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Louisiana's Calcasieu Pass 1 is the largest liquefied natural gas export terminal in the nation. This spring, the Trump administration gave the company permission to continue constructing a planned expansion project, despite ongoing legal challenges.

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Louisiana’s 2024 law doesn’t just block grassroots groups from monitoring the air—it threatens researchers and nonprofits with huge fines for using that data in lawsuits or complaints.

Trump’s LNG boom is swallowing Gulf Coast wetlands, despite outcry from local residents. “These are the estuaries that supply the seafood that Louisiana's so famous for. But that'll all be backfilled … It’ll change this environment forever.”

As nearly two-thirds of the U.S. sweltered under extreme heat advisories last month, the U.S. government announced plans to erase the scientific and legal backbone that empowers the EPA to take action against planet-warming pollution.

Trump’s LNG boom is transforming the Gulf Coast. In Lake Charles, Louisiana, black smoke from flare stacks rises over homes and schools — and more terminals are on the way. Watch our 8-minute video:

A startup promised 45,000 EV jobs to struggling towns. They’re still waiting.

Since Trump took office, the EPA has canceled more than 600 grants—totaling over $2.7 billion. One village lost funds to stop riverbank erosion. Another group lost air monitors for polluted neighborhoods: “We feel like we're at ground zero again.”.

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“We can't breathe in these communities. Our children have asthma, our children have cancer, our children have epilepsy. It makes absolutely no sense to approve two or three new LNG facilities here.”

Despite legal challenges and local opposition, Trump declared a national “energy emergency” to fast-track these projects, clearing the way for at least six previously stalled terminals to move forward — including a second LNG terminal at Calcasieu Pass.

Liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is natural gas — a fossil fuel — that has been cooled to a liquid state for easier storage and transportation. The U.S. has been the world’s largest LNG exporter since 2023, exporting roughly 11.9 billion cubic feet a day.

This is the largest liquefied natural gas export terminal in the nation. Calcasieu Pass 1, located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, has been in operation since 2022 and stretches hundreds of acres.

The number of extreme weather disasters has jumped fivefold worldwide over the past 50 years, and the number of deaths has nearly tripled, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Few places feel Trump’s LNG boom like Lake Charles, Louisiana — where homes sit less than half a mile from flare stacks and black smoke rolls over the sky. Watch our 8-minute video from the frontlines:

In cities like Detroit, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, redlined neighborhoods still have outdated infrastructure, aging homes, and unreliable service—making it hard to install solar, use EV chargers, or stay cool in a heatwave.

🎉 We are thrilled to be co-recipients with @CapitalBNews of a first-place prize in the 2025 @NABJ awards for our story revealing the often-hidden effort by utilities to curry favor with civil rights leaders in the Southeast.

Trump declared an “energy emergency” to accelerate LNG expansion. But critics say the logic doesn’t add up: “You can’t claim domestic shortages of energy at the same time you’re going to greenlight a bunch of export terminals.”

Federal incentives sparked a race for EV plants. Some towns were ready to give startups free land and public financing — only to be left with nothing.

But while companies win big from Trump’s LNG boom, nearby communities face higher costs, pollution, and a disappearing way of life. Read and watch more: