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The Great Lakes region remains the heartland of US steelmaking, but its primary production assets face a critical transition to avoid becoming noncompetitive as global demand for low-emissions steel grows. While federal legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provides significant funding and tax credits (such as 45V and 45Q), the report finds a lack of coordinated state-level industrial strategies. The document argues that the region must prioritize the adoption of Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) pathways—specifically those using renewable hydrogen or carbon capture—to maintain high-quality jobs and reduce local air pollution. Key bottlenecks include grid interconnection delays for renewable energy, the need for Class VI primacy for carbon sequestration, and a lack of steel-specific workforce retraining programs.

Analysis of 241 U.S. locations from 1970 to 2022 shows that fall temperatures have increased by an average of 2.4°F in 232 cities, with the most intense warming occurring in the Southwest. This trend is characterized by an increase in above-normal fall days, which prolongs risks related to heat-related illness, wildfires, and allergies, while increasing energy demand for cooling.

The Earthjustice Northern Rockies office focuses on protecting biodiversity, safeguarding sacred Indigenous lands, defending water quality, and transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy through litigation and partnerships in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.

The report identifies 19 private equity firms investing in 35 oil and gas companies that have received federal drilling permits since 2017. It estimates that U.S. taxpayers could face up to $384 million in cleanup costs for nearly 2,700 wells operated by these private-equity-backed companies across eight states, with Colorado and New Mexico facing the highest liabilities. The authors argue that the private equity business model—characterized by high leverage and quick exits—combined with outdated federal bonding requirements (averaging only $2,122 per well) and bankruptcy laws, allows firms to externalize environmental costs. The document also highlights 'greenwashing' strategies, such as the promotion of 'certified gas,' used to maintain investor support despite ongoing fossil fuel expansion.

A coalition of environmental organizations argues that mature and old-growth (MOG) forests are critical for carbon sequestration and biodiversity, and must be protected from logging via a national BLM rule. The document details the ecological value of MOG, identifies ongoing logging threats on BLM lands, and argues that such protections are consistent with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and Biden administration executive orders.

The document lists private equity firms and the specific companies they have acquired to profit from services provided to incarcerated populations, including communications, healthcare, and commissary services.

The World Resources Institute analyzes CEJST 1.0, finding that while it identifies more disadvantaged populations than the beta version, it lacks a mechanism to prioritize communities facing multiple overlapping burdens. The analysis reveals that non-white populations are disproportionately exposed to higher cumulative burdens, yet the tool treats all disadvantaged communities as equal for funding purposes. The authors recommend incorporating cumulative burden metrics, adjusting low-income eligibility for severely burdened areas, and establishing a rigorous monitoring framework for the Justice40 Initiative.

This fact sheet details the involvement of private equity firms in the incarceration industry, listing specific companies providing commissary, communications, healthcare, and construction services to millions of incarcerated people across the U.S. and internationally.

The Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) program provides financial aid to agricultural producers in 16 specific US states to manage financial risk through conservation, marketing, and crop diversification. Administered by the NRCS, AMS, and RMA, the program is permanently authorized at $10 million per fiscal year and covers up to 75 percent of the cost for conservation practices like agroforestry and cover crops to mitigate climate change.

RMI's analysis indicates that US states can secure significant federal investment, job growth, and health improvements by ambitiously adopting the Inflation Reduction Act's (IRA) tax credits, rebates, and grants. Under a "Climate Ambitious Scenario," states could see cumulative investments between $1 billion and $130 billion by 2030, with the highest per capita gains expected in states with strong renewable energy potential and industrial activity, such as Wyoming, Montana, and Louisiana.

The report details how private equity firms are acquiring and managing rural hospitals and other health services, such as air ambulances and behavioral health centers. It argues that the pursuit of high short-term returns often leads to cost-cutting, asset-stripping through sale-leaseback transactions, and reduced access to essential services. The document provides case studies of hospital closures and quality failures, and it calls for increased regulatory oversight, limits on dividend recapitalizations, and direct public investment to safeguard rural health systems.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) outlines four primary criteria for successful clean hydrogen hubs: minimizing greenhouse gas intensity across the production value chain, prioritizing hard-to-abate end-use sectors, committing to environmental justice and community engagement, and delivering immediate local environmental benefits. These recommendations are directed at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) following the authorization of $8 billion under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 to establish at least four regional hubs.

The report evaluates zero-emission alternatives to natural gas-driven pneumatic controllers, which are known to release methane. It focuses on electric controllers and solar-powered instrument air systems, finding that both are cost-effective compared to the social cost of methane. The analysis highlights that electric controllers generally offer the lowest abatement costs and that recent technological advancements, such as vertical solar panel stacking and new failsafe systems for Emergency Shut Down (ESD), have expanded the viability of these technologies.

To meet its 2030 climate target of reducing net emissions by 50-52% from 2005 levels, the United States must increase its land carbon sink's annual removal by 13% over 2019 levels, reaching at least 913 Mt CO2e. The World Resources Institute identifies three primary pathways to achieve this: reforestation and restocking, agroforestry, and wildfire risk mitigation. Together, these pathways would require a total federal investment of $126.6 billion over 20 years, supporting approximately 199,000 jobs annually and generating $226.8 billion in value added to local economies. The document advocates for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and the Build Back Better Act to maintain robust funding for these initiatives to catalyze a just, low-carbon economy.

The report details how Apollo Global Management leveraged LifePoint Health to generate profits and expand its healthcare footprint while the company received $1.64 billion in CARES Act support. It highlights a $1.6 billion profit made by Apollo selling LifePoint from one of its funds to another and the acquisition of Kindred Healthcare, which created the largest private-equity-owned healthcare company in the US. The document argues that these financial maneuvers prioritize private equity returns over patient care, noting that LifePoint hospitals lag national quality averages and faced critical ICU capacity shortages during COVID-19 surges.

The report analyzes how a $55 billion annual federal investment in clean energy and land restoration could generate nearly 260,000 rural jobs and $21.7 billion in annual value added for rural US economies. It identifies seven priority investment pathways: renewable energy, energy efficiency, grid modernization (transmission, distribution, and storage), environmental remediation of fossil fuel sites, tree restoration on federal and non-federal lands, and wildfire risk management. The analysis emphasizes that nearly 45% of these jobs would benefit economically disadvantaged rural counties. The document provides specific state-level data and proposes federal policy vehicles, such as tax credits and grant programs, to catalyze these investments.

The U.S. experienced significant growth in wind electricity generation between 2000 and 2020, with wind turbines accounting for 8.4% of total utility-scale electricity generation. Research from Net Zero America's 'High Electrification (E+)' scenario suggests that by 2050, Texas could lead the country with over 180 gigawatts of installed capacity, while Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, and Nebraska could each exceed 100 gigawatts. Offshore wind potential is particularly high along the East Coast, with Environment America estimating a potential for over 7,200 terawatt-hours of electricity per year. The document also highlights job growth potential, noting that Texas could support over 130,000 wind energy jobs by 2050, and rural states like Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana, and Iowa could see more than 200 jobs per 10,000 residents.

Conservation corps in the United States employ youths, veterans, and seniors in environmental restoration and resilience projects. These programs, modeled after the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps, provide workforce training in green skills while reducing federal land maintenance costs. Current efforts to expand these programs include President Biden's 2021 Civilian Climate Corps Initiative and various legislative proposals to increase national service positions and funding for reforestation and public land restoration.

The document details the evolution of conservation corps in the U.S., from the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps to modern initiatives like the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps. It highlights the environmental benefits of these programs, such as reforestation and disaster response, and their economic impact, including workforce development and cost-efficient land management. The text also outlines various funding mechanisms and recent legislative efforts, including President Biden's 2021 executive order for a Civilian Climate Corps Initiative, aimed at scaling up resilience and sustainability efforts.

The Clean Air Task Force proposes a set of regulatory measures to reduce U.S. oil and gas methane emissions by 65% relative to 2012 levels by 2025. The plan focuses on seven key areas: frequent leak detection and repair (LDAR), replacing gas-driven pneumatic equipment with non-emitting alternatives, controlling storage tank emissions, minimizing well completion emissions, regulating compressors and dehydrators, reducing oil well venting and flaring, and minimizing maintenance venting. The analysis suggests these measures would reduce 2025 emissions by 7.8 million metric tons of methane compared to current policies, equivalent to 680 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent over a 20-year horizon.