]
Trump’s EPA Could Limit Its Own Ability to Strengthen Air Pollution Rules [59]

"In government records that have flown under the radar, the EPA is questioning its legal authority to revise pollution rules more than once when new science shows unacceptable health risks."

Air [60]
Chemicals [31]
Environmental Health [20]
Environmental Politics [22]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Pollution [24]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
Source: ProPublica [61], 01/09/2026
- Read more about Trump’s EPA Could Limit Its Own Ability to Strengthen Air Pollution Rules [59]
After White Town Rejected a Data Center, Developers Targeted a Black Area [62]

"Four million Americans live within 1 mile of a data center. The communities closest to them are 'overwhelmingly' non-white."

Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [20]
Environmental Justice [21]
Environmental Politics [22]
Infrastructure [38]
Laws & Regulations [23]
People & Population [63]
Pollution [24]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [28]
Source: Capital B [64], 01/09/2026
- Read more about After White Town Rejected a Data Center, Developers Targeted a Black Area [62]
"FEMA Staff Bracing for Dismissal of 1,000 Disaster Workers" [65]

"Federal Emergency Management Agency supervisors are advising their staff to prepare for the elimination of 1,000 jobs this month as part of changes that Kristi Noem, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, is overseeing at the agency, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions."

Climate Change [45]
Disasters [19]
Environmental Health [20]
Environmental Justice [21]
Environmental Politics [22]
Government [66]
Laws & Regulations [23]
People & Population [63]
Water & Oceans [25]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
Source: NYTimes [67], 01/09/2026
- Read more about "FEMA Staff Bracing for Dismissal of 1,000 Disaster Workers" [65]
"Here’s Why New EPA Rules On ‘Everywhere Chemicals’ Could Fall Short" [68]

"The Environmental Protection Agency has announced plans to regulate five types of phthalates, chemicals that are widely used in plastics and other common products."

Chemicals [31]
Consumer [18]
Environmental Health [20]
Environmental Politics [22]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Pollution [24]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
Source: Washington Post [69], 01/09/2026
- Read more about "Here’s Why New EPA Rules On ‘Everywhere Chemicals’ Could Fall Short" [68]

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