Worldwide: Environmental Law

Federal agencies advance controversial oil and gas leasing proposals while communities grapple with industrial chemical emergencies and legal battles over dam decommissioning. Meanwhile, courts reshape environmental protections as lawsuits challenge EPA regulations on waste incinerators and drinking water fluoride standards.

For decades, energy policy debates in the United States have largely centered on a familiar tension: economic growth versus environmental protection. Today, however, that framing increasingly feels incomplete.

Texas is rapidly becoming the world's largest data center market, driven by AI infrastructure demands that are reshaping electricity grids, water resources, and regulatory frameworks. The state's 84 operating facilities and 140 planned projects represent a fundamental shift in how digital infrastructure intersects with energy policy, real estate development, and public utilities—creating implications that extend far beyond the technology sector.