Climate change cuts milk production, even when farmers cool their cows

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

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A new study finds extreme heat reduces milk production by up to 10 percent and adding cooling technologies only offsets about half of the loss.

While recent studies have shown climate change will cut crop production, there has been less research into its impacts on livestock. Dairy farmers already know their cows are vulnerable to heat. What will more heat mean? In one of the most comprehensive assessments of heat’s impact on dairy cows, a study in the journal Science Advances finds one day of extreme heat can cut milk production by up to 10 percent. The effects of that hot weather can last more than 10 days later, with efforts to keep cows cool being insufficient.

“Climate change will have wide-ranging impacts on what we eat and drink, including that cold glass of milk,” says one of the study’s co-authors Eyal Frank, an assistant professor at the Harris School of Public Policy. “Our study found that extreme heat leads to significant and lasting impacts on milk supply, and even the most high-tech, well-resourced farms are deploying adaptation strategies that may be an insufficient match to climate change.”

Frank and his co-authors Claire Palandri, Ayal Kimhi, Yaniv Lavon, Ephraim Ezra, and Ram Fishman studied the dairy industry in Israel, an advanced dairy system representative of top milk producing countries. The researchers analyze highly local weather data to measure humid heat’s impact on more than 130,000 Israeli dairy cows over 12 years. They then surveyed more than 300 dairy farmers to see how much cooling technologies have helped.

“The dairy industry in Israel is a good testbed because farms are scattered throughout the country and experience a wide range of temperatures and humidity that represent conditions for top milk producing countries around the world,” says co-author Ram Fishman, an associate professor of Public Policy at Tel Aviv University. “Plus, almost all farmers have already adopted ventilation and spraying systems to keep their cows cooler. What’s more, Israeli dairy farms are some of the most technologically advanced in the world, so whatever impacts they suffer are likely greater in other regions.”

The team of researchers found that milk production declined significantly on hot, humid days—by up to 10 percent when wet-bulb temperatures exceeded 26°C (78.8°F). Wet-bulb temperatures combine information on dry-bulb temperature (the ambient air temperature) and humidity. By doing so, they offer a measure that better captures heat stress. The same ambient air temperature feels very different on dry or on humid days for people and cows.  When cows are exposed to this humid heat, often referred to as “steam bath” conditions, it takes more than 10 days for milk production to bounce back to normal levels. While nearly all of the farms the researchers surveyed had adopted cooling technologies, these efforts to adapt only offset about half of the losses on 20°C days (68°F). The hotter it gets, the less they help. On 24°C (75.2°F), they offset 40 percent of the losses. Still, the researchers find it is worth it to install cooling equipment, with farmers able to recoup the costs of installing the equipment in about a year and a half.

“Dairy farmers are well aware of the negative impacts that heat stress has on their herds, and they use multiple forms of adaptation,” says co-author Ayal Kimhi, associate professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and vice president of the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research. “Adaptation is costly, and farmers need to carefully balance the benefits they obtain versus the costs. This is why we see some investment in cooling measures, but not a complete insulation of cows from their environment, which would be far too costly to implement.”

The researchers use their estimates in Israel to show how climate change could affect milk production globally by mid-century, and which countries benefit the most from adaptation. They find that, without cooling, the top 10 milk-producing countries could see average daily milk output decline by 4 percent—with some countries impacted more than others. Three out of the top five producers—India, Pakistan and Brazil—see greater losses than Israel: between 3.5 percent and 4 percent per cow per day. They are also the countries that benefit the most from cooling. Yet, even with cooling, the five largest producers (including the United States and China) still see losses between 1.5 percent and 2.7 percent per cow per day.  

“Our research underscores the value and the limitations of cooling technologies and other efforts taken by dairy farmers to adapt to climate change,” says lead-author Claire Palandri, a postdoctoral scholar at the Harris School of Public Policy. “Policymakers should look into more strategies to not only cool cows but reduce stressors, like confinement and calf separation. Stressors make cows more sensitive to heat and less resilient.”

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Journal

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.adw4780 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

High-Frequency Data Reveal Limits of Adaptation to Heat in Animal Agriculture

Article Publication Date

4-Jul-2025

 

Frozen, but not sealed: Arctic Ocean remained open to life during ice ages

UiT The Arctic University of Norway

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By analysing ancient ocean seafloor sediments and running detailed climate simulations, the research team found no evidence for the presence of a thick ice shelf. Instead, this study paints a picture of an Arctic that despite being cold and icy, still had open water areas that allowed for biological activity and ocean circulation. Photo: Morven Muilwijk.

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Credit: Morven Muilwijk

For years, scientists have debated whether a giant thick ice shelf once covered the entire Arctic Ocean during the coldest ice ages. Now a new study published in Science Advances, challenges this idea as the research team found no evidence for the presence of a massive ~1km ice shelf. Instead, the Arctic Ocean appears to have been covered by seasonal sea ice—leaving open water and life-sustaining conditions even during the harshest periods of cold periods during the last 750,000 years. This discovery gives insights crucial for our understanding of how the Arctic has responded to climate change in the past—and how it might behave in the future.

 

Tiny traces of life in ancient mud

Led by the European Research Council Synergy Grant project Into the Blue – i2B, the research team studied sediment cores collected from the seafloor of the central Nordic Seas and Yermak Plateau, north of Svalbard. These cores hold tiny chemical fingerprints from algae that lived in the ocean long ago. Some of these algae only grow in open water, while others thrive under seasonal sea ice that forms and melts each year.

“Our sediment cores show that marine life was active even during the coldest times,” said Jochen Knies, lead author of the study, based at UiT The Arctic University of Norway and co-lead of the Into The Blue - i2B project. “That tells us there must have been light and open water at the surface. You wouldn’t see that if the entire Arctic was locked under a kilometre-thick slab of ice.”

One of the key indicators the team looked for was a molecule called IP25, which is produced by algae that live in seasonal sea ice. Its regular appearance in the sediments shows that sea ice came and went with the seasons, rather than staying frozen solid all year round.

 

Simulating ancient Arctic climates

To test the findings based on the geological records, the research team used the AWI Earth System Model – a high-resolution computer model – to simulate Arctic conditions during two especially cold periods: the Last Glacial Maximum around 21,000 years ago, and a deeper freeze about 140,000 years ago when large ice sheets covered a lot of the Arctic.

“The models support what we found in the sediments,” said Knies. “Even during these extreme glaciations, warm Atlantic water still flowed into the Arctic gateway. This helped keep some parts of the ocean from freezing over completely.”

The models also showed that the ice wasn’t static. Instead, it shifted with the seasons, creating openings in the ice where light could reach the water—and where life could continue to thrive. This research not only reshapes our view of past Arctic climates but also has implications for future climate predictions. Understanding how sea ice and ocean circulation responded to past climate extremes can improve models that project future changes in a warming world.

“These reconstructions help us understand what’s possible—and what’s not—when it comes to ice cover and ocean dynamics,” said Gerrit Lohmann, co-author of this study, based at Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and co-lead of Into The Blue – i2B. “That matters when trying to anticipate how ice sheets and sea ice might behave in the future.”

 

Re-thinking the giant ice shelf theory

Some scientists have argued that features on the Arctic seafloor suggest that a huge, grounded ice shelf once covered the entire ocean. But this new study offers another explanation.

“There may have been short-lived ice shelves in some parts of the Arctic during especially severe cold phases,” said Knies. “But we don’t see any sign of a single, massive ice shelf that covered everything for thousands of years.”

One possible exception could have occurred about 650,000 years ago, when biological activity in the sediment record dropped sharply. But even then, the evidence points to a temporary event, not a long-lasting frozen lid over the Arctic.

 

Understanding the Arctic’s future

The study sheds new light on how the Arctic has behaved under extreme conditions in the past. This matters because the Arctic is changing rapidly today. Knowing how sea ice and ocean circulation responded to past climate shifts helps scientists understand what might lie ahead.

“These past patterns help us understand what’s possible in future scenarios,” said Knies. “We need to know how the Arctic behaves under stress—and what tipping points to watch for – as the Arctic responds to a warming world.”

 

 

The full paper, “Seasonal sea ice characterized the glacial Arctic–Atlantic gateway over the past 750,000 years”, is available in Science Advances. 

This research is part of the European Research Council Synergy Grant project Into the Blue – i2B and the Research Council of Norway Centre of Excellence, iC3: Centre for ice, Cryosphere, Carbon, and Climate

Seasonal sea ice forms and melts every year creating openings in the ice with open water where life can continue to thrive. Photo: Griselda Anglada Ortiz.

Arctic sea ice, not a thick ice shelf like what we observe in Antarctic today (above), shaped the far north for 750,000 years. Photo credit: Matthias Forwick.

Dr Jochen Knies, Researcher and Adjunct Professor at the Department of Geosciences at UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

Journal

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.adu7681 

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Seasonal sea ice characterized the glacial Arctic-Atlantic gateway over the past 750 000 years

Article Publication Date

4-Jul-2025

 

Some like it cold: Cryorhodopsins

Rare blue proteins from cold-adapted microbes can serve as prototypes to design molecular on-off switches for cells

European Molecular Biology Laboratory

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Cryorhodopsins are a group of proteins found in cold-loving microorganisms. They have the remarkable ability to turn cellular electrical activity on and off

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Credit: Daniela Velasco/EMBL

Imagine the magnificent glaciers of Greenland, the eternal snow of the Tibetan high mountains, and the permanently ice-cold groundwater in Finland. As cold and beautiful these are, for the structural biologist Kirill Kovalev, they are more importantly home to unusual molecules that could control brain cells’ activity.

Kovalev, EIPOD Postdoctoral Fellow at EMBL Hamburg’s Schneider Group and EMBL-EBI’s Bateman Group, is a physicist passionate about solving biological problems. He is particularly hooked by rhodopsins, a group of colourful proteins that enable aquatic microorganisms to harness sunlight for energy.

“In my work, I search for unusual rhodopsins and try to understand what they do,” said Kovalev. “Such molecules could have undiscovered functions that we could benefit from.”

Some rhodopsins have already been modified to serve as light-operated switches for electrical activity in cells. This technique, called optogenetics, is used by neuroscientists to selectively control neuronal activity during experiments. Rhodopsins with other abilities, such as enzymatic activity, could be used to control chemical reactions with light, for example.

Having studied rhodopsins for years, Kovalev thought he knew them inside out – until he discovered a new, obscure group of rhodopsins that were unlike anything he had seen before.

As it often happens in science, it started serendipitously. While browsing online protein databases, Kovalev spotted an unusual feature common to microbial rhodopsins found exclusively in very cold environments, such as glaciers and high mountains. “That’s weird,” he thought. After all, rhodopsins are something you typically find in seas and lakes.

These cold-climate rhodopsins were almost identical to each other, even though they evolved thousands of kilometres apart. This couldn’t be a coincidence. They must be essential for surviving in the cold, concluded Kovalev, and to acknowledge this, he named them ‘cryorhodopsins’.

Rhodopsins out of the blue

Kovalev wanted to know more: what these rhodopsins look like, how they work, and, in particular, what colour they are.

Colour is the key feature of each rhodopsin. Most are pink-orange – they reflect pink and orange light, and absorb green and blue light, which activates them. Scientists strive to create a palette of different coloured rhodopsins, so they could control neuronal activity with more precision. Blue rhodopsins have been especially sought-after because they are activated by red light, which penetrates tissues more deeply and non-invasively.

To Kovalev’s amazement, the cryorhodopsins he examined in the lab revealed an unexpected diversity of colours, and, most importantly, some were blue.

The colour of each rhodopsin is determined by its molecular structure, which dictates the wavelengths of light it absorbs and reflects. Any changes in this structure can alter the colour.

“I can actually tell what’s going on with cryorhodopsin simply by looking at its colour,” laughed Kovalev.

Applying advanced structural biology techniques, he figured out that the secret to the blue colour is the same rare structural feature that he originally spotted in the protein databases.

“Now that we understand what makes them blue, we can design synthetic blue rhodopsins tailored to different applications,” said Kovalev.

Next, Kovalev’s collaborators examined cryorhodopsins in cultured brain cells. When cells expressing cryorhodopsins were exposed to UV light, it induced electric currents inside them. Interestingly, if the researchers illuminated the cells right afterwards with green light, the cells became more excitable, whereas if they used UV/red light instead, it reduced the cells’ excitability.

“New optogenetic tools to efficiently switch the cell’s electric activity both ‘on’ and ‘off’ would be incredibly useful in research, biotechnology and medicine,” said Tobias Moser, Group Leader at the University Medical Center Göttingen who participated in the study. “For example, in my group, we develop new optical cochlear implants for patients that can optogenetically restore hearing in patients. Developing the utility of such a multi-purpose rhodopsin for future applications is an important task for the next studies.”

“Our cryorhodopsins aren’t ready to be used as tools yet, but they’re an excellent prototype. They have all the key features that, based on our findings, could be engineered to become more effective for optogenetics,” said Kovalev.

Evolution’s UV light protector

When exposed to sunlight even on a rainy winter day in Hamburg, cryorhodopsins can sense UV light, as shown using advanced spectroscopy by Kovalev’s collaborators from Goethe University Frankfurt led by Josef Wachtveitl. Wachtveitl’s team showed that cryorhodopsins are in fact the slowest among all rhodopsins in their response to light. This made the scientists suspect that those cryorhodopsins might act like photosensors letting the microbes ‘see’ UV light – a property unheard of among other cryorhodopsins.

“Can they really do that?” Kovalev kept asking himself. A typical sensor protein teams up with a messenger molecule that passes information from the cell membrane to the cell’s inside.

Kovalev grew more convinced, when together with his collaborators from Alicante, Spain, and his EIPOD co-supervisor, Alex Bateman from EMBL-EBI, they noticed that the cryorhodopsin gene is always accompanied by a gene encoding a tiny protein of unknown function – likely inherited together, and possibly functionally linked.

Kovalev wondered if this might be the missing messenger. Using the AI tool AlphaFold, the team were able to show that five copies of the small protein would form a ring and interact with the cryorhodopsin. According to their predictions, the small protein sits poised against the cryorhodopsin inside the cell. They believe that when cryorhodopsin detects UV light, the small protein could depart to carry this information into the cell.

"It was fascinating to uncover a new mechanism via which the light-sensitive signal from cryorhodopsins could be passed on to other parts of the cell. It is always a thrill to learn what the functions are for uncharacterised proteins. In fact, we find these proteins also in organisms that do not contain cryorhodopsin, perhaps hinting at a much wider range of jobs for these proteins.”

Why cryorhodopsins evolved their astonishing dual function – and why only in cold environments – remains a mystery.

“We suspect that cryorhodopsins evolved their unique features not because of the cold, but rather to let microbes sense UV light, which can be harmful to them,” said Kovalev. “In cold environments, such as the top of a mountain, bacteria face intense UV radiation. Cryorhodopsins might help them sense it, so they could protect themselves. This hypothesis aligns well with our findings.”

“Discovering extraordinary molecules like these wouldn’t be possible without scientific expeditions to often remote locations, to study the adaptations of the organisms living there,” added Kovalev. “We can learn so much from that!”

Unique approach to unique molecules

To reveal the fascinating biology of cryorhodopsins, Kovalev and his collaborators had to overcome several technical challenges.

One was that cryorhodopsins are nearly identical in structure, and even a slight change in the position of a single atom can result in different properties. Studying molecules at this level of detail requires going beyond standard experimental methods. Kovalev applied a 4D structural biology approach, combining X-ray crystallography at EMBL Hamburg beamline P14 and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) in the group of Albert Guskov in Groningen, Netherlands, with protein activation by light.

“I actually chose to do my postdoc at EMBL Hamburg, because of the unique beamline setup that made my project possible,” said Kovalev. “The whole P14 beamline team worked together to tailor the setup to my experiments – I’m very grateful for their help.”

Another challenge was that cryorhodopsins are extremely sensitive to light. For this reason, Kovalev’s collaborators had to learn to work with the samples in almost complete darkness.

 

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Journal

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.adv1015 

Subject of Research

Cells

Article Title

CryoRhodopsins: a comprehensive characterization of a group of microbial rhodopsins from cold environments

Article Publication Date

4-Jul-2025

Study reveals beneficial microbes that can sustain yields in unfertilized fields

Naturally occurring bacteria in rice roots could help reduce the reliance on chemical fertilizers for rice cultivation, paving the way for sustainable agriculture

Nara Institute of Science and Technology

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Coordinate plots of the root microbiome data revealed two major clusters, clearly separating samples based on whether they were from fertilized or non-fertilized fields (A). A machine learning model using the “Random forest” method was developed to classify these samples according to fertilization status (B). The model showed the highest accuracy when using samples obtained between 13 and 19 weeks after germination—a period when the root microbiome appears to be most stably built, depending on fertilization status (C).

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Credit: Assistant Professor John Jewish Dominguez from Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Japan

Despite rice being the staple food for more than half of the world’s population, its cultivation remains highly resource-intensive, requiring large amounts of water and chemical fertilizers. Even as environmental concerns pertaining to global food security and climate change continue to mount, there is a growing interest in finding more sustainable ways to grow this essential crop.

Microbes in plant roots are known to play a vital role in helping plants survive. It’s known that plants can survive in poor soils by recruiting helpful microbes and forming symbiotic relationships, but we still don’t fully understand how these microbial communities form and function in real paddy-grown rice.

Now, in a study published in Plant and Cell Physiology on June 9, 2025, researchers from the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) explore how naturally occurring root microbes in rice can support plant growth, potentially reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers.

The research team was led by Professor Yusuke Saijo and included Asahi Adachi, John Jewish Dominguez, Masako Fuji, Yuniar Devi Utami, Sumire Kirita, Shunsuke Imai, Naoaki Ono, and Shigehiko Kanaya from NAIST, Takehiro Kamiya, and Toru Fujiwara from University of Tokyo, Takumi Murakami and Yuichi Hongoh from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Rina Shinjo from Nagoya University, and Kiwamu Minamisawa from Tohoku University, Japan.

To this end, the researchers studied rice (Oryza sativa ssp. japonica) grown in an experimental field that has produced healthy rice crops for over 70 years without the addition of fertilizer or pesticides. They compared the root microbiomes from this field with those from a nearby conventionally fertilized field.

Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the team analyzed microbial DNA in the roots of three Japanese rice cultivars (Nipponbare, Hinohikari, and Kinmaze), collecting samples every two to three weeks throughout the growing season, over a span of one to four years.

Their analysis revealed that microbial diversity in the rice roots increased as the plants matured. In high-yielding, unfertilized field soils, rice roots were enriched with nitrogen-fixing bacteria capable of converting atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form for plants, effectively compensating for the absence of fertilizers.

Furthermore, anaerobic bacteria were more dominant during the early vegetative stage, while aerobic and microaerophilic bacteria became more prevalent during the reproductive and maturation stages, likely reflecting the typical rice cultivation practice of draining water draining the developmental transition time.

These findings provide valuable insights into how beneficial microbes assemble and function in the roots of rice grown in nutrient-poor soils. Such microbes could be isolated and leveraged to support sustainable rice cultivation.

Commenting on the possibilities this study opens up, Saijo says, “Looking ahead, isolating these beneficial bacteria and utilizing them in customized microbial blends could pave the way for sustainable rice farming.”

###

Resource

Title: Field Dynamics of the Root Endosphere Microbiome Assembly in Paddy Rice Cultivated under No Fertilizer Input

Authors: Asahi Adachi, John Jewish Dominguez, Yuniar Devi Utami, Masako Fuji, Sumire Kirita, Shunsuke Imai, Takumi Murakami, Yuichi Hongoh, Rina Shinjo, Takehiro Kamiya, Toru Fujiwara, Kiwamu Minamisawa, Naoaki Ono, Shigehiko Kanaya, and Yusuke Saijo

Journal: Plant and Cell Physiology

DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcaf045

The study was conducted by the Laboratory of Plant Immunity at NAIST, which aims to improve sustainable agriculture by leveraging beneficial microbes and strengthening plant immunity without overreliance on chemicals: https://bsw3.naist.jp/saijo/en/home/   

 

 

About Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST)

Established in 1991, Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) is a national university located in Kansai Science City, Japan. In 2018, NAIST underwent an organizational transformation to promote and continue interdisciplinary research in the fields of biological sciences, materials science, and information science. Known as one of the most prestigious research institutions in Japan, NAIST lays a strong emphasis on integrated research and collaborative co-creation with diverse stakeholders. NAIST envisions conducting cutting-edge research in frontier areas and training students to become tomorrow's leaders in science and technology.

Website: https://www.naist.jp/en/

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Journal

Plant and Cell Physiology

DOI

10.1093/pcp/pcaf045 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Field Dynamics of the Root Endosphere Microbiome Assembly in Paddy Rice Cultivated under No Fertilizer Input

Trump's policies already cost US companies $82 billion — and that could 'more than double'

Alex Henderson

July 02, 2025

ALTERNET

President Donald Trump is insisting that his hotly debated policies — from mass deportations to steep tariffs to his "big, beautiful bill," now being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives after narrowly passing in the U.S. Senate — will greatly benefit the U.S. economy. But Trump's critics have a very different view, arguing that tariffs and mass deportations will hurt American businesses and that the draconian Medicaid and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) cuts in his megabill will imperil vulnerable Americans.

Two articles published by Axios on July 2 — one on tariffs, the other on deportations — detail the effects that Trump's policies are having on U.S. businesses.

According to Axios' Courtenay Brown, Trump's tariffs "add about $82 billion in total new costs for all mid-sized U.S. companies, per a new estimate — a sum that would more than double if rates return to levels seen at the height of trade tensions in April."

READ MORE: 'Can anyone spell recession?' Trump slammed as jobs report stuns economists

The $82 billion figure that Brown cites comes from a newly published JPMorganChase Institute study. Those tariff-related expenses, according to Brown, "could force" business owners "to shrink costs elsewhere, perhaps via layoffs."

JPMorganChase Institute President Chris Wheat, who co-authored the study, told Axios, "The cost amounts to 3 percent of their payroll — it's meaningful that they are paying that much to compensate for the tariffs."

Meanwhile, Axios' Emily Peck reports that Trump's "immigration crackdown is hitting key pockets of the economy, disrupting workplaces and communities around the country."

Peck explains, "Why it matters: The sharp fall in immigration this year threatens to slow down economic growth, particularly in the sectors and cities that relied on newcomers to the U.S. in recent years…. There will be fewer workers to produce goods and services, slowing down growth and putting pressure on wages."

Peck notes that economist Bernard Yaros, in a report for Oxford Economics, warned that the U.S. economy "will find itself slightly diminished in the long run, and inflation will run a touch higher."

"Yaros estimates in the long run, GDP will be 0.25 percent lower as a result," Peck reports. "That's a relatively modest macroeconomic effect, but there's a wild card. The 'big, beautiful bill' that passed the Senate contains about $175 billion for even more immigration enforcement.

Read Courtenay Brown's full article for Axios at this link and Emily Peck's Axios reporting here.

'Spiritual warfare': Leavitt suggests supernatural powers tried to block Trump phone call

     

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Ailia Zehra

July 03, 2025  

ALTERNET

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reportedly suggested that supernatural forces might have been responsible for the technical issues during President Donald Trump's recent call with faith leaders.

She commented, “There is spiritual warfare as we all know. It tried to break up our call today, as the president even alluded to.”

According to liberal group Meidas Touch, Leavitt made these comments during the same call.

Prior to that, White House Faith Director Jenny Korn had expressed frustration with the situation, saying they were “waiting for AT&T to get its act together,” pointing to the service provider as the cause.

On Monday, Trump appeared to seek technical support in a social media post, stating that a conference call with American faith leaders had experienced difficulties, which he attributed to the telecommunications company AT&T.

He called on the company’s "boss, whoever that may be" to step in and address the issue. Trump also mentioned that his team might switch to a different carrier for future calls.

"I’m doing a major Conference Call with Faith Leaders from all over the Country, and AT&T is totally unable to make their equipment work properly. This is the second time it’s happened. If the Boss of AT&T, whoever that may be, could get involved — It would be good. There are tens of thousands of people on the line!" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Monday afternoon.

Trump Admin Quietly Approves Massive Crude Oil Expansion Project

"This thinly analyzed decision threatens the lifeblood of the American Southwest," said one environmental attorney.


The Colorado River by the Shafer Trail near Moab, Utah.

 (Photo: Jon G. Fuller/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Brad Reed
Jul 04, 2025
COMMON DREAMS

The Trump administration has quietly fast-tracked a massive oil expansion project that environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers warned could have a destructive impact on local communities and the climate.

As reported recently by the Oil and Gas Journal, the plan "involves expanding the Wildcat Loadout Facility, a key transfer point for moving Uinta basin crude oil to rail lines that transport it to refineries along the Gulf Coast."


he goal of the plan is to transfer an additional 70,000 barrels of oil per day from the Wildcat Loadout Facility, which is located in Utah, down to the Gulf Coast refineries via a route that runs along the Colorado River. Controversially, the Trump administration is also plowing ahead with the project by invoking emergency powers to address energy shortages despite the fact that the United States for the last couple of years has been producing record levels of domestic oil.

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) issued a joint statement condemning the Trump administration's push to approve the project while rushing through environmental impact reviews.

"The Bureau of Land Management's decision to fast-track the Wildcat Loadout expansion—a project that would transport an additional 70,000 barrels of crude oil on train tracks along the Colorado River—using emergency procedures is profoundly flawed," the Colorado Democrats said. "These procedures give the agency just 14 days to complete an environmental review—with no opportunity for public input or administrative appeal—despite the project's clear risks to Colorado. There is no credible energy emergency to justify bypassing public involvement and environmental safeguards. The United States is currently producing more oil and gas than any country in the world."

On Thursday, the Bureau of Land Management announced the completion of its accelerated environmental review of the project, drawing condemnation from climate advocates.

Wendy Park, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, described the administration's rush to approve the project as "pure hubris," especially given its "refusal to hear community concerns about oil spill risks." She added that "this fast-tracked review breezed past vital protections for clean air, public safety and endangered species."

Landon Newell, staff attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, accused the Trump administration of manufacturing an energy emergency to justify plans that could have a dire impact on local habitats.

"This thinly analyzed decision threatens the lifeblood of the American Southwest by authorizing the transport of more than 1 billion gallons annually of additional oil on railcars traveling alongside the Colorado River," he said. "Any derailment and oil spill would have a devastating impact on the Colorado River and the communities and ecosystems that rely upon it."