Climate Change News Digest for December 31, 2025

This digest provides a selection of recent news articles relating to climate change and other environmental issues. Click on the title to read the full article from its original source.

Bills would target water use, utility costs tied to Michigan data center boom

New state legislation unveiled this week would take a crack at regulating water usage, transparency standards and infrastructure costs in large-scale data center developments amid a hardening public opposition against the facilities across the state.

By Jackie Smith (Mlive)

Democratic Governors Are Fighting Trump’s War on Wind Energy

Leaders in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island are racing to save offshore wind farms targeted by the president.

By Lisa Friedman, Benjamin Oreskes and Maxine Joselow (New York Times)

After a Hard Year for Environmental Justice, Chicago Communities Are Picking Up the Pieces

When the EPA abruptly terminated “Community Change” grants, the impacts rippled across the country. Chicago groups that won and then lost one of those grants are still feeling the impacts.

By Amber X. Chen (Inside Climate News)

The year Trump tried and failed to stop clean energy

The Trump administration brought the sledgehammer down on clean energy — but that still wasn’t enough to crush it.

By Dan McCarthy (Canary Media)

She Studied the Health Effects of Wildfires

Marina Vance had an E.P.A. grant to help homeowners counter the impact of wildfire smoke, until the agency deemed the research “no longer consistent” with its priorities.

By Carl Zimmer (New York Times)

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