Data, Reports & Resources

NRDC is a leader and trusted source in environmental policy and research. 

From reports to issue briefs, we ensure accountability through peer review led by our Science Office, which provides data and scientific analysis that help shape and guide NRDC’s policies and positions. We also offer a range of other resources, such as 101 guides and consumer-focused scorecards to increase access to knowledge about how everyone can be a catalyst for change. 

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A plastic cup among a pile of wet leaves and branches on the ground

Single-Use Plastics 101

GuideUnited StatesCourtney Lindwall
Here’s everything you need to know about the most ubiquitous (and avoidable) kind of plastic waste: the kind made to be tossed in mere minutes.
A pipe sits atop dirt next to a building

Will Funds for Water Infrastructure Flow Fairly?

ReportUnited StatesBecky Hammer, Erik D. Olson
These report cards grade all 50 states on water funding equity.
A view of the cross-section of a cut water pipe

Getting the Lead Out: Removing Lead Pipes Would Yield Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in Health Benefits

Issue BriefUnited StatesErik D. Olson
Removing lead service lines could save the United States an estimated $786 billion from avoided health impacts over the next 35 years.

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Unintentional Partner: How the United States Helps the Illegal Shark Fin Market

ReportUnited StatesElizabeth Murdock, Vanessa Villanueva
In recent decades, shark populations have suffered steep declines, due primarily to the lucrative market for shark fins, both legal and illegal. NRDC found that the United States plays a substantial, unrecognized role in facilitating the unsustainable international shark fin…

A Better Future Through Protecting America’s Ocean Habitats

Fact SheetUnited StatesAlison Chase
Overexploitation and pollution has stressed our ocean, and acidification and temperature rises are harming marine life and impacting all of us who rely on the ocean for food, jobs, and recreation. We must act now to protect important ocean habitats.

Offshore Oil Revenue: A Bad Deal for Virginia

Fact SheetUnited States, VirginiaJacob Eisenberg
Offshore oil and gas drilling is an inherently dirty, dangerous business that can cause oil spills along with air and water pollution—all of which would threaten the $2.7 billion generated annually in the state by industries that rely on clean…

California’s Marine Protected Areas: Underwater Refuges Safeguard Our Unique Ocean Life

Fact SheetUnited States, CaliforniaVanessa Villanueva
California’s network of marine protected areas is hailed as a global model. However, ongoing investments in research and monitoring, outreach and education, policy and permitting, and, importantly, enforcement are required to ensure that these underwater refuges will benefit our environment…

Transforming Local Policies to Achieve Environmental Justice

Fact SheetUnited StatesMeleah Geertsma
Across the country, low income communities and communities of color experience disproportionate burdens from environmental hazards, unhealthy land uses, historical traumas, and other sociodemographic stressors. However, community advocates and their allies are fighting back by transforming zoning and local land-use…

An Attack on Our Natural Heritage

Fact SheetUnited StatesBrad Sewell, Molly Masterton
H.R. 200 would undermine bedrock conservation laws and make it much harder to protect special ocean places and imperiled ocean wildlife.

Martineztown Residents Fight Inequitable Zoning Laws

Legal FilingsNew Mexico, AlbuquerqueMorgan Wyenn
Under the Fair Housing Act, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is tasked with making sure recipients of its federal funds, such as the city of Albuquerque, do not discriminate on the basis of race.

Lead in Newark’s Drinking Water

OverviewNew Jersey, Newark
According to the 2017 letter provided by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Newark Water Department has been instructed, and is required by federal law, to undertake the following actions in response to the lead contamination issue.