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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Water crisis in Corpus Christi, Texas, as city’s water supply runs dangerously low; Cuba has run out of fuel due to U.S. oil blockade; PLUS: Trump Administration working overtime to make America polluted again… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!
Green News Report
with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen
5/19/2026
‘Green News Report’ – May 19, 2026 | With Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen · · · · · ‘Green News Report’ – May 19, 2026 | With Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen
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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): As electric bills rise, some states are focusing on the growing profits of utilities; US EPA proposes delaying enforcement of Biden vehicle pollution rules; Ban private jets and cut speed limits to avert UK fuel crisis, say campaigners; Solar to surpass coal in Texas power generation in 2026, EIA says … PLUS: The dawn of 24/7 solar power … and much, MUCH more! …
STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…
- VIDEO Snark: Imagine a world without fossil fuels or the Iran War (Daily Show/Youtube)
- Trump’s oil blockade causes crisis in Cuba
- Cuba has run out of diesel and fuel oil, energy minister says, as US blockade pushes island to brink (Guardian)
- VIDEO: Cuba grid collapse: The situation is growing more dire, experts say (ABC News)
- Cuba faces an energy crisis as the U. S. continues to block oil shipments (Yahoo News):
The Trump administration is aggressively pressuring the socialist regime to reform and demanding the removal of foreign spy technology.
- ‘Unlawful, Deeply Destabilizing, and Catastrophic’: Dems Warn Trump Against Cuba Attack (Common Dreams)
- UN experts condemn US executive order imposing fuel blockade on Cuba (United Nations Office of Human Rights)
- Cuba is moving quickly on a fast solar revolution:
- A solar-powered charging station in central Cuba brings life to a darkened island (AP)
- As the US starves it of oil, Cuba is pulling off one of the fastest solar revolutions on the planet – with China’s help (CNN):
The speed of the solar surge has been startling. China exported around $3 million of solar panels to Cuba in 2023; that figure rocketed to $117 million in 2025, according to Ember.
- Cuba is staging one of the world’s fastest solar surges as the US tightens oil and China steps in (The Cool Down)
- How Pakistan’s people-led solar boom is easing impact of Middle East energy crisis (Guardian)
- Water crisis in Corpus Christi, Texas:
- A Texas City Bet Big on Industry. Now It’s Running Out of Water (NY Times, no paywall):
Corpus Christi’s water problem has been building for several years. Its port and industrial corridor have expanded with the encouragement of the state and local government. New water sources have not kept pace. Then came a major, ongoing drought, now in its fifth year.
- Corpus Christi Plans to Declare a ‘Water Emergency.’ What Does That Mean? (Inside Climate News)
- Corpus Christi Water Crisis Spurs Stampede on South Texas Aquifers (Inside Climate News)
- After a Decade of Missteps, a Texas City Careens Toward a Water-Shortage Catastrophe (Inside Climate News):
Officials in Corpus Christi expect a “water emergency” within months and to fully run out of water next year. That would halt jet fuel supplies to Texas airports, trigger a surge in gasoline prices and result in an “economic disaster” without precedent, former officials said.
- Corpus Christi Leaders Believe Data Center Plans May Be Behind Delays to Emergency Water Supply (Inside Climate News):
Authorities in Sinton won’t confirm or deny Corpus Christi’s suggestion that the small town is hoarding its precious groundwater for data centers. Across Texas, a booming buildout of server farms is adding strain to water resources that are already stretched to their limit.
- The Corpus Christi Water Crisis Isn’t Exceptional. It’s Early. (Texas Observer):
When drought cycles outpace infrastructure planning, a water emergency is not a surprise-it’s a forecast…
What is unfolding here is, at its core, a timing failure. This is not a failure of prediction; the science has been consistent for decades. It is a failure of alignment. The climate is changing faster than the infrastructure built to manage it. South Texas is drying. The reservoirs that supply the city were structured around conditions that are no longer stable. The industrial demand layered on top of that system-formed under hydrological conditions that have since shifted and reflect the water availability of a wetter decade- has no mechanism to recalibrate when the rainfall those commitments assumed stops arriving. This is a synchronization failure between climate systems and human systems. The reservoirs are where that gap becomes measurable. - AUDIO: Texas coastal city faces worsening water shortage due to prolonged drought (NPR)
- Trump EPA Making America Polluted Again – PFAS:
- PFAS: EPA wants to repeal limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water (Washington Post/MSN):
The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday proposed repealing limits on four types of “forever chemicals” in drinking water, while delaying regulations on two others, drawing swift criticism from both environmental activists and the Make America Healthy Again movement that has supported President Donald Trump.
- EPA and HHS propose rescinding parts of Biden’s PFAS limits in drinking water (Washington Examiner/MSN)
- E.P.A. to End Some Limits on ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Drinking Water (NY Times):
The Biden administration established the limits on six of the substances in 2024, after the agency determined that long-term exposure to PFAS was linked to kidney cancer, immune system suppression, developmental delays in infants and children and other issues. Instead, the Trump administration will issue narrower regulations that rescind protections for four of the substances and continue to protect against two of the them, though companies will be able to request two extra years to comply with those.
- Trump EPA Making America Polluted Again – Toxic Coal Waste:
- Trump administration aims to roll back limits on toxic wastewater from coal-fired power plants (AP):
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency moved Thursday to roll back limits that require coal-fired power plants to prevent the release of toxic heavy metals into streams and rivers through polluted groundwater, saying a three-year-old rule is unduly costly for the energy industry at a time when energy demand is spiking.
- Trump’s EPA Moves to Ax Requirement that Coal Plants Treat Toxic Wastewater Seeping into Lakes and Rivers (EarthJustice)
- Greece closes coal plants, deploys solar + storage:
‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (Stuff we didn’t have time for in today’s audio report)…
For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Daily Headlines page
- As electric bills rise, some states are focusing on the growing profits of utilities (AP)
- US EPA proposes delaying enforcement of Biden vehicle pollution rules (Reuters)
- Ban private jets and cut speed limits to avert UK fuel crisis, say campaigners (Guardian)
- Solar to surpass coal in Texas power generation in 2026, EIA says (Reuters)
- The world is installing grid batteries at a blistering pace (Canary Media)
- The dawn of 24/7 solar power (with battery storage (Ghost Archive: Financial Times, no paywall)
- A surge in Nevada data center construction threatens the electricity supply for 49,000 Californians (LA Times)
- It’s the Age of Electricity and America isn’t ready (NY Times)
- Stop emissions, stop warming: A climate reality check (Dr. Andrew Dessler, Climate Brink)
- How to electrify your life when you rent (The Verge)
- Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here’s How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
- Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
- Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration (Pro Publica)
- Exxon’s Snake Oil: 100 years of deception (Columbia Journalism Review)
- Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)
