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Page Updated:
Oct. 25, 2026

 
  • • House Select Committee
    on the Climate Crisis
    Climate Change: The Science
    is In -We Know the Cause

    The U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis is charged with delivering ambitious climate policy recommendations to Congress, in order to achieve substantial and permanent reductions in pollution and other activities that contribute to the climate crisis.

    The select committee was authorized by House Resolution 6 on January 9, 2019, and will publish a set of public policy recommendations for congressional climate action by March 31, 2020.

    Its members include experts in environmental justice, coastal flooding, clean energy development and other issues that are vital for addressing the climate crisis.

    Click now for their website.

  • • Memorable Presidential
    Environmental Quotes
    Six Memorable Presidential
    Environmental Quotes

    Presidents, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson and Barack Obama had something to say

    Some didn't always follow up on those quotes.

    Click now to read the article
    From the Earth Matters News.
  • • Political Scorecard
    How Did Congress Do in 2022

    Mar. 6, 2023, (League pf Conservation Voters) -The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) provides maps showing how both the Senate and House voted on environmental issues (LCV)

    It's not quite time to celebrate.





Environmental (or Anti-Environmental)
Politics News Stories in the Past Several Months

(Latest Dates First)

  • • A Warming Climate Is All Over Alaska’s Senate Race
    The Candidates Hardly Mention It

    ICN

    Oct. 23, 2026 -If you listen to the candidates running for the U.S. Senate seat in Alaska, some of the biggest issues in the race revolve around the state’s fisheries, its oil and gas development and soaring prices for fuel and other staples.

    Left largely unsaid, however, is that climate change is playing a role in at least two of these issues. Warming waters are affecting the state’s fish, including declining salmon runs. Concerns for climate change are a chief cause of opposition to expanded oil and gas development in the Alaskan Arctic, where rapid warming is melting permafrost, damaging infrastructure and altering animal migrations that many Alaska Natives rely on for subsistence.

  • • Big Oil and Clean Energy Join Forces
    In Bid to Boost Permitting Bill
    The Two Energy Sectors Have Now Converged On a Shared Goal...

    {POLITICOPRO}

    Oct. 22, 2026 -An influential pair of strange bedfellows is joining forces in the effort to push energy permitting reform legislation over the finish line before the end of the year: the oil and clean energy industries.

    The two energy sectors, opposed in past fights over climate change policy and federal subsidies, have now converged on a shared goal: helping get a long-gestating permitting reform bill to President Donald Trump’s desk in the lame-duck session of Congress, despite worsening political headwinds. The bill would clear bureaucratic obstacles to solar projects, gas pipelines and transmission lines alike.

  • • Democrat Breaks Away On Pipelines
    Meet the Lonely Northeastern Democrat Who’s Not Shifting Her Fossil Fuel Stance to Appease Angry Voters

    {POLITICO}

    Oct. 22, 2026 -Democrats are reconsidering their opposition to fossil fuel projects as they race to appease voter anger over energy prices ahead of next month’s elections.

    Helena Buonanno Foulkes is an exception.

    The front-runner in Rhode Island’s governors race doubled down on her opposition to expanding a natural gas pipeline in an exclusive interview with Surge.

  • • Red States Are Leading the Clean Energy Charge
    But Nationwide, Gas is On the Rebound

    {energy central}

    Oct. 21, 2026 -In case you didn’t know, some red states are going green: Republican-led states hold eight of the top 10 spots for new solar installations, according to an SEIA report published last month.

    It’s not just solar. The vast majority (76%) of existing, planned, and under construction clean power capacity sits in Republican congressional districts (with Texas leading the way).

  • • US Extreme Weather Survivors Are a Growing Group
    Now They Want to Be a Political Force

    TGL

    Oct. 21, 2026 -At a gathering in Texas, near where floods killed 136 people last year, survivors are united on the need for urgent action.

    It may be a club none of its members actually want to be in, but the growing number of people in the US affected by extreme weather disasters are starting to organize into a political force.

  • • Data Center Real Estate is Getting Hard to Find
    Where Data Centers End Up is Evolving As Political Backlash Grows

    {POLITICO}

    Oct. 21, 2026 -They say real estate is all about location, location, location. The prime spots for the construction of data centers are getting sparser, sparser, sparser.

    For most of the digital age, a data center site was chosen primarily for its proximity to customers and speedy internet service, along with tax incentives, local building policies and the affordability of power. That’s why northern Virginia became the world’s dominant data center hub in the last two decades: nearby clients in the federal government, major internet cables crossing the Atlantic Ocean, favorable zoning, a 2018 state tax exemption and relatively cheap electricity prices.

  • • In a Thirsty Swing State, ‘Panic’
    Over Water Shapes the Election
    Candidates in Arizona Are Talking About Water Like Never Before As the State Stares Down Drought and Colorado River Cuts

    WAPO

    Oct. 18, 2026 - As the campaign team for Arizona’s attorney general crafted a recent attack ad denouncing her opponent’s “extreme record,” they weighed two options.

    They could zero in on their Republican opponent’s stance on abortion — one of Democrats’ strongest and most impassioned issues in recent election cycles. Or they could hit him on water policy, a perennial snooze-inducer.

    They went with water.

  • • ‘Pitchfork Populism’ Over Data Centers
    Rattles Ohio’s U.S. Senate Race
    The Issue, Which Barely Registered With Candidates Last Year, Looms Large in a Race That Could Determine Control of Congress

    ICN

    Oct. 19, 2026 -A proposal for a large data center has upended politics in this Republican-leaning suburb of Columbus.

    That could spell trouble for U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, a longtime fixture in state Republican politics who was appointed to his seat in 2025 after former Sen. J.D. Vance became vice president. Husted is running against Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who served three terms in the Senate before losing his seat two years ago.

  • • Climate Races to Watch This November
    These Seven Elections Could Change State Energy Policy

    {HEATTMAP}

    Oct. 16, 2026 -No matter how well Democrats do in the House and Senate in November, it’s unlikely to mean anything new on climate policy in Washington, D.C., for as long as Donald Trump remains in the White House.

    That is not true when it comes to the other elections this year.

    Several states are on the verge of a possible Democratic trifecta, meaning unified control of both chambers of the state legislature and the governor’s mansion.

  • • Burnham Delays Crucial North Sea Drilling Decision
    Zack Polanski Accuses Labour of ‘Running Scared’ Ahead of By-Election In Starmer’s Old Seat

    {The Telegraph}

    Oct. 11, 2026 -Andy Burnham is expected to delay approving plans for the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea until after a crucial by-election battle between Labour and the Green Party.

    The major project had been expected to be approved as soon as Tuesday, but Whitehall sources suggested that late autumn was the earliest likely date.

  • • Clean Energy Super PACs Have a Message
    For Anti-Renewable Candidates:
    You're On the Hot Seat

    {energy central}

    Oct. 5, 2026 -New political groups are helping the renewable industry pack more punch, particularly at the state and local levels. But can they succeed amid federal opposition to clean tech?

    Renewables bite back: Recently formed super PACs are taking a tougher line with politicians—one that clean energy advocates historically haven’t touched: If you come after renewables, we’ll spend millions to unseat you.

  • • Senate Energy Bill Would Fine Any President
    Who Blocks a Whole Class of Energy Projects
    A Bipartisan Senate Energy Bill Would Bar Any Administration From Blocking Permits For an Entire Class of Energy Projects, Such As Solar Or Wind

    {DAILY CALLER}

    Oct. 3, 2026 -The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act would bar any administration from stalling or denying permits for an entire category of energy projects, according to a fact sheet from its sponsor Democratic New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich’s office.

    That means no administration could block all solar, wind or other classes of energy project permits “without facing legal action and fines,” the fact sheet says.

  • • State Elections and the Climate
    Screwworm Will Not Be a National Infestation, USDA Sec. Rollins Says

    {living on earth}

    Oct. 2, 2026 - The races getting most of the media attention in this busy midterm election season are the ones that could determine which party controls the US House and Senate. And in the middle of the second Trump presidency, it is hard to understate just how consequential those elections could be for environmental and climate protection. But the often-overlooked elections for state legislatures and governors can also go a long way towards shaping the future of these issues.

  • • 21 States Sue EPA to Reinstate Climate
    Pollution Rules for Power Plants
    Democrat-Led States and Cities Argue That the Rollback Harms Public Health and the Environment

    ICN

    Oct. 2, 2026 -More than 20 states, including North Carolina, New York, California and Pennsylvania, as well as several cities, are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its repeal of most greenhouse gas emissions standards for coal- and natural gas-fired power plants. The agency’s proposal would also thwart future administrations from reinstating the rule.

    The state attorneys general, all of them Democrats, filed the lawsuit Oct. 1 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The plaintiffs are asking the court to review the proposed rescission.

  • • Exasperated by Delays, Congress Aims
    to Speed Up Energy Permits
    Republican and Democratic Senators Struck a Deal to Vote On the Largest Overhaul of Federal Energy and Environmental Rules In Decades

    NYT

    Sept. 30, 2026 -In a sign that both Republicans and Democrats are fed up with how hard it is to build power plants, transmission lines and other energy projects in the United States, lawmakers on Wednesday announced a bipartisan deal to vote on the largest overhaul of federal permitting rules since the 1970s.

  • • Fed Up With Brazil’s Politicians Not Listening,
    a Climate Scientist Runs For Office
    Luciana Gatti, Who Studies Carbon Uptake In the Amazon, Aims to Join Brazil’s Lower House In This Weekend’s Elections

    {Science}

    Sept. 28, 2026 -One Saturday morning in late August, 100 or so women in white T-shirts demonstrate for women’s rights in a park in São José dos Campos, Brazil. They march under tall trees, a tiny remnant of the Atlantic Forest, the decimated biome that once carpeted a wide band along Brazil’s ocean coastline. It’s winter in Brazil, but Luciana Gatti is sweating. She says El Niño is causing the unseasonably sultry weather.

    Gatti, a climate scientist at the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), is here to ask the protesters for their votes. She’s on the ballot in Brazil’s 4 October elections, campaigning for a São Paulo seat in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the country’s National Congress.

  • • In a Hard-Fought New York House Race,
    the Environment Is on the Ballot
    Where the Candidates Stand On the Environmental Issues Defining the District

    ICN

    Sept. 17, 2026 -The Hudson River bisects New York’s 17th Congressional District, with basalt bluffs lining its western bank 40 miles north of New York City.

    The district, which includes Putnam and Rockland counties, as well as parts of Dutchess and Westchester, boasts acres of protected parkland. Its lakes and reservoirs feed the Croton Watershed, a significant source of New York City’s drinking water.

  • • House Votes to Block California’s Clean Ship Rules
    The Move Continues Republican Efforts to Undercut the State’s Climate Rules, But...

    NYT

    Sept.16, 2026 -The House voted late Tuesday evening to block California from setting strict limits on harmful air pollution from ships docked at state ports.

    The 216-211 vote was the latest salvo by Republicans against the state’s pioneering environmental policies. President Trump and his allies in Congress already barred California last year from imposing its landmark ban on sales of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.

  • • There’s One Issue Where Republicans and
    Democrats Are Unified Before the Midterms
    This, According to a New Poll

    AP Logo

    Sept.14, 2026 -On the way home from a recent trip, Eriech Tapia drove past a sea of dark industrial buildings lining an already jam-packed northern Virginia road: data centers.

    “It was interesting to see how many were going up,” said Tapia, a 30-year-old Republican from Arlington, Virginia, who works in higher education advocacy and policy. He said the data centers lend valuable computing power that can help keep the U.S. competitive with other nations, but he also worries about how much electricity they use.

  • • Another Clean Energy Super PAC Just Dropped
    Kicking It Up a Notch:

    {energy central}

    Sept. 10, 2026 -The American Power Forward PAC (affiliated with SEIA) will support local and state candidates who are pro-solar and battery storage. The group will launch its first campaign in Nevada, backing Assemblymember Elaine Marzola.

    The trend: This announcement arrives just months after the launch of Amped, a clean energy advocacy firm, along with the pro-renewables Invest in Tomorrow Coalition PAC. The common goal? To give renewables more political muscle amid fierce federal resistance.

  • • Democrats Go Quiet On Climate
    After Biden-Era Regulatory Blitz
    Democrats Are Increasingly Dropping Climate Change From Their Midterm Messaging

    {DAILY CALLER}

    Sept. 7, 2026 -Climate change has largely disappeared as a defining issue for Democratic candidates ahead of the November midterms, a striking reversal from the 2020 election cycle, when proposals such as the Green New Deal occupied a prominent place in the party’s political agenda. The retreat comes as Americans rank affordability and the cost of living among their top concerns, pushing Democrats to campaign on pocketbook issues after years of pursuing an aggressive climate agenda, according to a July Pew Research Center survey.

  • • Politicians Vastly Overestimate Opposition to Climate Action
    The Misperception May Be Holding Climate Legislation Back

    Anthrop

    Sept. 1, 2026, -Politicians overestimate opposition to climate action, as well as how polarized the public is on the issue, according to a new study. The findings suggest that a “spiral of silence” may dampen politicians’ willingness to go to bat for climate policies that are actually quite popular.

    Previous research has shown that members of the public tend to underestimate support for climate action among their fellow citizens. But less evidence is available about the perceptions of politicians, whom one might expect to be dialed in to the nuances of public opinion.

  • • Climate Isn’t a Hot Topic For
    Democrats in This Year’s Campaigns
    Despite the Earth's Sizzling

    AP Logo

    August 29, 2026 -Climate change has been the backdrop to Charles Hughes’ entire life, from kindergarten lessons about disappearing habitats to wildfire smoke billowing through the air he breathed while growing up in Colorado. But now that he’s a college student in Massachusetts, he said global warming is rarely a top issue.

    “Honestly, it doesn’t come up as much,” said Hughes, who chairs the state’s chapter of the College Democrats.

  • • The Data Center Backlash Bursts Into the Midterms
    With Opposition to the Centers Mounting, Many Democrats and a Growing Number of Republicans Are Campaigning Against Them

    NYT

    August 24, 2026 -The fight over data centers is suddenly at the epicenter of the midterm elections.

    One new ad in Texas begins with someone typing into a chatbot, “Why is my electric bill going up?” Another in Ohio blames one of the state’s Republican senators for a proliferation of data centers, calling them “a total scam.” And in top House battlegrounds in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, the Democratic challengers are all running ads against the server warehouses powering the artificial intelligence boom.












Back Arrow
  • • How Trump Is Trying to Crush
    California’s Environmental Policies
    At Least A Half-Dozen Federal Agencies Have Taken Action Against the State That's Led the Nation in Environmental Protections

    NYT

    August 20, 2026 -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.

    The stakes are high. Because of its market muscle as the world’s fourth largest economy, California’s environmental regulations have influenced the manufacturers of automobiles and other consumer goods. And its green policies have spread to some other states in what’s known as the “California effect.”

  • • Congress Wants to Depoliticize Disaster Aid.
    Politics May Stand in the Way
    A Bipartisan Push to Stymie Partisan Discrimination in Disaster Assistance Could Be Complicated By Election-Year Politicking

    {CLIMATEWIRE}

    August 18, 2026 -Lawmakers from both parties looking to mitigate political meddling in disaster assistance hope bipartisan anger over how the last two administrations have overseen federal aid programs will carry their legislation over the finish line this year.

    A bill from Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) with several Democratic co-sponsors is a top contender for inclusion in the Senate’s version of the annual defense policy bill. Supporters say it would make it harder for any president to withhold disaster assistance from communities just because they voted against them.

  • • How $600B of Biden’s Clean Energy
    Funding Escaped Trump’s Cuts
    Trump Has Spent More Than 18 Months Demolishing Joe Biden’s Expansive Green Agenda

    {POLITICO}

    August 15, 2026 -Yet pieces of the former president’s would-be legacy stubbornly cling to life — along with roughly $600 billion in congressionally approved spending that has so far escaped Trump’s wrecking ball, a new POLITICO analysis has found.

    The breakdown sheds fresh light on one of the most endlessly repeated pledges of Trump’s second term: his vow to unravel the nearly $1.6 trillion in spending and tax breaks that Biden had set in motion for a sprawling array of climate, clean energy and infrastructure programs.

  • • Democratic Governors Turn to Nuclear
    Power as Response to Energy Crunch
    State officials in Blue States Are Increasingly Embracing Nuclear Energy as Demand for Electricity Surges Nationwide...

    {E&E NEWS}

    August 12, 2026 -Democratic governors seldom see eye to eye with President Donald Trump when it comes to energy policy.

    A notable exception: expanding nuclear power.

    Kathy Hochul of New York, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and JB Pritzker of Illinois are among a growing list of Democratic governors who have taken steps this year to encourage nuclear development.

  • • Top Science Body Deletes Climate Chapter From Judges’ Manual
    The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Had Been Under Pressure From Republican Leaders, Including President Trump

    NYT

    August 10, 2026 -The nation’s top scientific body has removed a chapter on climate science from a reference manual for judges after an outcry from critics on the right, including President Trump.

    The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine said Friday that it had “determined that questions about the processes used to develop the chapter warrant an independent review, and the chapter will not appear on our website while that review is underway.”

  • • Hochul Steamrolled New York’s Climate Movement
    Now Green Groups Are Recalculating

    {POLITICO}

    August 10, 2026 -Gov. Kathy Hochul weakened the strongest climate law in the country this year, bulldozing an environmental movement that spent years pushing for its passage.

    But Hochul (D) — who hammered on cost concerns tied to the 2019 law — isn’t likely to pay a tangible political price. A left-flank primary challenge collapsed after she was endorsed by the state’s most prominent progressive, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and she’s now facing off against a pro-fracking Republican opponent opposed to renewables.

  • • Senate Republicans Join Attack
    On California Pollution Rule Waivers
    GOP Lawmakers Have Introduced a Flurry of Resolutions Against Federal Waivers For California Pollution Rules

    {POLITICOPRO}

    August 6, 2026 -Four Republican senators introduced resolutions Thursday targeting federal waivers that have allowed California to impose stricter pollution standards for vehicles.

    The senators join a litany of lawmakers who have jumped at the chance to carry out a Trump administration request for Congress to target federal Clean Air Act waivers for California mandates.

  • • California Assembly Dems Form
    Working Group On Wildfire Liability
    The Half-Dozen Lawmakers Will Lead the Conversation On Shaping the Assembly’s Priorities On the Issue

    {POLITICOPRO}

    August 5, 2026 -California Democrats in the state Assembly are preparing to hammer out the details of a proposal to reshape the state’s system for covering the costs of wildfires sparked by power companies.

    What happened: Six lawmakers have formed a working group to lead their caucus’ review of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) wildfire liability proposal. They are state Assemblymembers Lisa Calderon, Isaac Bryan, Rhodesia Ransom, Cottie Petrie-Norris, Ash Kalra and Steve Bennett, according to three people familiar with the move who were granted anonymity to disclose the private decision.

  • • How a Conspiracy-Fueled Campaign Could
    Turn Republicans Against Weather Modification
    The GeoFight is Pursuing Litigation, Donations and Social Media Hype to "Shape the Conversation" Around Sunlight-Reflecting Technologies

    {POLITICO}

    August 3, 2026 -A conservative group is preparing to sue climate startups that aim to reflect sunlight away from the Earth, in a new campaign that could turn Republicans against potential technologies to halt rising temperatures.

    Launched in February, the group calling itself The GeoFight is tapping into deep suspicions among conspiracy theorists about efforts to modify the weather, including an experimental process to cool the planet known as solar geoengineering.

  • • Trump is Undoing Plans to Boost Workplace Heat Protections
    Biden Took Steps to Shield Workers From Extreme Temperatures. Trump Takes a Gentler Approach With Employers

    NYT

    August 1, 2026 -Republicans in Washington are taking steps to roll back federal workplace heat protections as summer temperatures surge.

    The Trump administration is moving to rewrite Biden-era rules that would mandate breaks and access to water and shade for workers, in a step businesses lauded but that labor groups said could weaken already limited federal protections.

  • • Clean Energy Group Targets State Races
    Advanced Energy United Wants Gubernatorial Candidates to Bone Up On Grid Issues

    {E&E NEWS}

    July 31, 2026 -The renewable energy industry is turning its attention to state-level races in the run-up to November’s midterm elections.

    Advanced Energy United, an industry group, this month released a set of state policy road maps for incumbent governors and gubernatorial candidates that detail strategies to deploy renewable energy more quickly. The group also is holding conversations with gubernatorial candidates of both parties — a recognition of the importance that statehouses play in the nitty-gritty of energy work, said one of the organization’s top officials.

    “The vast majority of energy policy takes place at the state level, and governors have the biggest platform to make changes on that level,” said Dylan Reed, who leads the group’s federal and political affairs. “We’ve worked in previous cycles to tell governors that investing in advanced energy solutions should be a priority and can be an economic development issue.

  • • Energy, Enviro Spending Work Teeters in the Senate
    While Appropriators Remain Stuck On Full-Year Fiscal 2027 Legislation, Stopgap and Supplemental Spending Bills Could Address Environmental Priorities

    {E&E DAILY}

    July 27, 2026 -Bipartisan dealmaking to fund energy, water and environment programs has ground to a halt in the Senate as top appropriators butt heads over spending levels and policy riders.

    The Senate Appropriations Committee has been effectively frozen for weeks amid stubborn partisan disagreements and the extended absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell. As the House plowed ahead in recent months, marking up all 12 of the annual spending bills, negotiations in the Senate have gone nowhere.

  • • ‘Climate Hushing’ Has Swept the Democratic Party
    Climate Change Might Not Be a Top Priority For Voters, But Keeping Quiet About It May Backfire

    Grist

    July 27, 2026 -A hush has fallen over the Democratic Party — a “climate hush,” to be precise. The phrase captures the push within the party to focus more on the high cost of living and less on the planetary crisis, in hopes of addressing a popular diagnosis of why Democrats lost the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump. Since then, Democratic politicians have been mentioning the subject less on social media and in their press releases. Candidates in this summer’s primaries might have it in their platforms, but it’s the rare candidate who campaigns on it.

  • • Trump Administration Admits Grants For
    Clean Energy Were Canceled Based On Politics
    Trump Has Acknowledged In Court Documents That It Canceled $7.6 Billion In Grants For Hundreds of Clean Energy Projects “Based Solely On the Political Identity of the Grant Recipient’s State"

    {WCVB5}

    July 25, 2026 -The statement contradicts repeated assertions by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other officials that the projects were canceled because they did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs or had other problems that made them a poor investment of taxpayer dollars.

    Democrats and environmental groups seized on the court filing Friday, saying the administration had “weaponized” the federal government to kill good jobs and punish working families because of their political views.

  • • It's 3 Times Harder For Blue States
    to Get Disaster Funding Under Trump
    Trump has Approved Just 23 Percent of Blue State Requests For Disaster Aid, Compared to 89 Percent For Red States

    {POLITICO}

    July 23, 2026 -President Donald Trump has rejected disaster aid for Democratic-run states at the highest rate in the 47-year history of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

    He approved just 23 percent of disaster funding requests from states with a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators since returning to office 14 months ago. For states with a Republican governor and two Republican senators, it’s the opposite — Trump has approved 89 percent of their requests.

  • • K Street Girds For Democrats’ Oil Oversight Onslaught
    The Chances Democrats Win Back Committee Gavels Has Lobbyists and Their Energy Clients Preparing to Be Put Under The Microscope

    {POLITICOPRO}

    July 22, 2026 -Democrats have spent their years out of power seething about the Trump administration’s close ties with the oil and gas sector, which has won regulatory rollbacks, new drilling opportunities and lower royalty rates after donating heavily to President Donald Trump’s campaign.

    If the midterms go their way, Democrats may finally be able to do something about it.

  • • Trump Attacks Nation’s Top Scientific
    Body Over Climate Chapter in Manual
    The President Slammed the National Academies of Sciences for a Chapter About Climate Science in an Educational Guide For Judges

    NYT

    July 20, 2026 -President Trump has jumped into the fray over a hotly contested chapter on climate science in a reference manual for judges.

    Hours after attending the World Cup final on Sunday, the president took to Truth Social to attack the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine over the manual, which was released last year and has drawn criticism from Republican officials.

  • • Trump Tried to Kill Renewables
    They’re Growing Anyway

    {E&E NEWS}

    July 13, 2026 -Hold the obituary for renewables.

    U.S. wind and solar generation climbed 10 percent over the first half of 2026, overcoming President Donald Trump’s political attacks to surpass coal and nuclear in the country’s electricity mix.

    Coal generation was down 10 percent over the same period while natural gas generation was flat, according to a POLITICO review of federal energy data.

  • • Progressives Look to Revamp the Green New Deal For the AI Era
    A group of Insurgent Democrats Could Have a Major Impact On How the Party Deals With the Environment

    {E&E NEWS}

    July 10, 2026 -A new crop of progressive Democrats poised to join the House next year could pump new energy into the quest for a “Green New Deal” and even expand its scope eight years after activists put the aggressive climate change policy in the spotlight.

    The insurgents — some of whom have unseated more moderate incumbents in closely watched primaries for safe blue seats — will arrive at a time when Democrats focus less on talking about a climate crisis and more about pocketbook issues, and when the party is grappling with how to respond to the artificial intelligence boom.

  • • This Former G.O.P. Politician Wants to
    Take Politics Out of Climate Change
    Bill Frist, a Surgeon Who Also Served as Senate Majority Leader, Has Emerged as an Outspoken Advocate For Environmental Health

    NYT

    July 6, 2026 -Bill Frist, the former Republican Senate majority leader, racked up a slew of notable medical successes during his years as one of the country’s top heart and lung surgeons.

    He founded one of the country’s busiest transplant centers. One of his patients held the Guinness World Record for being the longest surviving single lung transplant recipient. And, in 1991, Mr. Frist performed lifesaving thoracic surgery on Gen. David Petraeus, then a lieutenant-colonel, when, during a training exercise, the military leader was accidentally shot in the chest.

  • • Heat Wave Politics: GOP Leaders Deride Calls to Conserve
    With half of Americans under a major heat advisory, official warnings and response are colored by the nation’s deep political divide.

    ICN

    July 2, 2026 -Seeking to sow unity amid a pending heat crisis, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani reaped a whirlwind of right-wing rage.

    Mamdani’s post on X on Wednesday urged New Yorkers to turn their thermostats to 78 degrees F and turn off unneeded lights and electronics—nothing original. It echoed the advice of the state’s largest utility, ConEd, which also asked customers to limit air conditioning in a Tuesday press release. “Let’s ease demand — and get through the heat — together,” Mamdani wrote.

  • • President Trump Can Now Axe Energy
    Agency Leaders Without Explanation
    What Will He Axe Next?

    {energy central}

    June 30, 2026 -The ruling: Due to Monday's Supreme Court decision, US presidents can now sack the heads of independent agencies—without having to explain why (except for the Federal Reserve).

    The concern: Energy experts think this ruling could impact organizations like FERC and the NRC. They’re worried the White House could sway officials to put politics over technical expertise.

  • • 5 New York House Races Where Energy Policy Could Matter
    Candidates Across the Empire State Are Battling Over Rising Utility Bills and the Future of Nuclear, Wind and Solar

    {E&E NEWS}

    June 26, 2026 -New York’s congressional primaries Tuesday featured some of the most watched races of the midterms, and many had major implications for energy and environmental policy.

    Two incumbent Democrats were unseated by progressive challengers, while a handful of major open races were decided. The contests could help decide the balance of power in Washington come January.

    Here are some New York House races to watch:

  • • Elected Democrats Have Embraced ‘Climate Hushing.’
    Are They Making a Mistake as the Midterms Loom?

    ICN

    June 24, 2026 -To some political pundits and Democratic strategists, one takeaway from the 2024 presidential election was clear: Don’t talk about climate change.

    An Inside Climate News analysis of press releases issued by members of the House and Senate shows that elected Democrats seem to have embraced this message of “climate hushing,” with mentions of climate change plummeting since 2025. They’ve pivoted to a focus on energy affordability in the wake of President Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran—and the resulting surge in oil prices.

 

What You Should Know

  • • Challenge: Raising Trillions to Fight Climate Change
    With or Without the U.S. Presidential Cooperation

    NYT

    Nov. 12, 2024 - Getting big cash commitments would be hard enough without wars, a pandemic and inflation having drained the reserves of rich countries that are expected to help poorer ones cope with climate hazards.

    It just got even harder. The election of Trump as president of the U.S. all but guarantees that the world’s richest country will not chip in.

  • • Climate Hawks 2020 Endorsements
    What It Takes to Be Endorsed

    (CLIMATEHAWKS), -What we consider in issuing endorsements: First and foremost, a candidate’s public statements regarding climate change. Do you mention specific climate change action in your stump speech? Did you show up at a People’s Climate March? Do you have a thoughtful statement on your website? We also look at viability, although we will back longshots when we find a compelling reason to do so.

    We do not endorse mediocre Democrats, no matter how vehemently a Republican opponent may deny climate science. We only endorse when we are convinced that the candidate will commit to strong climate action in Congress.

    We like primaries. And in 2018 we won 6 out of 8 primaries in which we endorsed — a better track record than any of the larger groups whose endorsement records were compiled by FiveThirtyEight.

    Climate Hawks Vote does not accept contributions from fossil-fuel corporations, executives, or lobbyists. We are a federal Super PAC, which means that we are an independent expenditure committee and can’t endorse in state/local races. We do network with others on the lookout for climate hawks who can think globally and lead locally.

  • • Conservatives and Liberals Want
    a Green Energy Future - But..
    They Want it For Different Reasons

    May 5, 2020,(The Conversation)-Political divisions are a growing fixture in the United States today, whether the topic is marriage across party lines, responding to climate change or concern about coronavirus exposure. Especially in a presidential election year, the vast divide between conservatives and liberals often feels nearly impossible to bridge.

    Our research examines what people know about the energy sources in use today in the United States, and what types of energy they would like to see the nation using in 2050. Energy connects to many important issues, including climate change, jobs and economic growth, equity and social justice, and international relations. It would be easy to assume that America’s energy future is a highly polarized topic, especially when the Trump administration is clashing with many states led by Democrats over energy policies.

    Click now to learn what the 'BUT' means.

  • • Trump's Early Environmental Rollbacks
    23 Environmental Rules Rolled
    Back in Trump’s First 100 Days

    May 2, 2017 (NY Times Climate Forward) - President Trump, with help from his administration and Republicans in Congress, has reversed course on nearly two dozen environmental rules, regulations and other Obama-era policies during his first 100 days in office.

    Citing federal overreach and burdensome regulations, Mr. Trump has prioritized domestic fossil fuel interests and undone measures aimed at protecting the environment and limiting global warming.

  • • The Climate President Action Plan
    10 Climate Actions
    the Next President
    Can Take Without Congress

    Dec. 23, 2019 (ClimatePresident.org)-The United States faces an indisputable climate emergency. The solution to the crisis is also inarguable: We must transform our extractive economy to a regenerative and inclusive one.

    The actions called for in this Presidential action plan can be implemented by the President acting alone without any Congressional action. These ten actions form the necessary foundation for the country's true transformation to a safer, healthier, and more equitable world for everyone.

  • • Why Not a Green Marshall Plan?
    Elizabeth Warren Has
    Added a Green Marshall
    Plan to Her List of Proposals

    June 4, 2019  ( Mother Jones)- Elizabeth Warren has ascended in recent Democratic presidential polls atop a growing stack of audacious proposals to wipe out student debt, break up giant companies like Amazon and Facebook , and slap new taxes on the ultra-rich.

    Yet the senator from Massachusetts is taking a different approach to the climate crisis, weaving a patchwork that will likely amount to Warren’s answer to the Green New Deal.

  • • Who Are the Climate Mayors?
    We Are Climate Mayors

    Climate Mayors, founfed in 2014, is a bi-partisan, peer-to-peer network of U.S. mayors working together to demonstrate leadership on Climate Chane through meaningful actions in their communities, and to express and build political will for effective federal and global policy action.

    The Climate Mayors coalition has emerged as a key voice anddemonstration of the ongoing commitment of U.S. cities to accelerate climate progress.

  • • Congress Should Be
    Supporting Clean Energy Incentives
    Tell Congress to Support
    Clean Energy Incentives

    July, 2019  (Environment Florida)) -

    By going big on renewable energy, we can stop polluting our communities and planet with dirty energy sources and make real strides in tackling the climate crisis. Tell your representatives to expand their support for clean energy incentives.


    Click now to sign on.
  • • Jay Inslee’s Campaign Pledge: No Fossil Fuel Money
    Jay Inslee’s Pledge to
    Reject Fossil Fuel Money

    Mar. 1, 2019 (Huffington Post)) -Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed a pledge Tuesday promising to reject donations from the fossil fuel industry ahead of a likely run for the White House that he’s vowed to uniquely center on climate change.

    In an interview with HuffPost, Inslee, 67, said he added his name to the list of more than 1,300 politicians across the United States who took the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge.

    Almost every Democratic candidate running in 2020 has signed the pledge.

    Click now to read more.

  • • The Green New Deal Explained
    What Is the Green New Deal?
    A Climate Proposal, Explained

    NY Times Climate Forward, Feb. 21, 2019  - The Green New Deal is a congressional resolution that lays out a grand plan for tackling climate change.

    Introduced by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Senator Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, both Democrats, the proposal calls on the federal government to wean the United States from fossil fuels and curb planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions across the economy. It also aims to guarantee new high-paying jobs in clean energy industries.

    Interested? Click now for whole story.

  • • Burn It or Eat It (Trump’s Choices)
    Food Vs. Fuel: What Trump's Ethanol
    Policy Means For the Food System

    Oct. 25, 2018 (Forbes) -The Environmental Protection Agency is moving forward with President Trump’s directive to lift a federal ban on high ethanol blended gas during the summer months, though not quickly enough for Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who Reuters reports is urging the EPA to lift the ban on a much quicker timeline. Lifting the ban is a policy shift that’s being celebrated by large-scale corn growers and decried by biofuel opponents. But the policy has implications for the food system too, as many food system reformers say the last thing U.S. farmers should be growing is more corn.

    Corn is a complicated crop. It’s highly efficient, nutrient-packed and yet, on the other hand, the U.S. probably grows too much of it. Corn has earned its fair share of criticism — it’s starchy, grown industrially and ubiquitous in ultra-processed food — but this leading cereal crop has also more than earned its place as an agricultural success story.

    Click now to stay on top of the situation.

  • • How the Border Wall Affect Wildlife Near the Border
    ‘This Is Not Like a Fence in a Backyard’
    — Trump’s Border Wall vs. Wildlife

    The Revelator Podcasts, Apr. 11, 2019 - As was discussed recently on the Sciencentric podcast, the wall’s true impact becomes more evident when you envision all of the things that accompany it: Roads, vehicles, lights, and acres upon acres of cleared habitat. That’s bad news for jaguars, bears, birds, bees and hundreds, if not thousands, of other species.

    Check out the video interview, where host Eric R. Olson and John Platt also discuss The Revelator, my work on “Extinction Countdown,” and what technologies might work instead of a wall.


    Click now to watch the interview.
  • • Trump Wants to Tell the Polar Bears Where to Get Off
    Help Protect the Arctic Refuge
    Before It’s Too Late!

    NRDC -The Trump administration is closer than ever to tearing open the heart of Alaska’s pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for dangerous oil and gas drilling — and if they succeed, it will have devastating, irreversible consequences for our waters, wildlife, climate, and the region’s Gwich’in people.

    NRDC is fighting back in and out of the courtroom in an unprecedented battle to protect the Arctic Refuge and its fragile Arctic coastline.

  • • Trump is Not the 1st to Assault Env. Protection
    History of US Presidential Assaults
    on Environmental Health Protection

    Apr. 26, 2018 American Public Health Association - The Trump administration has undertaken an assault on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an agency critical to environmental health. This assault has precedents in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

    The early Reagan administration (1981–1983) launched an overt attack on the EPA, combining deregulation with budget and staff cuts, whereas the George W. Bush administration (2001–2008) adopted a subtler approach, undermining science-based policy.

    Wait, there’s more…

  • • Some Republicans Support Carbon Fee/Dividend
    Exceeding Paris

    Contain Forewords by: Ted Halstead, George P. Schultz, Lawrence Summers, Rob Walton, Christine Todd Whitman and Janet Yellen.

    The Baker-Shultz plan would achieve approximately 32% in greenhouse gas reductions by 2025, thereby exceeding our Paris commitment by a wide margin

    The Baker-Shultz Carbon Dividends Plan is not only the most environmentally ambitious plan, but also the most politically-viable. Why? Because it addresses the legitimate concerns of all key stakeholders in the climate debate and enables each to realize an important victory.

    Click to read the PDF from the
    Climate Leadership Council.

  • • Attention Humanists: You Have a Role to Play
    Ask What You Can Do for Your Climate(1)

    Apr. 18, 2017 -While the federal government is becoming a follower rather than a leader on climate change, humanists can fight on the state, local, and personal levels

    IF THE PERSONAL IS POLITICAL, then climate change is personal, too. As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump campaigned against the Paris Agreement negotiated in December 2015 at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. With President Trump signing an executive order to roll back federal efforts to reduce global warming, humanists must do more at the state and local levels to fight climate change. If you’re up for it, there are many things you can do to help.


    Click now if you’re ready to learn more.
  • • We Can Take Active Role in the Climate Crisis
    Ask What You Can Do for Your Climate<2>

    Join a Climate Reality Chapter,and be part of a sustainable future. You’ve heard about “the future.” It’s not that far away, and your children and grandchildren will be living in it, long after you’re gone.

    Chapters give you the opportunity to draw on Climate Reality’s support and expertise, while creating and executing plans for climate action that make the most sense for your community.

    Already, Climate Reality chapters have become a vital force for progress, helping expand clean energy alternatives, tackling the legacy of fossil fuels in low-income communities, and pushing for carbon pricing policies, to name just a few of the many campaigns underway across the US.


    Click now if you’re ready to take action too.
  • • Science Under Attack:
    Sidelining Researchers and Their Work

    Dec. 28, 2019 (NY Times Climate Forward -In just three years, the Trump administration has diminished the role of science in federal policymaking while halting or disrupting research projects nationwide, marking a transformation of the federal government whose effects, experts say, could reverberate for years.

    Political appointees have shut down government studies, reduced the influence of scientists over regulatory decisions and in some cases pressured researchers not to speak publicly. The administration has particularly challenged scientific findings related to the environment and public health opposed by industries such as oil drilling and coal mining. It has also impeded research around human-caused climate change, which President Trump has dismissed despite a global scientific consensus.

  • • Politicians Voting Against
    Climate Change Get More Corporate Cash
    Voters Seem to Care About Climate
    Change, But Do Big Corporations?

    Oct. 23, 2020, (Bloomberg Green)-As Americans vote in an election that will redefine national climate priorities, the biggest U.S. companies—even those with ambitious green agendas—are throwing their support behind lawmakers who routinely stall climate legislation.

    Bloomberg Green examined political donations by businesses in the S&P 100 and large U.S.-based corporate contributors to climate change identified by the Climate Action 100+, which seeks to help them lower their emissions.

  • • Dems to Fossil Fuel Contributions: No Thanks
    DNC Votes to Ban Fossil
    Fuel Company Donations

    June 12, 2018 -The move is a step toward purging oil, gas and coal industry influence on the Democratic Party’s climate policies.

    The Democratic National Committee voted over the weekend to ban donations from fossil fuel companies, HuffPost has learned.

    The resolution — proposed by Christine Pelosi, a party activist and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s daughter — bars the organization from accepting contributions from corporate political action committees tied to the oil, gas and coal industries. The executive committee voted unanimously to approve the motion.

  • • Clean Energy Research Not a Priority
    White House Seeks 72% Cut to
    Clean Energy Research,Underscoring
    Its Preference for Fossil Fuels

    Feb. 1, 2018 -The Trump administration is poised to ask Congress for deep budget cuts to the Energy Department’s renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, slashing them by 72 percent overall in fiscal 2019, according to draft budget documents obtained by The Washington Post.

    Many of the sharp cuts would probably be restored by Congress, but President Trump’s budget, due out in February, will mark a starting point for negotiations and offer a statement of intent and policy priorities.

  • • Donald Trump: Making the Oceans Not-So-Great Again
    Donald Trump Aims to
    Weaken Ocean Protections

    Mar. 16, 2020 (CleanTechnica) -We are approaching the 10th anniversary of the British Petroleum (BP) disaster, which killed 11 men, injured 17 others, and spilled more than 130 million gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. The disaster polluted more than 1,300 miles of coastline, devastated marine life, and cost the Gulf Coast billions in lost revenue.

    The Trump Administration’s aggressive deregulatory agenda threatens to undo many of the safeguards for ocean and coastal ecosystems, including those that regulate the offshore oil industry. We cannot have a repeat of the BP disaster and we need common sense protections for the ocean now more than ever.

  • • Strip Mining on Protected
    Tennessee Cumberland Plateau
    Trump May Approve
    Strip Mining on Tennessee’s
    Protected Cumberland Plateau

    Feb. 13, 2020 (inside climate news) -LAFOLLETTE, Tennessee—Even as the nation's demand for coal tumbles, the Trump administration is considering a permit that would allow strip mining on protected ridgelines in Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau over the objection of environmental groups and the state's Republican attorney general.

    The wild, scenic terrain is within 75,000 acres designated, at the state's behest, as unsuitable for surface coal mining in 2016 by the Obama administration's Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation, the agency responsible for regulating coal mining in the state.

  • • Good Riddance to Climate Denier From NSC
    Climate Denialist to Depart
    White House National Security Council

    Sep. 11, 2019 (New York Times)- William Happer, the White House architect of a stalled plan to attack the established science of climate change, is leaving the Trump administration on Friday, according to three people familiar with his plans.

    Dr. Happer, a physicist who gained notoriety by claiming that the greenhouse gases contributing to warming the planet are beneficial to humanity, and for likening attacks on fossil fuels to “the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler” in a 2014 interview, served on the National Security Council as President Trump’s deputy assistant for emerging technologies.

  • • No Lessons Learned From Deepwater Horizon
    Trump Plan Would Open Nearly All
    the Gulf of Mexico to Oil Drilling

    Jan. 4, 2018 - The Trump administration on Thursday (Jan. 4) announced plans for the largest expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling in U.S. history, putting up for lease federal waters in the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic oceans and millions of acres in the Gulf of Mexico, including protected areas in the eastern Gulf.

    Click now for article from azCentral.

  • • Clean Energy and Electric Cars Hit By GOP
    Tax Overhaul Hammers
    Clean Energy and Electric Cars

    (M.I.T. Technology Review) Dec. 8, 2017 - Legislators from both chambers are now hashing out their differences in the reconciliation committee in hopes of delivering a final bill to the White House before the end of the year. Clean-energy lobbyists are scrambling to push back on provisions they and others fear could stunt development or deployment of technologies needed to lower the nation’s greenhouse-gas emissions.

  • • DOW's Campaign Contributions
    Stopped the Banning of Chlorpyrifos
    How Dow Chemical Influenced
    the EPA to Ignore the
    Scientific Evidence on Chlorpyrifos

    (Union of Concerned Scientists) -On March 29, 2017, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that his agency would decline to ban chlorpyrifos, despite years of scientific study and deliberation indicating that the pesticide poses a clear risk to children, farmworkers, and users of rural drinking water.

    This was a 180-degree turn from the science-based conclusion reached just a few months before by the EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, which found that chlorpyrifos has harmful effects on children’s brain development. Both EPA scientists and the American Academy of Pediatrics have urged the EPA to ban the insecticide.

    Click now to read on.

  • • The Top Ten Toxic Threats
    The E.P.A.’s Top 10 Toxic
    Threats, and Industry’s Pushback

    Oct. 21, 2017 - The E.P.A.has published a list of 10 toxic threats it will evaluate first under a law passed last year intended to crack down on hazardous chemicals.

    They are among 90 chemicals identified by the agency that may harm children, damage nerve tissue, cause cancer, contaminate the environment, accumulate in the bloodstream or show up in consumer products. As the review begins, industry and other interest groups are urging the E.P.A. to limit any restrictions.

    Click for the list that should
    not be on your top ten.

  • • Climate Change Collapsing Australia’s Ecosystems
    Ecosystems Across Australia Are Undergo Climate Change

    The Converstion

    Research, recently published in Nature Climate Change, describes a series of sudden and catastrophic ecosystem shifts that have occurred recently across Australia.

  • • CC Advisory Committee Dropped
    Administration Disbands Climate
    Change Advisory Committee

    Aug 20, 2017 - The Trumpv administration of has decided to disband a federal advisory panel on climate change - in a further sign of the White House's view on environmental policy.

    The panel is part of the National Climate Assessment, a group aimed at helping officials and policy makers integrate the US Government's climate change analysis into their long-term planning.

  • • Climate Skeptic Heads Top Science Post
    New USDA Research Head
    Thinks Climate Science Is 'Junk'

    July 20, 2017 - President Trump has nominated a well-known climate change doubter to the top science job at the Department of Agriculture.

    The nomination, which had been expected, was announced in a statement by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Sam Clovis, an early campaign adviser to Trump, will serve as undersecretary for research, education and economics.

  • • Is the State of the Great Lakes a State Problem?
    Trump Says 'Yes' -
    Congress Says 'No'

    July 14, 2017 - Together, the five lakes hold nearly one-fifth of the earth’s surface freshwater. They’re home to 3500 species of plants and animals, including 170 species of fish. Not to mention the drinking water for about 35 million people, in eight states plus Canada. They have been a major highway for transportation, trade and migration. And more than 1.5 million jobs are directly connected to the lakes.

    But the Trump administration views the health of the Great Lakes as a local issue. Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow and budget director Mick Mulvaney squared off at a budget hearing a couple months ago on the topic. You can watch the exchange here:

  • • Shades of White House Climate Denial
    5 Shades of Climate Denial,
    All on Display in the White House

    June 9.2017 - - From ‘it’s not real’ to ‘it’s not urgent,’ take a tour through the many shades of climate change denial wielded by Donald Trump's administration.

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