Alaskan Graphite Mine Races Toward Approval Without Required Tribal Consent
"A project in western Alaska is being fast-tracked in a process that has not yet included legally required consultations with Inupiaq communities."
Source: Grist, 10/01/2025
EJToday: Top Environmental Politics Headlines
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"How Big Sugar Pushed Fluoride — New Study Alleges A Century Of Spin"
"The sugar industry and companies that make sweet drinks and foods have spent nearly a century downplaying sugar’s role in health problems and distorting the science around fluoride — and the practice continues today, according to a new study."
Source: The New Lede, 10/01/2025As Trump Cuts NSF By 56 Percent, Arctic Research Center Closes Its Doors
"After nearly 40 years, the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States, or ARCUS, will close September 30, a casualty of President Donald Trump’s proposed budget cuts and his administration’s focus on using the Arctic as an outpost for national security and energy dominance — and its push away from science."
Source: Inside Climate News, 10/01/2025Citing ‘AI Arms Race,’ Trump Admin Aims to Rekindle US Coal Industry
"The administration is opening millions of additional acres of public land to mining while slashing royalty rates and environmental regulations for coal. Environmentalists warn of skyrocketing costs and threats to land, water and air."
Source: Inside Climate News, 09/30/2025Indigenous Land Defender Killed As Ecuador Cracks Down on Activists
"An Indigenous land defender was shot and killed on Sunday in Cotacachi, Ecuador, where he was marching in protest of high costs of living and government crackdowns on Indigenous and environmental activists."
Source: Inside Climate News, 09/30/2025Trump Can't Condition Disaster Grants On Immigration Policy, Judge Rules
"A federal judge this week blocked the Trump administration from conditioning disaster and security funds for states on their immigration policies."
Source: The Hill, 09/30/2025"EPA’s Effort to Pull Back PFAS Limits Spurs Statutory Tug of War"
"The EPA is attempting an end run around the Safe Drinking Water Act by trying to rollback drinking water limits it previously set for four PFAS, attorneys representing affected communities said in legal briefs."
Source: Bloomberg Environment, 09/30/2025"Energy Dept. Adds ‘Climate Change’ And ‘Emissions’ To Banned Words List"
"The Energy Department has added “climate change,” “green” and “decarbonization” to its growing “list of words to avoid” at its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, according to an email issued Friday and obtained by POLITICO."
Source: Politico, 09/30/2025"Trump Agencies Lean Into Shortcuts for Public Comment Process"
"The Trump administration is repeatedly disregarding the notice-and-comment process normally required for creating or repealing regulations, raising alarms from those who say it’s sidestepping safeguards against arbitrary and ineffective government action."
Source: Bloomberg Environment, 09/30/2025"Federal Workforce Girds For Mass Firings Amid Shutdown Threat"
"Federal workers across the government are bracing for possible cuts after the White House instructed agencies Wednesday night to consider widespread layoffs in the event of a shutdown." "The White House has directed federal agencies to consider handing out pink slips if the government shuts down."
Source: E&E News, 09/29/2025"National Weather Service At ‘Breaking Point’ As Storm Approaches"
"Staffing cuts under the Trump administration mean forecasters are struggling to maintain normal operations." "Some National Weather Service staffers are working double shifts to keep forecasting offices open. Others are operating under a “buddy system,” in which adjacent offices help monitor severe weather in understaffed regions."
Source: Washington Post, 09/29/2025Trump Officials Shut Off Funding For USGS Climate Adaptation Centers
"A third of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Climate Adaptation Science Centers are expected to drastically wind down and possibly close after Sept. 30." "Tracking bird populations after hurricanes. Mapping the risk of megafires across the Midwest. Identifying less expensive ways to battle invasive plants. Preparing communities’ stormwater drains against intense flooding."
Source: Washington Post, 09/29/2025Bureau of Land Management to Sell Off Federal Coal Reserve Leases in Wyoming
"The Trump administration has offered coal reserves in Wyoming in its latest move to reinvigorate the country’s coal industry. One environmental lawyer says it’s “ludicrous” to be selling leases for the most expensive and dirtiest form of energy."
Source: Inside Climate News, 09/29/2025Trump’s DOT Pulls Trail And Bike Grants It Deems ‘Hostile’ To Cars
"President Donald Trump’s transportation department has been pulling back grants already announced for recreational trails and bicycle lanes, telling local officials their projects fail to promote road capacity or are “hostile to motor vehicles.”"
Source: AP, 09/29/2025UNESCO Names 26 New Biosphere Reserves Amid Biodiversity, Climate Challenges
"An Indonesian archipelago that’s home to three-fourths of Earth’s coral species, a stretch of Icelandic coast with 70% of the country’s plant life and an area along Angola’s Atlantic coast featuring savannahs, forests and estuaries are among 26 new UNESCO-designated biosphere reserves. The United Nations cultural agency says the reserves — 785 sites in 142 countries, designated since 1971 — are home to some of the planet’s richest and most fragile ecosystems."
Source: AP, 09/29/2025
