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Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen 6/18/2026

‘Green News Report’ – June 18, 2026  |  With Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen   · · · · ·   ‘Green News Report’ – June 18, 2026  |  With Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): The Art of the Yield: Trump says the quiet part out loud — he had to choose between surrender and economic disaster; Moscow oil refinery struck in Ukraine’s biggest air raid on city since start of war; Eastern Washington wildfire forces evacuations and destroys homes … PLUS: Battle over $7.25 bln Roundup settlement takes a new turn as Supreme Court decision looms … and much, MUCH more! …

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…

• Trump signs MOU with Iran, with massive concessions:
• US and Iran sign initial deal to end war, ease sanctions and open strait as nuclear talks continue (AP)
• What sanctions are there on Iran and will they be lifted? (Reuters)
• U.S. Will Waive Oil Sanctions That Have Long Crimped Iran (NY Times):
  The preliminary U.S.-Iran deal temporarily waives restrictions that have limited the country’s oil sales and how much money it has been able to make from those exports.
• Gas prices fall below $4 per gallon as oil supply fears ease after Iran deal (CNBC)
• The Iran War Permanently Altered the Global Economy (NY Times):
  The global order has been altered, and economies are unlikely to simply pick up where they left off before the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran.
• Iran Says Strait of Hormuz Won’t Have ‘Tolls’ but It Will Have ‘Fees’ (NY Times)
• Energy Firms Brace For ‘New Era’ Despite Hormuz Deal (Barrons)
• Pollution from Iran War will persist for generations:
• VIDEO: Iran war’s environmental toll could leave damage and health risks for decades, experts say (AP):
  The Iran war has unleashed a toxic mix of chemicals, heavy metals and other pollutants that threaten everything from agriculture to drinking water to people’s health — and will leave behind environmental damage and health risks that could persist for decades, experts said. “All the burning of oil and gas fields in the coastal areas, all the ships that are there, the oil tankers that are being burned or (sunk) — all of these mean pollution,” said Kaveh Madani, an Iranian scientist and director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. “For someone like me who has fought for sustainability and protection of the environment in that region, this is like going many years backward.”
• From black rain to marine pollution, the war in Iran is an environmental disaster (Guardian)
• Toxic pollution from Iran war will spread and last for decades (LA Times)
• VIDEO: Kaveh Madani: U.S. Attacks Iranian Water Reservoirs Amid “Normalization” of Targeting Civilian Infrastructure (Democracy Now)
• Military strikes on water facilities in Iran may constitute a war crime, experts say (Guardian)
• Southeast goes from drought to deluge with Tropical Storm Arthur:
• Tropical Cyclone Arthur weakens to a low pressure area along the upper Texas coast (AP)
• Arthur’s ghost is fueling tornadoes and a rare high flood risk for the Gulf Coast (CNN)
• Heavy rain, strong winds expected in Augusta from Arthur’s remnants (Augusta Chronicle)
• Second-warmest spring in U.S. history (Yale Climate Connections)
• The record-setting U.S. drought is so bad that 97% of the Southeast and two-thirds of the West are parched (AP)
• Neon-green algae overtakes DC’s Reflecting Pool after Trump’s ‘renovations’:
• VIDEO: Trump administration uses hydrogen peroxide and tiny bubbles against algae in Reflecting Pool (AP)
• Algae thwart Trump’s $14.2m attempt to turn reflecting pool ‘American flag blue’ (Guardian)
• Trump Ordered ‘American Flag Blue’ for the Reflecting Pool. It’s Green Again. (NY Times):
  President Trump wanted the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial to look pristine. Photosynthesis had other plans.
• Reflecting Pool’s “American Flag Blue” Turns Green Due to Algae (The Washingtonian)
• No-bid contract for Reflecting Pool reportedly shows inflated profit margin (MSNow)
• ‘MAGA’ Has A New Meaning After Trump’s Reflecting Pool Mishap — And It’s Hilarious (Huffington Post)
• VIDEO: Late Night Hosts Mock Trump Over Lincoln Memorial Pool Turning Green (Newsweek)
• Trump Admin. pays offshore wind developer $765 million to go away:
• Trump administration to buy back another energy company’s offshore wind leases for 4 more projects (AP):
  The Trump administration said Wednesday it’s buying back another energy company’s U.S. offshore wind leases for four more wind projects, as it seeks to discourage the expansion of wind energy in favor of fossil fuels. The latest deal brings the total amount spent on these agreements to nearly $2.6 billion…Hillary Bright, executive director of offshore wind advocacy group Turn Forward, said these buyouts are not one-for-one ‘swaps’ for another kind of energy, since the replacement projects won’t deliver power to the same states as the offshore wind farms would have.
• Trump invokes wartime law for $700 million coal bailout, and critics vow a court fight (The Cool Down/MSN)
• Pentagon reviews are blocking wind farms, putting jobs at risk: lawsuit (AP)
• June 20, 1979: Jimmy Carter installs solar panels on the White House:
• The forgotten story of Jimmy Carter’s White House solar panels (Yale Climate Connections):
  Self-conscious about his idealism, or perhaps just realistic, the president gave voice to his doubts about the panels: “A generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken, or it can be a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people.”
• Transcipt: President Jimmy Carter’s Remarks at White House Solar Panel Dedication Ceremony, 1979 (Yale Energy History)
• What Happened to Carter’s White House Solar Panels? They Lived On. (SEJ)
• VIDEO: Jimmy Carter installs solar panels on White House roof (CBS News/Youtube)

‘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

• The Art of the Yield: Trump says the quiet part out loud: He had to choose between surrender and economic disaster (The Bulwark)
• EVs are winners in the Iran war. So is US oil. (Politico)
• Moscow oil refinery struck in Ukraine’s biggest air raid on city since start of war (Guardian)
• Eastern Washington wildfire forces evacuations and destroys homes (AP)
• Top US lobby firms profit on both sides of the PFAS fight, report finds (The New Lede)
• Trump DOJ wants to sideline citizens in pollution fights (E&E News)
• Battle over $7.25 bln Roundup settlement takes a new turn as Supreme Court decision looms (The New Lede)
• Amid growing vape waste woes, industry calls for multilayered solutions (Waste Dive)
• VIDEO: How to fix the worst suburban design (City Planner Plays)
• The dawn of 24/7 solar power (with battery storage (Ghost Archive: Financial Times, no paywall)
• 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)