‘Practical Stewardship’: House GOPers Release Interior-EPA Spending Bill
"The fiscal 2027 legislation’s cuts are smaller than the White House proposed. The bill also blesses the Wildland Fire Service."
Source: E&E News, 05/21/2026
EJToday: Top Headlines
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"‘Perfect Storm’: How Trump’s Aid Cuts Are Fueling the Ebola Outbreak"
"As an Ebola outbreak rages in central and East Africa, public health workers say that the response has been stymied by the Trump administration’s cuts to foreign aid and global health organizations." "One health provider who works on the ground says that basic medical equipment like masks and hand sanitizers are in short supply due to funding cuts."
Source: WIRED, 05/21/2026Wet Weather in Argentina Helped Fuel the Cruise Ship Hantavirus Outbreak
"The hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship has created a global public health crisis. But the driver of it is a rodent that weighs about an ounce, and climate shifts this year that have helped increase the odds of transmission."
Source: WIRED, 05/21/2026Scientists Accuse Livestock Industry of Downplaying its Climate Emissions
"A group of the world’s leading climate scientists are warning governments and the livestock industry against adopting an “accounting trick” that will imperil the all-out global effort required to control heat-trapping emissions."
Source: Inside Climate News, 05/21/2026Hit By Weather And Costs, Kansas Wheat Crop Could Be Worst Since 1972
"Record-setting drought and hotter-than-average temperatures mixed with sharp drops have impacted much of the U.S. early this year, including the Plains region. Drought conditions have worsened the spread of the wheat streak mosaic virus and barley yellow dwarf virus, which impact the potential of the crop. Combined with climbing input costs related to fertilizer, diesel fuel and tariffs, longtime wheat farmers say they are feeling a lot of pain."
Source: AP, 05/21/2026US Researchers Face New Limits On Publishing With Foreign Collaborators
"Grants managers at two of the U.S. government’s largest funders of scientific research have recently placed unprecedented limitations on the ability of U.S. scientists to publish with co-authors from other countries, researchers say."
Source: Science, 05/21/2026"In Coal Country, Black Lung Surges as Federal Protections Stall"
"While the Trump administration is directing hundreds of millions of dollars to coal projects, miners in Appalachia are suffering from a resurgence of black lung disease. But industry pushback is delaying federal rules that would reduce miners’ exposure to deadly silica dust."
Source: YaleE360, 05/21/2026"Europe’s Green-Energy Future Has a Problem: Reindeer"
"In northern Norway, Sami people fear a copper mine will disrupt their traditional lifestyles."
"Each summer, Nils Mikkelsen Utsi guides his reindeer to highland pastures overlooking a fjord, known to locals as Repparfjord, in northern Norway. There, under the Arctic midnight sun, female reindeer give birth and Mr. Utsi marks the ears of the calves. His ancestors have done this for generations.
“This is my reindeer district,” he said. “This is my life.”
Source: New York Times, 05/21/2026Trump Officials, Billionaires And The Quiet Reshaping Of America's Public Lands
"A controversial land swap orchestrated by the megarich could be “a harbinger of what’s to come” for public lands under Trump."
Source: Floodlight, 05/21/2026"Solar To Overtake Coal On Texas Grid For The First Time Ever This Year"
"For the first time ever, solar is set to generate more electricity than coal in the power market managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Nobody is building new coal power plants in the state, but developers are adding more solar there than anywhere else in the country."
Source: Canary Media, 05/21/2026Over 17,000 Ordered To Evacuate As S. California Wildfire Threatens Homes
"More than 17,000 people were under evacuation orders in Southern California on Tuesday as a wildfire threatened suburban homes. The wind-driven Sandy Fire was reported Monday in the hills above Simi Valley, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles."
Source: AP, 05/20/2026FWS Clears Weedkiller Atrazine, Saying It Won’t Cause Extinction
"The Trump administration has determined that atrazine, a weedkiller used widely on corn and other crops, does not pose an extinction risk to threatened or endangered wildlife, effectively justifying its continued use, according to a federal review made public this week." "The finding effectively paves the way for continued use of atrazine, a widely used herbicide that has been linked to birth defects and cancer in humans."
Source: New York Times, 05/20/2026"Sign Of The Times: NextEra-Dominion Merger Would Create Utility Giant"
"NextEra Energy agreed to buy Dominion Energy in a roughly $67 billion deal that would create the largest power company in the U.S., underscoring the energy industry’s pursuit of scale and capital to meet growing electricity demand from U.S. tech companies."
Source: E&E News, 05/20/2026"Wildlife Crossings Included In Bipartisan Transportation Bill"
"Funding for wildlife crossings has been included in a bipartisan transportation bill that the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee plans to introduce to the House in the coming weeks. The BUILD America 250 Act would invest in roads, bridges and transit infrastructure across the country, as well as fund wildlife crossings through the reauthorization of the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program."
Source: National Parks Traveler, 05/20/2026Black Dust Covers Oklahoma Town As Residents Face Renewed Pollution Fears
"Across a quiet Oklahoma town, a mysterious black dust has appeared throughout neighborhoods. As residents search for answers, many say this triggers memories from decades before."
Source: KOCO5, 05/20/2026
