President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Monday afternoon that shrank the size of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments — again. The two orders collectively cut nearly three million acres out of monument protection, including 1.69 million acres of land from Grand Staircase Escalante-National Monument and 1.24 million acres for Bears Ears National Monuments — about 90%...
The U.S. Army Just Took a Historic Step to Break China’s Rare Earth Dominance
The U.S. Army has placed REalloys at the center of America’s drive to rebuild its heavy rare earth supply chain, selecting the company to build and operate the first-ever commercial critical mineral processing operation on a U.S. military installation. REalloys plans to build a heavy rare earth processing complex at the Tooele Army Depot in Utah capable...
Intel Invests €5 Billion to Expand Irish Hub in AI Chip Race
Intel Corp. is spending €5 billion ($5.7 billion) to expand its plant in Ireland, as the chipmaker attempts to regain its manufacturing dominance for the AI boom. The investment will expand capacity at the Leixlip campus on the outskirts of Dublin as part of Intel’s drive to increase output of data center processors, Intel said in...
Trump rule says habitat destruction does not harm endangered species
The Trump administration Friday finalized a repeal of decades-old regulation that said habitat destruction was a form of harm to endangered species. Overturning that interpretation of one of the country’s bedrock environmental laws could allow for mining, ranching and other development to expand into previously protected areas. Read more in the Washington Post here.
The Plan to Build Energy’s Sci-Fi Future in Shut-Down Nuclear Plants
In 2011, after the Fukushima disaster, Germany made the fateful decision to switch off its nuclear plants. Now, two have been promised a second life as fusion-energy projects in a high-risk technology bet aimed at revitalizing Europe’s industrial core. The plan rides on two ventures that are pursuing the same dream—creating a star on Earth to create abundant...
EU plans to impose emissions costs on waste incineration plants
Waste incineration plants in Europe will have to pay for their carbon dioxide emissions under European Union plans to add the industry to the bloc’s emissions trading system, EU officials said on Wednesday. The plans, which aim to incentivise reuse of material, limit waste, and push operators to invest in emission-capturing technology, have met strong...
AI Data Centers Have Been Great for the Steel Industry. Now, a Power Crisis Looms.
The American steel industry is reaping the benefits of the AI data-center construction boom. But now, steelmakers are warning of a high-stakes competition with their data-center customers for a commodity they both require: electricity. Data centers’ insatiable demand for electricity is driving up power costs for steel companies by tens of millions of dollars a year and...
Spanberger draws a hard line on data center bans: ‘Walking away from the table’
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) defended the economic and national security importance of the state’s booming data center industry this week, days after approving a budget that imposes Virginia’s first tax on the sector’s electricity consumption. Spanberger said the new budget strikes a balance between ensuring data centers “pay their fair share” while preserving an industry she said is critical to Virginia’s economy and the nation’s technological...
Aalo Atomics’ Test Reactor Reaches Criticality at INL, Fourth DOE-Authorized Advanced Reactor by July 4
Aalo Atomics’ Aalo-X Critical Test Reactor (CTR)—dubbed “Project First Light”—has reached criticality at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), marking the fourth Department of Energy (DOE)–authorized advanced reactor startup under the federal push to accelerate reactor testing and demonstration. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said July 6 that Aalo’s test reactor, which DOE referred to as...
Gov. Greg Abbott calls for ban on data center development in rural Texas neighborhoods
Gov. Greg Abbott called for blocking new data center development in rural parts of the state during a campaign stop in East Texas on Tuesday. “We must prohibit them from building AI data centers in rural Texas neighborhoods,” Abbott said at the Bullard event, which primarily discussed his plan to cut property taxes, adding that this issue “dovetails...









