Environmental Justice

As Worker Silicosis Deaths Mount, GOP Moves to Shield Firms From Liability

"Public health experts in California are pushing to ban engineered quartz in an effort to protect countertop fabrication workers from a growing epidemic of a deadly lung disease, but Republicans in Congress are trying to protect the industry with a bill that would ban lawsuits against manufacturers."

Source: Capital & Main, 04/16/2026

"Oil Company Founded By DOE Chief Wright Paid No US Taxes Last Year"

"The company founded and formerly run by Energy Secretary Chris Wright paid no federal corporate income taxes last year, according to its regulatory filings, and actually got more than $10 million back from the IRS."

Source: E&E News, 04/16/2026

"Trump Administration Holds Up NOAA Grant Funding"

"The Trump administration is holding up some National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant funding."

Source: The Hill, 04/15/2026

"NAACP Sues Musk’s xAI, Alleging Illegal Air Pollution"

"The NAACP and its Mississippi State Conference are suing Elon Musk’s xAI, alleging that it did not get a permit before emitting large amounts of pollution into a Memphis-area community."

Source: The Hill, 04/15/2026

Judges In Louisiana's Big Oil Cases Have Financial Stakes In Defendants

"Federal judges held stock, bonds and leased mineral rights to Exxon, Chevron and others while hearing cases against the companies alleging damage to the La. coast."

Source: Floodlight, 04/15/2026

"How Lee Zeldin Shifted the Mission — And the Message — of the E.P.A."

The job of the E.P.A. chief is to protect human health by safeguarding “the air we breathe, the water we drink and land that grows our food,” as the agency’s founding charter puts it, and most administrators have talked about their work in those terms. Mr. Zeldin, though, speaks more about supporting industry and exporting fossil fuels than about protecting the environment."

Source: NYTimes, 04/13/2026

Why the Silencing of Protest Matters

As the Trump administration and its allies seek to stifle free speech and paint protest as domestic terrorism, Voices columnist Yessenia Funes argues that environmental journalists must heed the impact on the environmental movement we cover. Start with what happened in Standing Rock, which swept back into the news this spring. Funes explains the connection, and where we may be headed.

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"Indiana Governor Suspends State Gas Tax For 30 Days"

"Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) on Wednesday suspended the Hoosier State’s sales tax on gas for 30 days, as prices at the pump have increased since the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran began."

Source: The Hill, 04/10/2026

Photo Essay: Soaring W.Va. Utility Costs Are Surpassing Rents And Mortgages

"WEST COLUMBIA, W.Va. — Eric Pinson is obsessed with stacks of electric bills laid out in neat piles on his desk. He runs a camping trailer park in West Virginia not far from a planned data center — all in the shadow of an enormous coal-powered plant that recently received millions in funding from the Trump administration for upgrades.

Source: AP, 04/10/2026

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