"A last-minute add to the Republican tax, energy and national security megabill mandating the sale of public lands threatens to fracture GOP support for the sweeping measure, presenting Speaker Mike Johnson a new hurdle as he races to assuage his party on multiple fronts."

"For the first time, scientists have mapped groundwater variables nationally to understand which aquifers are most vulnerable to contamination from orphan wells." "A new study from the U.S. Geological Survey finds that groundwater in Appalachia, the Gulf Coast and California is susceptible to contamination from orphaned oil and gas wells."

"In DePue, Ill., sewage will keep backing up into people's basements when there's heavy rain. In Rising Sun, Md., a mobile home park that has already flooded six times will remain in harm's way. And in Kamiah, Idaho, houses won't get upgrades that would protect them from wildfires"

"A boom in avocado production in Mexico has led to illegal deforestation and an influx of drug cartels dominating the lucrative trade. But Indigenous communities have fought back against the gangs and turned to traditional practices to grow avocados and save their forests."

"Federal workers who once held energy and environment positions protecting national parks and public health or trying to bolster the electric grid to avoid disasters are heading for the exit as President Donald Trump’s campaign to shrink the government accelerates."

"In California's water-stressed Central Valley, farmers are fallowing land and installing solar, providing financial stability and saving water."

"House Republicans passed a measure Thursday that would repeal the government’s decision to place California’s longfin smelt, a finger-sized fish, on the endangered species list."

"Farm groups were cheering moves announced this week by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will alter endangered species protections to allow for easier use of certain pesticides in agriculture."

"Proponents of regenerative farming say the practice can mitigate harmful climate change, reduce water pollution, and make foods more nutritious as farmers focus on improving the health of soil, water, and ecosystems." "But all that momentum comes with a dirty dark side, according to a new report that highlights  what is becoming an increasingly contentious debate over the merits of regenerative agriculture."