Policy Solutions: Reports & Issue Papers

More Reports & Issue Papers

Reject the American Energy and Infrastructure Act (H.R. 7)

Fact Sheet

Republican leadership is hijacking a must-pass bill in order to advance an extreme agenda. Faced with a $75 billion gap in the transportation reauthorization bill, they are pushing the so-called American Energy and Infrastructure Act (H.R. 7), which vastly expands irresponsible oil drilling, and as a ploy says the revenues will be used to fund transportation. If enacted, H.R. 7 would, at best, produce less than 1 percent of the revenue needed to fund the transportation bill. This proposal would not create jobs. Rather, it would kill a transportation bill--the one true jobs bill Congress could pass this year even though there is a bipartisan approach moving through the Senate. Get document in pdf.

Financing Stormwater Retrofits in Philadelphia and Beyond

Report

Stormwater runoff is a principal cause of urban waterway pollution nationwide, fouling rivers, lakes, beaches, and drinking water supplies. To reduce the environmental and public health threats posed by polluted stormwater and to comply with the Clean Water Act, cities nationwide are making significant investments to reduce stormwater runoff. However, traditional solutions that rely solely on fixing or expanding existing sewer and stormwater infrastructure can be extremely expensive and fail to address the root cause of the problem: impervious spaces in the built environment that generate 10 trillion gallons of untreated runoff per year.

Fighting Climate Effects: Protecting People from Extreme Heat in One of India’s Fastest-Growing Cities

Fact Sheet

Ahmedabad, one of the top 10 fastest-growing cities in India, experiences dangerously high daily temperatures for several months out of the year. Recently, the city experienced its most harsh heat wave season, with four months of extreme temperatures reaching 122° Fahrenheit (50° Celsius) in 2010. Although national programs exist to address many effects of climate change in India, the country has yet to implement strategies to adapt to the extreme effects of increasing heat. In response, NRDC and our on-the-ground partners, the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and the Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar (IIPH), are working with city officials and leaders in Ahmedabad to protect people from the city’s extreme heat exacerbated by climate change. Get document in pdf.

Driving Emissions to Zero
A Strong California Zero Emissions Vehicle Program Can Deliver the Future of Electric Cars

Fact Sheet

Battery, fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid electric cars are a key part of California’s efforts to protect public health, improve our nation’s energy security, and reach our long-term carbon reduction goals. California now has an opportunity to achieve these goals as the California Air Resources Board (ARB) works to set strong Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) requirements through 2025. Updating these standards will drive advanced vehicle technologies not only in California, but around the nation. Get document in pdf.

Clean Water Saves Lives

Fact Sheet

Every day in the United States, most people walk a few feet to a clean and private bathroom, and turn on the tap: a flow of fresh, clean drinking water gushes out. At the same time, there are women and girls all around the globe who are not as fortunate. Women and girls are often responsible for collecting water for their families, a task that takes hours each day and can limit time for other things, such as school. Instead of turning on the tap, they have to make a dangerous trek of more than three and a half miles, on average, to gather water for their families. The water they collect, while desperately needed, is not always clean or safe for human consumption. When they need to use the bathroom, they often retreat to the forest or bush because there is no toilet available, which then contaminates the very water they are drinking. Get document in pdf.

NRDC Pesticides Team: Protecting Against Chemicals Designed to Kill

Fact Sheet

Long before organic foods were a staple product line for major grocers, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) was an advocate for pesticide-free products and dedicated itself to eliminating the unseen dangers of chemicals in our food. While we've achieved many successes, NRDC's Pesticides team continues to push the EPA to remove the most dangerous pesticides from the market and to educate consumers, food growers, and business leaders about sustainable alternatives.

Get document in pdf.

Keystone XL Pipeline: Undermining U.S. Energy Security and Sending Tar Sands Overseas
How the Keystone XL pipeline robs America of an energy secure future

Report

The national debate surrounding the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline has obscured the fact that a key purpose of the pipeline is to export Canadian oil to the world market via the U.S. Gulf Coast -- a plan that would threaten the farmlands and water of America's heartland.

Volumetric Wastewater Pricing
Volumetric pricing for sanitary sewer service in California would save water and money

Fact Sheet

Volumetric sewer pricing is the simple concept of billing a customer for the volume of water discharged to the sewer based on the water meter reading -- water the customer actually uses as opposed to a flat charge. The less water a customer uses, the less the bill will be.

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