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The report finds that while most US states meet the minimum legal requirements for Title V air permitting notices, there are substantial gaps in transparency, accessibility, and the actual influence of public input on final decisions. It highlights that many public notices are written at a college reading level and lack plain language, and that few agencies transparently report how public comments shape permit outcomes. The analysis suggests that states with specific environmental justice or cumulative impacts laws tend to have better engagement practices. It recommends that agencies adopt plain language, provide multilingual resources, and establish clear mechanisms for reporting how community input affects regulatory decisions.

New research from Climate Central indicates that climate change accounted for 27% of the rate of heat-related emergency room visits in the U.S. during the warm seasons from 2018 to 2025. The study found that all U.S. regions experienced increased visit rates due to climate change, with the highest rates occurring in southern and western states. A notable peak occurred during the June 2021 northwestern U.S. heat wave, where daily visit rates were approximately 50 times higher than the regional average, with 27% of that rate attributed to climate change.

The document presents seven facts regarding the National Park Service (NPS) and its connection to Hispanic/Latino populations. It notes a significant underrepresentation of Latinos in the NPS workforce and leadership compared to their share of the U.S. population. It highlights historical figures like George Meléndez Wright and sites such as Chicano Park and Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The text also expresses concern over the removal of permanent workers since January 2025, the exclusion of U.S. territories from public surveys, and proposed mineral withdrawals in the Greater Chaco region.

The Rio Grande Basin is facing a severe water crisis characterized by unsustainable consumption and declining snowmelt, resulting in the loss of 85% of the river's natural flow. To address this, the author advocates for the modernization of the Rio Grande Environmental Management Program (RGEMP) via the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2026 to provide funding from 2026 to 2032 and streamlined access for local partners. Additionally, the document calls for increased funding for the Bureau of Reclamation's WaterSMART programs to support infrastructure upgrades and drought resilience.

The report argues that while next-generation geothermal has vast potential to provide clean firm power, its growth is hindered by a 'missing middle' financing gap, subsurface uncertainty, and outdated regulatory frameworks. It proposes five deployment levers: characterizing subsurface resources through data digitization and mapping, governing through streamlined permitting and clarified property rights, financing via procurement standards and convertible loans, connecting through improved transmission planning and workforce development, and innovating through sustained R&D and testbeds.

Climate change accounted for 27% of the rate of heat-related emergency room visits in the U.S. during 2018-2025. August 2026 was the warmest August on record globally, with record warmth affecting 13.2% of global land and ocean areas. In the U.S., Summer 2026 was the warmest on record for the contiguous region, and August 2026 was the warmest August for average, maximum, and minimum temperatures since 1895. Drought affected at least 81% of the contiguous U.S. as of September 8, 2026, and nearly 8.3 million acres burned year-to-date, driven by increased 'fire weather' days. Attribution analysis using the Climate Shift Index (CSI) indicates human-caused climate change drove summertime warming trends in 91% of analyzed U.S. cities. Additionally, a strong El Niño event is projected to peak around February 2027, with global temperature anomalies potentially reaching 1.7C above pre-industrial levels.

The Private Equity Hospital Tracker (2026) identifies approximately 447 private equity-owned hospitals in the U.S., representing 9.5% of all private hospitals and 26.8% of proprietary for-profit hospitals. The report highlights the dominance of a few firms, notably Apollo Global Management, and details predatory financial tactics such as sale-leasebacks and dividend recapitalizations. It also notes a trend toward joint ventures with nonprofit systems and a higher prevalence of real estate investment trust (REIT) ownership among private equity-backed facilities compared to the general hospital population. Quality data indicates that private equity-owned hospitals generally lag behind national CMS star rating averages.

The report analyzes the strategic use of joint ventures by private equity (PE) firms to enter healthcare markets, leveraging the reputation of nonprofit partners to scale operations. Through case studies of Lifepoint Health, Ascension, Compassus, and Ardent Health, it documents patterns such as sale-leaseback real estate transactions, the use of nonprofit referral networks, and declining care quality. It argues that current IRS and state regulations are insufficient to oversee these complex structures and recommends expanded oversight of management fees, control rights, and charitable asset transfers.

Netflix is implementing a three-step 'optimize, electrify and decarbonize' strategy to reduce the environmental impact of its productions, which account for over half of its Scope 1 and 2 emissions. The company is upgrading facilities like Longcross Studios in the U.K. with energy-efficient insulation, LED lighting, and renewable electricity, while replacing diesel generators on location with grid tie-ins, batteries, and hydrogen power units. These efforts, combined with the use of solar-powered trailers and electric vehicles, have led to significant fuel reductions in specific productions, such as The Witcher and The Boroughs, and serve as pilots for wider industry adoption of clean mobile power.

The brief contends that the Department of Defense is violating the Administrative Procedure Act and statutory obligations by refusing to conduct reviews for over 100 utility-scale wind projects. It argues this freeze is a pretext for the Trump Administration's animus toward wind energy, which will result in increased electricity prices, higher pollution levels, and greater greenhouse gas emissions.

This fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute describes the role of lithium in the energy transition, its global supply chain, extraction methods, and the environmental and social impacts associated with its production.

June 2026 was the second-warmest June on record globally, with the Arctic experiencing its warmest June ever. In the U.S., 66% of the contiguous region faced abnormally dry or drought conditions by July 7, 2026, and the West and Southwest regions saw their warmest January-June period on record. A very strong El Niño is forecast to develop between October and December 2026, with an 81% probability, likely pushing global temperatures to or above 1.5C by October. Climate Central's analysis indicates human-caused climate change is a key driver of summertime warming in 91% of analyzed U.S. cities.

The report compares two pathways for meeting U.S. electricity demand growth through 2030: one relying on fossil fuels and another on clean energy. It finds that a clean energy scenario reduces the incremental cost of meeting demand by $5.1 billion annually in 2030 and offers greater protection against fuel price volatility. To realize these savings, the authors recommend setting ambitious clean energy targets, updating electricity system planning with market-based assumptions, reducing permitting and interconnection barriers, implementing fuel cost sharing to manage risk, improving grid utilization through technologies like surplus interconnection and high-performance conductors, and harnessing demand-side resources such as virtual power plants and distributed energy technologies.

Earthjustice's Counter/Act report details its multifaceted legal and advocacy response to the second Trump administration's environmental policy rollbacks. The organization has scaled up litigation, launched a dedicated enforcement team to fill gaps in federal oversight, and shifted focus toward state-level protections for clean energy and public health. Key achievements include defending electric vehicle infrastructure, challenging the repeal of the endangerment finding, and securing state-level wins on landfill emissions in Colorado and environmental justice laws in New Jersey.

The testimony evaluates the Build Nuclear with Local Materials Act, the RECHARGE Act, and the Enrichment Licensing Modernization Act, arguing that while the intent to accelerate nuclear deployment is correct, some legislative approaches should be shifted to agency rulemaking to ensure transparency and regulatory flexibility.

The document highlights the systemic environmental inequality facing Latino communities in the U.S., who are nearly three times more likely than white communities to live in areas with the worst air pollution. It identifies fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ground-level ozone as primary threats, exacerbated by methane emissions and wildfire smoke. The text warns that rollbacks of EPA protections, including the dismantling of the Good Neighbor Rule and the erasure of the 2009 Endangerment Finding, threaten public health. It concludes by demanding enforceable air quality standards, investments in green infrastructure, and a transition to renewable energy.

Climate Central analyzed data from 476 weather stations to track fire weather trends in the contiguous U.S. between 1973 and 2025. The analysis reveals a significant increase in fire weather days, particularly in the western U.S., where conditions are intensifying in spring and summer. While the eastern U.S. has seen smaller increases, some areas in the Southeast and Northeast are experiencing more frequent fire weather. The report highlights that climate change is driving these trends through warming temperatures and decreasing relative humidity, which prime landscapes for wildfires to ignite and spread.

The report argues that next-generation geothermal, specifically enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), can provide the 'clean firm' power California needs to reach its 2045 goals affordably. Modeling shows that EGS could reduce annual electricity supply costs by $10-44 billion and decrease the required pace of solar installation from 10 GW/year to 3 GW/year. While projects are currently being developed in other western states, the authors argue that in-state development would further save $3.5-5.5 billion annually and reduce interregional transmission needs by 28-53%. To overcome the 'missing middle' of financing for high-risk exploration wells, the report recommends California establish a public subsurface mapping and testbed program similar to the DOE's FORGE project in Utah.

The report argues that substituting tax-exempt public debt for investor-owned utility (IOU) equity and taxable debt can significantly lower transmission costs for ratepayers in New England. It identifies two primary paths: strengthening existing quasi-public entities or creating a new purpose-built transmission authority. The author emphasizes that any such vehicle must have a clear statutory mandate for FERC-jurisdictional transmission, non-recourse revenue-bond authority, the ability to form public-private partnerships, and governance structures that ensure state accountability and risk control.

The report argues that New England's transmission costs are the highest in the U.S., driven by a lack of cohesive planning and a reliance on expensive private capital. It proposes replacing private equity and debt with low-cost, tax-exempt public financing, which could save ratepayers up to $8.3 billion on new transmission and $1.1 billion on asset condition projects. The authors suggest several implementation pathways, including integrating public financing into ISO New England's Longer-Term Transmission Planning (LTTP) process or creating new state transmission authorities.