News: Media Center

New Analysis Reveals Comprehensive Approach to Saving Money on Gas Today
WASHINGTON(July 2, 2008) – A new analysis from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) shows that keeping vehicles properly maintained, driving smoothly and using transportation alternatives one day per week can save the average driver about $800 on gas per year. The analysis, “Tuning Up America: Real Relief for High Gas Prices,” evaluates and offers strategies to help drivers save gas with the cars they already own. The potential fuel savings are laid out for the 256 different automatic transmission passenger vehicles sold domestically in the United States in model year 2000.

California Climate Blueprint Puts State on Course to Curb Global Warming, Says NRDC
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (June 26, 2008) – California charted a fast and steady course toward solving the planet’s most pressing environmental problem with the unveiling today of a draft plan to implement its Global Warming Solutions Act, according to NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council), which co-sponsored the landmark law. The blueprint sets forth the outlines of an ambitious, multi-sector effort to create a clean energy economy in the nation’s most populous state.

Statement by Jim Presswood, on today's bill introduction to address high gas prices
Statement by Jim Presswood, energy analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), on today’s bill introduction to address high gas prices. The bill seeks to open protected areas to oil exploration and neglects energy efficiency.

“Many Americans are in real pain right now from high gas prices, but drilling for oil is not the answer. Oil production is at an all-time high and prices are still skyrocketing. We have only two percent of the world’s oil reserves. Drilling off of our beaches and in pristine areas is not the answer.

NRDC Vehicles Expert Testifies Before Congress on U.S. Transportation Policy
WASHINGTON (June 25, 2008) - Deron Lovaas, vehicles campaign director at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is testifying today before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to offer an analysis of the federal government’s role in determining transportation policy. With high gas prices at the pump affecting families across the country, Lovaas will also offer policy prescriptions for lessening our addiction to oil and creating a more economically and environmentally sustainable transportation sector.

Mayors Challenge Use of Tar Sands Oil and Other High Carbon Fuels
MIAMI (June 23, 2008) --  The U.S. Conference of Mayors convened in Miami this weekend and adopted a resolution that challenges the use of high carbon fuels such as tar sands, liquid coal, and oil shale. The resolution calls for the creation of guidelines and purchasing standards to help mayors understand the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of the fuels they purchase.

New Analysis Shows California's Landmark Global Warming Law Will Prevent Thousands of Illnesses and Save Billions in Health Costs
SAN FRANCISCO (June 24, 2008) – Thousands of Californians will be spared illness and death as a result of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), according to a new analysis. The data reveals that AB 32 will do more than help fight climate change; it also will protect people’s health and improve air quality.

U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Navy Sonar Case
WASHINGTON (June 23, 2008) – Today, the United States Supreme Court announced its decision to hear arguments regarding the U.S. Navy’s use of sonar in ongoing training exercises through 2009. The underlying lawsuit was brought by a coalition of conservation organizations led by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The other groups are the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the League for Coastal Protection, Cetacean Society International, and Ocean Futures Society and its president and founder Jean-Michel Cousteau.

Environmental Groups to Defend Polar Bear Protections From Legal Challenge
WASHINGTON — The Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Greenpeace today filed court papers seeking to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the Endangered Species Act listing for the polar bear. The lawsuit, filed last month by the Safari Club, a trophy hunting advocacy group, seeks to challenge protections granted to the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act listing decision that was issued on May 15, 2008.

Lawsuit Seeks Chemical Safety Testing and Labeling for Home Air Fresheners
NEW YORK (June 13th, 2008) – The federal government needs to inform consumers about the chemical ingredients found in household air fresheners and the potential risks those chemicals pose to human health, according to a lawsuit served this week by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Sierra Club, and Alliance for Healthy Homes (AHH).  The lawsuit follows a 2007 NRDC analysis of more than a dozen common household air fresheners, which found that most contained chemicals called phthalates that may affect hormones and reproductive development, particularly in babies.  Air fresheners can also contain other chemicals linked to increased rates of cancer and asthma.

White House Interferes with EPA Scientists' Analysis of Toxic Chemicals; Poses Risk to Public Health
WASHINGTON (June 12, 2008) – A new White House policy deals a crippling blow to the ability of the scientific staff of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to identify chemicals that pose the greatest risk to public health, potentially putting millions of people at risk, according to public health experts at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).