"An illegal gold rush has cleared 140,000 hectares of rainforest in the Peruvian Amazon and is accelerating as foreign, armed groups move into the region to profit from record gold prices, according to a report."

"The White House is offering “concierge, white glove service” to oil, coal and other fossil fuel companies that are seeking to gain fast approval for their projects, according to an energy official, while simultaneously slowing down or blocking solar and wind projects."

"The Senate has voted to confirm President Trump’s pick to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as part of a group of nominees confirmed en masse."

"A Navajo tribe-owned company bid $186,000 to lease 167 million tons of coal on federal lands in southeastern Montana on Monday in the biggest U.S. coal sale in more than a decade. The offer from the Navajo Transitional Energy Co. (NTEC) equates to one-tenth of a penny per ton, underscoring coal’s diminished value even as President Donald Trump pushes to mine and burn more of the heavily polluting fuel."

"Worldwide solar and wind power generation has outpaced electricity demand this year, and for the first time on record, renewable energies combined generated more power than coal, according to a new analysis."

"Public health advocates pushed back when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it planned to delay for two years a requirement that steel companies monitor air quality at the perimeters of their 11 coke plants in Western Pennsylvania and across the country. Two groups sued. Now, the EPA has reversed course."

"OPEC+ oil-producing countries opted for only a modest rise to November output due to concerns about a potential global glut, sources within the group said, as non-OPEC supply also rises while fuel demand growth slows."

"Several groups and nonprofit organizations filed a lawsuit Monday against the Environmental Protection Agency over the canceling of a $7 billion Solar for All program intended to make solar power accessible to more than 900,000 lower-income Americans."

"Exxon Mobil will postpone its plans for a large new plastics production plant on the Gulf Coast of Texas, according to the company. Construction was initially planned to begin next year on the $10 billion facility in rural Calhoun County."

"Three years after noticing discoloration and odors in their wells, residents in New Freeport are still fighting for clean water."