Today: Automaker has quietly seeded the revival of the domestic magnet industry, locking down supply amid trade tensions; Texas city that lured energy behemoths is running out of water; gas turbines are in hot demand.

Welcome back: Last week China introduced new draconian restrictions on rare-earth magnet exports, a reminder of its power to disrupt global supply chains—and cause American manufacturers, including carmakers, to halt production, the WSJ's Jon Emont and Christopher Otts report.

American auto companies have long relied on China for the magnets, which are essential for making everything from electric motors to headlights and windshield wipers. But today, one automaker, General Motors, has less reason to fret.

In 2021, GM made the bold bet of investing in rare-earth magnet production in the U.S., as part of a broader effort to cut its reliance on China for parts, components and materials. As a result, in the coming months, GM is now set to be the only U.S. automaker with a large direct supply of American-made rare-earth magnets from multiple factories.

It has been a risky bet. In a car industry that squeezes out every extra cost, paying higher prices can be a big disadvantage—particularly if the U.S. and China end up reaching a trade agreement that results in a freer flow of Chinese rare earths. But right now that possibility appears distant.

• China tightens grip on rare earths ahead of expected meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi. (WSJ)
• President Trump announced 100% additional tariffs on China and new export controls on software, effective Nov. 1. (WSJ)
• Four things to know about Beijing’s rare-earths bombshell. (WSJ)
• GM is reintroducing the Chevrolet Bolt, with the 2027 model shipping early next year starting at $29,990. (WSJ)

South Texas lured Tesla, along with Exxon Mobil and other energy behemoths, with the promise of land, cheap energy and, perhaps most critically, abundant water, the WSJ's Benoît Morenne writes.

The companies spent billions of dollars over the past two decades building plants that use huge amounts of water to transform fossil fuels into gasoline, jet fuel and other refined products. More set up shop in recent years to refine lithium for electric-vehicle batteries and crank out plastic pellets. All were drawn to the region by its juicy tax deals, deep-water Gulf Coast port and latticework of pipelines that ferry cheap natural gas and crude oil.

Now, Corpus Christi, the region’s main water provider, says it is tapped out.

A crippling drought is depleting its reservoirs, and the city expects it won’t be able to meet the area’s water demand in as soon as 18 months. In addition to industrial users, the water utility serves more than 500,000 people in seven counties.

• The world is running out of clean water. This deep-sea desalination technology promises to fix it. (WSJ)
• Nobel Prize-winning chemist Professor Omar Yaghi sees the solution to the water crisis in the air. (WSJ)
• President Trump used an executive order to take aim at a low-pressure target: wimpy showers. (WSJ)

With power demand surging and fossil fuels back in fashion, it is a good time to be making turbines for gas-fired power plants. The question for the industrial companies that manufacture these colossal machines is how long the party will last, the WSJ's Ed Ballard reports.

Gas turbines—essentially landlocked jet engines that generate power—are in hot demand as a way to provide reliable electricity, especially for power-hungry data centers. Utilities and tech giants are locking in orders for the late 2020s. The cost of new gas power plants has roughly doubled since mid-2023, reflecting more expensive turbines, according to research firm Oxcap.

Investors are betting the boom is here to stay. Shares in the manufacturers that dominate the business have soared in the artificial-intelligence-led market rally, lifted by widening profit margins and eye-popping forecasts of how much electricity will be required to power the growth of AI.

Now, GE Vernova, Siemens Energy and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries must decide whether to go all in. Ramping up production risks oversupply if demand disappoints. Holding back to enjoy the pricing power could mean losing out if the most bullish power-demand projections are accurate.

• The U.S. is set to roughly double exports of natural gas in the next five years. Prices and volatility are poised to rise, too. (WSJ)
• Environmentalists and Belgium's government are seeking to extend the life of a 50-year-old nuclear reactor. (WSJ)

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• Google launched a new service aimed at enabling advertisers to measure and manage carbon emissions related to their activities. (ESG Today)
   
• Stegra said it is entering a new financing round for the construction for the green-steel plant in Sweden. (Dow Jones Newswires)
   
• The U.S. has moved to cancel what would have been the largest solar project in North America. (FT)
   
• As the Trump administration intensifies focus on DEI, compliance officers must grapple with evolving risks. (Dow Jones Risk Journal)
   
• The origin of the plastic waste problem is disposability, which became a business model for companies to sell products many times. (Bloomberg)
   
• Crowding has become a testy issue around Vermont, where small towns have taken aim at intrusive leaf-peeping visitors. (WSJ)

WSJ Pro Sustainable Business gives you an inside look at how companies are tackling sustainability. Send comments to bureau chief Perry Cleveland-Peck at perry.cleveland-peck@wsj.com and reporters Clara Hudson at clara.hudson@wsj.com and Yusuf Khan at yusuf.khan@wsj.com. Follow us on LinkedIn at wsjperry, clara-hudson and yusuf_khan.