‘Green News Report’ – May 15, 2025

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: House Republicans’ budget proposal effectively kills Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy incentives; Trump EPA to roll back first-ever limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in your drinking water; Global sea level rise is accelerating; PLUS: Australia’s Labor Party wins big, doubling down on renewable energy and climate commitments… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Toxic wildfire pollution infiltrates homes of 1 billion people a year: study; Republicans’ ‘clearly unprecedented’ gambit to kill climate programs; Trump’s ‘fear factor’: Scientists go silent as funding cuts escalate; FEMA cuts emergency training as hurricane season looms; Georgia shields maker of Roundup weed killer from some cancer claims; Balcony solar took off in Germany. Why not the US?… PLUS: Trump promised U.S. dominance. Instead, energy companies are faltering… and much, MUCH more! …

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…

• Australia’s Labor Party wins landslide election, reiterating climate commitments:
• Australia has backed a rapid shift to renewable energy – and given Labor a chance on climate. How will it act? (Guardian):
  Analysis of the election result has barely begun, but this much is clear: the country has backed a rapid acceleration towards renewable energy. Labor didn’t say much about the climate crisis during the campaign, announcing only one new policy. But Anthony Albanese and his climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, emerged with their ambitious goal of the country getting 82% of electricity from solar, wind and hydro by 2030 not just intact, but emphatically endorsed.
• Australia Election: How Nuclear Sites Escaped the Landslide (Bloomberg)
• Australia’s center-left Labor Party retains power in vote seen as test of anti-Trump sentiment (CNN)
• Now or Never: Australia’s Albanese Must Deliver for Climate Justice (The Diplomat)
With a fresh mandate, Albanese’s government will preside over Australia’s last chance to shift from climate laggard to climate leader.
• VIDEO: Anthony Albanese’s emotional victory speech (9 News Australia)
• Transcript: Anthony Albanese Election Night Victory Speech (Democracy In Action)
• Trump EPA to roll back first-ever limits on ‘forever chemicals’:
• EPA announces rollback for some Biden-era limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water (AP)
• EPA Ditches Historic ‘Forever Chemicals’ Rule (E&E News)
• Trump EPA moves to weaken drinking water limits on toxic ‘forever chemicals’ Politico – victory for chem companies (Politico):
  But the Trump administration’s move is a clear victory for industries that still actively produce and use the newer PFAS…Pulling those limits stands to have a particularly significant impact on communities near military bases and industrial sites, which have faced some of the most acute contaminations and have been struggling to understand the health impact of the brews of PFAS their families have been exposed to for a generation. That includes communities along the Cape Fear River in North Carolina, where the company Chemours for years discharged GenX and dozens of other PFAS directly into the water supply for roughly 200,000 people.
• Orwellian: EPA Announces It Will Keep Maximum Contaminant Levels for PFOA, PFOS (press release, US EPA)
• Trump EPA has stopped environmental laws:
• The Trump Administration has all but stopped enforcing environmental laws (Grist):
  [I]n the last few months, federal enforcement of major violations of environmental laws appears to have ground to a halt. A Grist review of data from the Department of Justice and EPA found that the Trump administration has not filed any new cases against major polluters in its first three months. Similarly, the number of minor civil and criminal enforcement cases has also significantly declined since President Donald Trump took office on January 20.
• House GOP budget proposal kills Biden-era clean energy incentives:
• Republicans’ ‘Clearly Unprecedented’ Gambit To Kill Climate Programs (E&E News)
• House GOP targets clean energy tax credits and pollution rules in budget bill (AP)
• House GOP advances sweeping cuts to clean energy tax credits (Washington Examiner/MSN):
  The cancellation of the credits would help partially offset a range of Republican tax cuts in the bill, most notably the extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts.
• US House targets big climate, clean energy rollbacks in budget proposal (Reuters)
• VIDEO: Rep. Steve Horsford calls on Republicans: “Do not be the reason that energy costs increase.” (CAP Action/Bluesky)
• Democrats focus on energy costs in US tax credit fight (Semafor/Yahoo News)
• Solar names surge as House GOP budget proposal cuts but does not kill solar and wind tax credits (Seeking Alpha)
• Tax bill proposal terminating clean energy credits may increase Utahns’ energy costs (Utah Dispatch)
• Senate Republicans Balk at House Plan to Gut Energy Tax Cuts (Bloomberg)
• Texas grapples with unusually early, record-breaking heat wave:
• Record-breaking heat wave expected in Texas this week with temps up to 113 degrees (Austin American-Statesman)
• South Texas will be one of the hottest places on Earth this week (KSAT)
• Texas is feeling an early heat wave. It’s a sign of a long, hot summer to come (CNN)
• Summer Forecast Update: Hotter-Than-Average Temperatures For Much Of US, But Northwest Is Most Anomalous (Weather Channel)
• Global sea level rise is accelerating:
• Global sea levels are rising faster and faster. It spells catastrophe for coastal towns and cities (CNN)
• NASA Analysis Shows Unexpected Amount of Sea Level Rise in 2024 (NASA)
• States fighting back against Trump Administration’s lawlessness:
• States sue the Trump administration for blocking funds for electric vehicle charging (AP)
• States Sue Over Freeze on Funding for Electric-Vehicle Charging (NY Times):
  The 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law provided $5 billion to states to build stations around the country. So far, 71 stations have been built, with many more in development, according to the research firm Atlas Public Policy. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, states that federal agencies have unlawfully frozen those funds and halted approvals for new stations, depriving states of critical resources and damaging the growing electric-vehicle industry.
• Trump Administration Accused of Declaring ‘Fake’ Emergency By 15 States (Newsweek)
• There Is No ‘Energy Emergency,’ a New Lawsuit Claims (NY Times):
  In the suit, 15 Democratic states called Trump’s declaration illegal and said federal agencies were rushing permits for fossil fuel projects under false pretenses.

‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (Stuff we didn’t have time for in today’s audio report)…

For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Daily Headlines page

• Toxic wildfire pollution infiltrates homes of 1 billion people a year: study (Guardian)
• Republicans’ ‘clearly unprecedented’ gambit to kill climate programs (E&E News)
• Trump promised U.S. dominance. Instead, energy companies are faltering. (Washington Post)
• Trump’s ‘fear factor’: Scientists go silent as funding cuts escalate (Science)
• Facing lawsuit, USDA says it will restore climate change-related webpages (AP)
• FEMA cuts emergency training as hurricane season looms (The Hill)
• Trump Administration to fast-track permits for Utah uranium mine (NY Times)
• Georgia shields maker of Roundup weed killer from some cancer claims (AP)
• 3M to Pay New Jersey Up to $450 Million for Drinking-Water Contamination (NY times)
• Balcony solar took off in Germany. Why not the US? (Grist)
• Georgia’s beloved shrimp industry grapples with disease and foreign imports (Grist/WABE)
• EPA tells scientists to apply for new jobs within the agency (The Hill)
• Another PFAS-containing pesticide headed for US registration (The New Lede)
• NOAA seeks to reassign employees to understaffed weather service offices (The Hill)
• Louisiana: Controversial Denka plant suspends production after dire losses (Guardian)
• Eight of the top 10 online shows are spreading climate misinformation (Yale Climate Connections)
• As a divided Congress fights over the Inflation Reduction Act, local media coverage highlights the benefits of the policy and the economic threats of repeal (Media Matters)
• Nil Baby, Nil: Oil majors kneecapped by Trump’s fossilized economics (This Is Not Cool blog)
• A guide to the 4 minerals shaping the world’s energy future (Grist)
• Wall Street Journal: Clean energy transition is unstoppable (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Can we avoid the enshittification of clean-energy tech? (David Roberts, Volts)
• Stop emissions, stop warming: A climate reality check (Dr. Andrew Dessler, Climate Brink)
• The Climate Fight Will Continue (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Who Will Care for Americans Left Behind by Climate Migration? (Pro Publica)
• Is the Atlantic Overturning Circulation Approaching a Tipping Point? (The Oceanography Society)
• How Oil Companies Manipulate Journalists (Drilled)
• Abrupt reduction in shipping emission as an inadvertent geoengineering termination shock produces substantial radiative warming (Nature)
• How To Spot 5 Of The Fossil Fuel Industry’s Biggest Disinformation Tactics (Guardian)
• The Oceans We Knew Are Already Gone (The Atlantic)
• Plug-in hybrids vs. electric cars: We did the math on which is better for you (Washington Post)
• How to electrify your life when you rent (The Verge)
• Complete Series: Farmers Under Attack for Supporting Clean Energy (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here’s How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration (Pro Publica)
• Exxon’s Snake Oil: 100 years of deception (Columbia Journalism Review)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)