Episodes

  • Costly Coal Comeback: Trump Administration's Fossil Fuel Agenda Comes at a Price for American Families

    Costly Coal Comeback: Trump Administration's Fossil Fuel Agenda Comes at a Price for American Families
    Feb 18 2026
    In the United States, the Trump administration has intensified efforts to bolster the coal industry amid ongoing climate challenges. According to the League of Conservation Voters, keeping Michigan's J.H. Campbell coal plant open past its planned retirement in May 2025 has now cost ratepayers 135 million dollars, with daily expenses passed on in hundreds of thousands of dollars. This stems from administration directives forcing the plant to continue operations despite its inefficiency.

    President Trump issued an executive order directing the Department of Defense to source energy from costly, dirty coal plants, while the Department of Energy allocated over 175 million dollars to outdated coal facilities in Republican-led states. League of Conservation Voters Vice President Matthew Davis noted that coal has the highest costs and worst reliability among energy sources, with twice as many unplanned shutdowns as wind power, ultimately raising energy prices for American families.

    In a major setback, the Environmental Protection Agency rescinded the landmark 2009 Endangerment Finding, which established greenhouse gas emissions as harmful to public health and welfare, forming the basis for federal limits on cars, trucks, power plants, and other emitters. This move, criticized as science denial, underpins rollbacks of vehicle pollution standards, mercury and air toxics rules, and exposes communities to more air pollution, heart disease, strokes, asthma, and premature deaths.

    The Environmental Protection Agency also released a rule delaying cleanup of millions of tons of toxic coal ash, including heavy metals, carcinogens, and neurotoxins, until 2031, risking further water contamination. Earthjustice Senior Counsel Lisa Evans warned that this allows polluters to continue harming water sources and health.

    Additionally, the administration halted work on five offshore wind projects, clawed back 135 million dollars in electric vehicle charging funds for California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota, and rolled back protections for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine Monument, endangering its fragile ecosystem from commercial fishing.

    Environmental groups, including Clean Wisconsin, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, filed lawsuits on February 18, 2026, challenging these repeals as illegal, highlighting worsening impacts like record heat, wildfire smoke, and extreme weather in places such as Wisconsin and South Texas.

    These actions reveal an emerging pattern of prioritizing fossil fuels over clean energy transitions, delaying pollution controls, and reversing climate safeguards, even as global events like 2026 Climate Weeks in South Korea and Azerbaijan aim to accelerate Paris Agreement implementation.

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    3 mins
  • Deregulatory Chaos: Trump Repeals Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards, Igniting Nationwide Backlash

    Deregulatory Chaos: Trump Repeals Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards, Igniting Nationwide Backlash
    Feb 14 2026
    The Trump administration announced on Thursday its repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding, a key scientific determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and Earth.Org reports. This move, hailed by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin as the single largest deregulatory action in United States history, eliminates federal greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles and engines from model years 2012 through 2027 and beyond. Zeldin stated it saves American taxpayers over 1.3 trillion dollars by removing regulations tied to what he called the Holy Grail of the climate change religion, including mandates pushing electric vehicles that raised costs for families and businesses. The EPA argued that even if the United States eliminated all vehicle emissions, it would have no material impact on global climate through 2100, and that the Clean Air Act lacks authority for such standards.

    Environmental groups, scientists, and dozens of politicians swiftly condemned the repeal as unlawful, warning it risks lives by shifting pollution costs to families and communities, with threats of legal challenges emerging nationwide. Earth.Org highlighted reactions pouring in from across the United States, underscoring a deepening policy divide.

    In response, states are stepping up. California Governor Gavin Newsom, at the Munich Security Conference on February 14, reinforced climate partnerships, co-chairing the bipartisan United States Climate Alliance of 24 governors and America Is All In coalition, while signing wildfire prevention deals with Brazil's Pará state. California has surged battery storage to nearly 17,000 megawatts, a 2,100 percent increase, adding over 30,000 megawatts to its grid toward 100 percent clean electricity by 2045, per the governor's office.

    Washington state faces pressure to intensify efforts as federal support wanes, with Oregon Public Broadcasting noting the EPA's action erases tools to combat vehicle pollution amid rising local climate threats.

    Globally, January 2026 marked the fifth warmest on record at 12.95 degrees Celsius, 1.47 degrees above pre-industrial levels, per Earth.Org, blending Europe's coldest January since 2010 and North America's chills to minus 43 degrees Fahrenheit with scorching Southern Hemisphere heat fueling deadly wildfires in Chile and Argentina's Patagonia. A World Weather Attribution study linked those blazes, which destroyed thousands of homes amid drought, 38-degree Celsius heat, and 40 to 50 kilometer per hour winds, directly to climate change, revealing patterns of amplified extremes. Heavy rains triggered floods and landslides in southeastern Africa, Indonesia, New Zealand, Europe, and Mozambique, claiming dozens of lives and signaling erratic weather shifts.

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    3 mins
  • Trump Administration Rolls Back US Climate Policies, Sparking Global Outcry

    Trump Administration Rolls Back US Climate Policies, Sparking Global Outcry
    Feb 11 2026
    In the first ten days of 2026, the Trump administration has accelerated its rollback of United States climate progress, drawing sharp criticism amid intensifying global warming threats. Euronews reports that on February 12, the Environmental Protection Agency will issue a final rule rescinding the 2009 endangerment finding, a key Obama-era declaration that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. This move eliminates the scientific foundation for federal regulations on heat-trapping emissions, with Earthjustice president Abigail Dillen calling it an abandonment of responsibility as extreme weather hits harder each year. Politico confirms the EPA's action as its boldest strike yet against climate rules, despite mounting research from bodies like the National Academies of Sciences linking greenhouse gases to current disasters.

    Earlier, in late January, a severe winter storm battered much of the United States, killing at least seven people, blacking out thousands of homes, and canceling thousands of flights across forty states. President Trump seized on the event via Truth Social, questioning global warming with the post, Record Cold Wave expected to hit 40 states. Rarely seen anything like it before. Could the Environmental Insurrectionists please explain - WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING? Associated Press notes that over a dozen scientists refuted this, explaining that cold snaps occur in a warming world, distinguishing local weather from long-term planetary trends, where much of the globe remains warmer than average.

    Legal setbacks continue to highlight tensions. Earth.Org details a US District Court ruling that the administration violated federal law by secretly forming a climate skeptic panel to produce a contentious global warming report, breaching the 1972 Federal Advisory Committee Act. Separately, on January 11, a federal judge deemed illegal the cancellation of 7.6 billion dollars in clean energy grants for projects in sixteen Kamala Harris-voting states, including battery plants and grid upgrades, violating constitutional equal protection.

    These actions signal a pattern of retreat from climate science and international commitments, even as the United States, the second-largest annual emitter, faces escalating risks. Carbon Brief reports negotiators from seven Colorado River basin states met in Washington DC ahead of a February 14 deadline to manage reservoirs strained by drought, underscoring water scarcity amid broader shifts. Worldwide, a Climate and Cryosphere conference opens February 9 in Wellington, New Zealand, to address melting ice, polar amplification, and adaptation, reflecting urgent scientific focus. Critics like the Center for International Environmental Law warn that such US steps undermine global efforts against rising seas and deadly disasters.

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    3 mins
  • U.S. Accelerates Climate Rollback, Fueling Global Warming and Economic Strain

    U.S. Accelerates Climate Rollback, Fueling Global Warming and Economic Strain
    Jan 28 2026
    In the past week, marking one year since President Trump's second inauguration on January 20, 2025, the United States has accelerated its rollback of federal climate policies, recording 304 deregulatory actions as tracked by the Sabin Center's Climate Backtracker at Columbia Law School. These include executive orders like Unleashing American Energy and Declaring a National Energy Emergency, which prioritize fossil fuel development, fast-track oil and gas permitting, reopen Alaska's Arctic refuge for drilling, and pause or terminate wind and solar projects while reviving coal plants set to close. The Department of Energy leads these efforts, followed by the Environmental Protection Agency, with formal rulemaking now comprising nearly a third of actions, doubling the pace of Trump's first term.

    The New York Times reports that this embrace of fossil fuels and withdrawal from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, ordered by White House executive order in January 2026, adds fuel to global warming, making it harder to limit temperature rises to safe levels. Bloomberg analysis reveals a stealth heat tax has already cost Americans one trillion dollars, with temperature changes cutting U.S. incomes by twelve percent on average from 2000 to 2019 due to hotter conditions.

    Globally, the world remains on track to exceed the Paris Agreement's 1.5-degree Celsius target by decade's end, ahead of projections, as noted in Climate Tech Venture Review updates for January 21, 2026. A United Nations report highlights water bankruptcy from depleted freshwater resources, while sinking boreal trees in the deep Arctic Ocean could sequester billions of tons of carbon yearly, per Phys.org. Earth.Org's January 2026 week three roundup attributes recent heatwaves to climate change, adding 1.6 degrees Celsius despite La Nina cooling, with thirty-two fossil fuel companies responsible for half of 2024's global carbon dioxide emissions.

    Emerging patterns show U.S. policy shifts clashing with scientific consensus on rising extreme heat, economic damages, and resource strains, as the Cleantech Forum North America convenes in San Diego from January 26 to 28 to discuss climate technologies amid these tensions.

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    2 mins
  • Setbacks for Trump's Clean Energy Rollbacks: Federal Courts Restore Grants and Offshore Wind Farms

    Setbacks for Trump's Clean Energy Rollbacks: Federal Courts Restore Grants and Offshore Wind Farms
    Jan 24 2026
    In the past week, two United States federal courts delivered major setbacks to the Trump administration's efforts to block clean energy projects. Earth.Org reports that on Monday, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled the administration's halt on millions of dollars in clean energy grants unlawful, noting it primarily targeted projects in Democratic-led states. The judge ordered the grants restored and the administration to pay plaintiffs' legal fees. Similarly, three federal judges in Washington and Virginia authorized the restart of three offshore wind farms, including one operated by the Norwegian group Equinor off New York, as Le Monde notes these actions counter the administration's dismantling of climate policies.

    These rulings highlight ongoing legal battles amid broader rollbacks. France24 indicates the administration is finalizing repeal of the 2009 Endangerment Finding, the scientific basis for US climate rules under the Clean Air Act, with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin calling it the largest deregulation effort in US history. The move argues greenhouse gases are not traditional pollutants and their regulation cannot solve a global issue. Earth.Org details how, one year into Trump's term, the administration has cut climate research funding, terminated the US Global Change Research Program, shut down climate.gov and NOAA's Billion Dollar Weather and Climate Disaster dataset, and blocked billions in clean energy funds, leaving projects in limbo.

    Emissions trends underscore the stakes. Le Monde cites Rhodium Group data showing US greenhouse gas emissions rose 2.4 percent in 2025 after two years of decline, driven by a harsher winter boosting natural gas and heating oil use in buildings by nearly seven percent. Photovoltaic production soared 34 percent last year, but Congress eliminated most solar and wind tax credits in summer 2025, risking reversal.

    Globally, Earth.Org confirms 2025 as the third hottest year on record, with scientists now expecting 1.5 degrees Celsius warming exceeded by decade's end, per ASLA's January update. A powerful winter storm, Winter Storm Fern, threatens over 230 million Americans with snow, ice, and emergencies in 14 states and Washington DC, as Mathrubhumi reports, fueling debates amid Trump's skepticism.

    These events reveal patterns of policy reversals clashing with court interventions and rising emissions, even as renewable momentum persists under legal pressure.

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    3 mins
  • Headline: "Trump Administration Faces Setbacks in Clean Energy Efforts, as Climate Crisis Escalates"

    Headline: "Trump Administration Faces Setbacks in Clean Energy Efforts, as Climate Crisis Escalates"
    Jan 21 2026
    Two major court victories this week dealt significant setbacks to the Trump administration's efforts to obstruct clean energy projects across the United States. On Monday, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the administration's decision to halt millions of dollars in clean energy grants was unlawful, determining that the action primarily targeted projects in Democratic-led states. The judge ordered the administration to restore the grants and cover the plaintiffs' legal fees. The following day, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. ruled that Danish wind farm developer Orsted can proceed with construction of a five billion dollar wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island. The Interior Department had ordered a ninety-day pause on this project and four others last month, citing undisclosed national security concerns, despite the Rhode Island project being ninety percent complete.

    These legal victories stand in stark contrast to the administration's broader push against renewable energy initiatives. The Trump administration has systematically worked to halt solar and wind projects nationwide while accelerating oil and gas drilling on federal lands. In October, the Interior Department announced plans to open one point five six million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northern Alaska to oil and gas leasing, reversing a Biden-era moratorium. Additionally, the administration announced plans to open almost one point three billion acres of U.S. coastal waters to new oil and gas drilling, with the One Big Beautiful Bill mandating at least thirty six oil and gas lease sales in federal waters.

    Meanwhile, the global climate picture continues to deteriorate. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2025 was confirmed as the third hottest year on record. Carlo Buontempo, Director of the service, emphasized that the past eleven years have been the eleven warmest years on record, stating that the world is rapidly approaching the long-term temperature limit set by the Paris Agreement. Scientists now expect the planet will exceed one point five degrees Celsius of warming by the end of this decade, marking a critical threshold in climate science.

    In January, the White House issued an executive order for the United States to withdraw from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, signaling a dramatic shift in the nation's international climate commitment. The administration has also begun dismantling the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a twenty seven billion dollar lending program designed to spur private investment in clean energy. These actions underscore an administration prioritizing fossil fuel expansion over climate mitigation at a moment when global temperatures continue their unprecedented climb.

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    3 mins
  • Courts Block White House Attempts to Stall Clean Energy Advancements

    Courts Block White House Attempts to Stall Clean Energy Advancements
    Jan 17 2026
    In the past week, the United States has seen intense battles over climate policy amid the Trump administrations aggressive pushback on clean energy. Federal courts delivered two major defeats to these efforts. On Monday, US District Judge Amit P Mehta ruled the administrations halt on millions in clean energy grants unlawful, noting it targeted projects mainly in Democratic led states like those that supported Kamala Harris in twenty twenty four. Earth Org reports this decision requires restoring the funds for battery plants, hydrogen technology, grid upgrades, and carbon capture in sixteen states. Similarly, courts blocked the presidents late December freeze on three East Coast offshore wind projects, Revolution Wind, Empire Wind, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, allowing construction to resume and preserving jobs and affordable power, according to the League of Conservation Voters.

    New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced bold environmental wins in her State of the State address, proposing three point seven five billion dollars for clean water infrastructure and four hundred twenty five million for the state Environmental Protection Fund. She also advanced energy bill relief, clean electric vehicle promotion, and flood resilience for communities. The League of Conservation Voters praised these while urging more for solar power and battery storage.

    Conversely, the Department of Energy plans to redirect five hundred million dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, meant for rural energy resiliency, to prop up aging coal plants, drawing sharp criticism from environmental groups as illegitimate. South Carolina regulators approved an electricity rate hike despite high living costs, burdening families further. Governors from thirteen states in the PJM grid, including bipartisan leaders, demanded reforms from the operator to curb soaring prices driven by data center growth, pushing for faster renewable energy deployment as the cheapest option.

    Globally, confirmation emerged that twenty twenty five marked the third hottest year on record, extending an eleven year streak of extreme warmth, per UN weather data cited by Earth Org. President Trump signed a memorandum on January seventh withdrawing the US from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, breaking bipartisan precedent and sparking accusations of siding with polluters over public health. These clashes reveal an emerging pattern: judicial checks tempering executive rollbacks, state level clean energy pushes contrasting federal fossil fuel favoritism, and accelerating global heat underscoring the urgency for resilient infrastructure amid rising energy demands.

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    3 mins
  • Trump Administration Retreats from Climate Action, Sparking State-Level Responses

    Trump Administration Retreats from Climate Action, Sparking State-Level Responses
    Jan 14 2026
    President Trump announced the United States withdrawal from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, a 1992 treaty with near universal participation, through a presidential memorandum signed on January 7, calling it contrary to American interests. The League of Conservation Voters reports this move isolates the US from global climate efforts, while CNN and The New York Times note it affects over 60 international organizations, cementing US separation on climate action. US mayors, via C40 Cities, criticized the decision as dangerous for American health and safety, and the UNFCCC executive secretary warned it will harm the US economy by reducing manufacturing jobs in clean energy as other nations invest heavily.

    In Illinois, Governor JB Pritzker signed the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act into law, accelerating clean energy deployment, strengthening the grid, cutting emissions, and saving residents $13.4 billion in energy bills over 20 years, according to the Illinois Environmental Council. This counters federal rollbacks amid rising data center demands.

    The Trump administration forced coal plants in Colorado and Indiana to remain open past planned retirements via executive orders, raising energy costs and pollution, as Conservation Colorado states these outdated facilities burden ratepayers with higher bills and dirtier air.

    Construction paused on five permitted offshore wind projects along the East Coast, including New York sites that would power 1.1 million homes with 1.7 gigawatts of clean energy, per the New York League of Conservation Voters, which calls the national security claims absurd.

    A New Jersey court upheld the states 2020 environmental justice law, blocking polluting facilities in overburdened low-income and communities of color, rejecting industry challenges for vagueness.

    Euronews reports a federal judge ruled on January 11 that the administration illegally canceled $7.6 billion in clean energy grants for battery, hydrogen, grid, and carbon capture projects in 16 states that supported Kamala Harris in 2024, violating equal protection rules.

    These actions reveal a pattern of federal retreat from climate commitments, spurring state level defenses like Illinois legislation and New Jersey rulings, amid warnings of economic fallout and heightened emissions as global clean energy races ahead.

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    3 mins