Southwest (AZ NM OK TX)

First US Critical Minerals Mine Nears Approval in AZ Biodiversity Hotspot

"The U.S. Forest Service said it plans to approve South32’s Hermosa project in Patagonia, Arizona, despite the water problems the mine is already causing."

Source: Inside Climate News, 03/16/2026

"Big Bend Wall Opponents Ask Congress To Block Funds"

"In a map update posted last month to U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s website, the agency charted a major expansion of the border wall. It included terrain belonging to one of America’s most iconic wild areas, Big Bend National Park, an 800,000-acre desert landscape that includes the entire Chisos mountain range and more than 100 miles of the Rio Grande."

Source: Public Domain, 03/13/2026

"Tiny Texas School District Rejects Tax Deal with $6 Billion LNG Project"

"The Point Isabel Independent School District on Monday rejected a multi-million dollar tax break for a proposed $5.7 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project on the Texas Gulf Coast, finding the facility would not “align” with the community’s values or finances."

Source: Inside Climate News, 03/04/2026

"Dow Asks Texas to Legalize Plastic Pollution From Its Seadrift Complex"

"Facing multiple lawsuits, Dow requests an “unprecedented” permit amendment to authorize its discharge of polyethylene pellets into coastal waters."

Source: Inside Climate News, 03/03/2026

Texas Alleges ‘Habitual Non-Compliance’ of Water Rules at Dow Chemical

"The Texas Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit Friday afternoon against Dow Chemical Co., North America’s largest chemical manufacturer, describing hundreds of water pollution violations from its industrial complex on the rural Gulf Coast in Seadrift."

Source: Inside Climate News, 02/18/2026

Salty, Oily Drinking Water Left Mouth Sores. Okla. Refused to Find Out Why.

"When one couple’s water turned toxic, state oil regulators delayed key tests that could find a source of contamination. The state didn’t tell the couple for over a month that tests showed their drinking water was contaminated with high levels of barium, which can cause heart problems."

Source: The Frontier, 02/13/2026

Giant Snails And Tiny Insects Threaten The South’s Rice And Crawfish Farms

"Josh Courville has harvested crawfish his whole life, but these days, he’s finding a less welcome catch in some of the fields he manages in southern Louisiana. Snails. Big ones."

Source: AP, 02/11/2026

"How The Fracking Boom Put An Oil Field In The Guadalupe River Floodplain"

"More than 500 enormous oil tanks dot the floodplains of the Guadalupe River and its tributaries where they cross one of Texas’ leading oilfields, an Inside Climate News investigation has found, posing risk of an environmental disaster." "Lack of a state floodplain policy in Texas enabled oil companies to build in areas hit by an epic inundation less than 30 years ago."

Source: Inside Climate News, 02/10/2026

Texas Law Against Firms Boycotting Fossil Fuels Declared Unconstitutional

"A federal district judge on Wednesday declared a 2021 law restricting state investments in companies boycotting the fossil fuel industry unconstitutional, calling it “facially overbroad” and citing First and Fourteenth Amendment concerns."

Source: Texas Tribune, 02/06/2026

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