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EnergyPlatform.News(letter)
October 2, 2025
In this week’s edition of energy and environmental policy news across the states: States roll back energy rules, U.S. lacks sufficient uranium, Wildfire smoke-induced deaths, At a glance: Vermont
Plus: Scott Angelle, USA Energy Workers: Energy workers preserve the past while powering the future
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed an executive order this month rolling back home energy standards to speed housing construction, one of many efforts advancing in states to lower rising housing costs. The median U.S. home price is up nearly 25% since early 2020, according to federal reserve data. Many lawmakers see regulatory changes – including delaying or freezing energy efficiency rules – as a way to ease housing shortages.
There are warning signs of a nuclear fuel shortage as the reactor industry gears back up in the United States to meet growing electricity demand. And since the U.S. relies almost entirely on imported uranium, a looming ban on Russian fuel complicates the situation.
The effects of devastating wildfires can stretch far beyond the scorched landscape, with tens of thousands of Americans dying annually of respiratory illnesses and other diseases linked to toxic smoke from fires that consume open lands and communities, according to a recent study.
"We estimate that wildfire smoke over the past decade has killed around 40,000 Americans a year,” one of the study’s authors reported. “That's roughly the same as homicides or vehicle accidents.”
A snapshot of energy and environmental facts about the state of Vermont.
As a boy growing up in Louisiana, I have vivid memories of my dad taking me hunting. As the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (1972-1980, 1983-1988), he didn’t just teach me how to handle a rifle or call in a duck, he showed me the profound value of the land, the delicate balance of nature, and the deep responsibility we all carry to protect it for those who come after us.
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