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The document details the widespread groundwater contamination caused by coal ash at U.S. power plants, where 91 percent of plants exceed federal safe standards. It highlights the dangers of 'sham recycling'—specifically using coal ash as soil fill—and contrasts this with legitimate encapsulation in concrete and gypsum. The testimony criticizes the Trump administration's efforts to cede enforcement to states and weaken federal regulations, while providing evidence that 'closure by removal' of ash ponds leads to significant water quality improvements and economic benefits for local communities.

The report finds that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) would significantly increase U.S. household energy costs, lead to substantial job losses in manufacturing and clean energy, and increase greenhouse gas emissions and premature deaths. By repealing key tax credits and environmental standards, the bill is projected to shrink cumulative GDP by $1.1 trillion between 2025 and 2034 and reduce new electricity capacity by 330 GW by 2035. While the bill expands oil and gas leasing, the report argues that the resulting increase in production is offset by higher demand-driven prices for fossil fuels.

The document outlines the drivers and impacts of coastal erosion, highlighting the vulnerability of the 15% of the global population living near coasts. It critiques temporary solutions like beach nourishment and emphasizes the loss of coastal wetlands, which act as storm defenses. The guide offers journalistic advice on handling the complexity of community resettlement, utilizing public records, and valuing indigenous knowledge. It also suggests specific data sources from NOAA and the USGS to track shoreline changes and the costs of erosion control.

The document outlines the drivers and impacts of shoreline loss, noting that roughly 15% of the global population lives near coasts and faces increased erosion from climate-fueled storms and rising seas. It highlights the high cost and temporary nature of beach renourishment, citing North Carolina's expenditure of over $1 billion since the 1950s. The guide provides reporting advice from journalist Olga Loginova, emphasizing the importance of embracing complexity, using public records requests, and valuing Indigenous traditional knowledge. It also lists specific global examples of coastal loss in Scotland, Nigeria, and the US, alongside recommended data sources from NOAA and the US Geological Survey.

The analysis reveals a significant increase in fire weather days across much of the contiguous U.S., with the western U.S. experiencing far more frequent fire weather than the east. While the western U.S. has seen strong increases, particularly in the Southwest during spring and summer, parts of the eastern U.S. have also seen impactful increases, especially in the Southeast and Northeast. The study emphasizes that while human activity causes 87% of wildfires, fire weather primes the landscape for these fires to ignite and spread.

In April 2025, 182 out of 191 analyzed U.S. cities were warmer than normal, with an average temperature anomaly of 2.1°F. The Southeast region experienced the most significant anomalies and the highest number of days with a Climate Shift Index (CSI) of 2 or above, indicating temperatures at least twice as likely to occur due to climate change. Shreveport, Louisiana, recorded the highest anomaly at 6.33°F, while Reno, Nevada, showed the fastest long-term April warming since 1970, increasing by 8.0°F.

The U.S. public EV charging network grew more than six-fold between 2016 and 2025, reaching nearly 196,000 ports. While California leads in total numbers and northeastern states lead in density, significant coverage gaps remain in the southern, central, and plains regions. To support a projected 33 million EVs by 2030, the U.S. may need 1 million additional public chargers, including 170,000 DC fast chargers.

The analysis finds that approximately 2.5 million people and 1.4 million homes in the contiguous U.S. are at risk from a severe coastal flood by 2050 under current global carbon reduction commitments. Florida, New York, and New Jersey are the most affected states. The report highlights that older adults are disproportionately exposed, with 540,000 people aged 65 and older living in at-risk areas.

Analysis of 144 U.S. weather stations shows that 88% of cities experienced increased hourly rainfall intensity between 1970 and 2024, with an average increase of 15% across those locations. The highest average regional increases occurred in the Upper Midwest (+18%), Northern Rockies and Plains (+16%), and Ohio Valley (+15%). Individual cities with the largest increases include Wichita, Kansas (+38%), Reno, Nevada (+37%), Fairbanks, Alaska (+37%), and El Paso, Texas (+37%). Projections indicate that with 2°C of global warming, 85% of U.S. counties are likely to see a 10% or higher increase in precipitation on the heaviest 1% of days, with particularly high intensification expected in Alaska (43%) and Hawaii (30%).

The Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) argues that private equity's business model in the US healthcare sector—characterized by high leverage, sale-leasebacks, and dividend recapitalizations—prioritizes short-term investor returns over patient care. The document details how these strategies lead to increased healthcare costs, reduced staffing, and hospital bankruptcies, citing case studies of Prospect Medical Holdings, Steward Health Care, and Apollo Global Management's Lifepoint and ScionHealth. PESP advocates for state-level policy solutions including robust merger reviews, financial transparency requirements, and bans on debt-funded dividends to protect healthcare infrastructure.

The report examines the potential of advanced transmission technologies (ATTs), including grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) and advanced conductors, to expand US grid capacity. While pilots have demonstrated success—such as increasing capacity by 40% in the Midwest—widespread adoption is hindered by risk aversion, financial disincentives, a lack of integration into planning processes, and poor cross-utility coordination. The author suggests that large corporate energy users can accelerate deployment through policy advocacy at federal and state levels and by leveraging their influence to catalyze collaboration across different utility service territories.

A coalition of organizations calls on Democratic leadership to reject efforts by the Trump administration and the fossil fuel industry to secure blanket waivers of liability for climate-related damages and deception.

RMI analysis indicates that replacing coal-fired units at the Colstrip Generating Station with a portfolio of solar, wind, and battery storage could save Montana ratepayers between $500 million and $1.17 billion over 30 years. The document urges Northwestern Energy and the Montana Public Service Commission to prioritize coal-to-clean reinvestment and Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) financing in upcoming rate cases and integrated resource plans.

The document argues that repealing federal technology-neutral electricity tax credits (§45Y and §48E) would significantly increase household energy bills across the United States. Drawing on analyses from multiple research groups, it estimates that national annual household energy bills would rise by $40–$60 in 2030, $56–$150 in 2035, and $140–$220 by 2040. The report highlights that these credits lower costs by reducing investment expenses for wind, solar, battery, nuclear, and geothermal projects, savings which utilities are regulated to pass on to consumers. Repeal would likely lead to substantial price hikes in specific states, with some households facing increases over $500 annually.

The report documents a shift in IDD services from non-profit providers to private equity-owned platforms, highlighting risks such as cost-cutting, financial extraction through dividend recapitalizations, and systemic quality failures. It provides case studies of companies like Sevita, Help at Home, and Broadstep Behavioral Health to illustrate patterns of abuse, neglect, and regulatory non-compliance.

Federal clean energy incentives have already spurred $75 billion in private investment and created over 100,000 manufacturing jobs since 2022. Under a 'High Potential Scenario', these incentives could bring nearly $235 billion in federal investment to US states by 2030, with the largest gains expected in battery manufacturing and hydrogen production.

The document argues that private equity ownership of hospitals, specifically Apollo Global Management's ownership of Lifepoint Health, prioritizes short-term profits over patient care. It highlights a decline in CMS star ratings and poor clinical outcomes across several Lifepoint hospitals in North Carolina, including high mortality rates for heart failure and pneumonia, and significant issues with catheter-associated urinary tract infections. The report also details Lifepoint's use of joint ventures with academic and nonprofit entities to expand its market reach.

The report addresses the surge in US electricity demand, noting that utility integrated resource plans covering 48% of sales expect load to grow 20% from 2023 to 2035. It argues that traditional forecasting is inadequate for new large loads—specifically data centers and industrial reshoring—which possess unique load shapes, high uncertainty, and 'flight risk'. The authors recommend that regulators shift toward scenario-based forecasting, increase the frequency of updates (e.g., quarterly), and implement 'least-regrets' capital investments and risk-shifting tariffs to protect ratepayers from the costs of forecast errors.

The report identifies five key trends in the development of the U.S. electric vehicle workforce pipeline, focusing on Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Tennessee. It finds that public community and technical colleges are the primary providers of training, with a heavy emphasis on vehicle maintenance and repair over manufacturing and charging. The analysis highlights a wide variance in enrollment requirements and program durations, ranging from 20-hour online courses to two-year degrees. It also identifies three critical industry certifications—ASE, AWS, and NIMS—and describes how state-level policies and private investments are driving the creation of these educational pathways to support the transition to zero-emission vehicles.

The document reports that 2024 is on track to be the hottest year on record, with global temperatures exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for the first time. In the U.S., 24 billion-dollar disasters occurred through November 2024, resulting in at least 418 deaths and $61 billion in damages, excluding the costs of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The analysis highlights a shrinking interval between such disasters, falling to an average of 12 days in 2024 compared to 82 days in the early 1980s.