Data, Reports & Resources

Tapping the Power of Wetlands to Secure a Thriving Planet

February 16, 2023 Issue BriefUnited StatesKate Poole

Even though wetlands cover only about 5 percent of the land in the coterminous United States, they support nearly half of all species federally listed as threatened or endangered, harbor more than 30 percent of plant species, and provide essential…

Water Pollution: Everything You Need to Know

January 11, 2023 GuideUnited States, InternationalMelissa Denchak

Our rivers, reservoirs, lakes, and seas are drowning in chemicals, waste, plastic, and other pollutants. Here’s why―and what you can do to help.

Clean Water Act on Trial: The Devastating Potential Consequences of Sackett v. EPA

November 1, 2022 Issue paperUnited StatesJon Devine

Despite the CWA’s tremendous success in improving water quality across the country, a threat to the law as we know it looms in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency.

A Fairer Funding Stream: How Reforming the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Can Equitably Improve Water Infrastructure Across the Country

October 26, 2022 ReportUnited StatesBecky Hammer

The goal of clean water for all will remain out of reach until every community has a fair and equitable shot at receiving financial assistance through the nation’s largest clean water infrastructure program.

The Issue with Tissue

September 13, 2022 ReportCanadaJennifer Skene, Shelley Vinyard, Ashley Jordan

Tissue products such as toilet paper, paper towels, and facial tissue are cheap and convenient—but they cost the planet a great deal.

What Are the Causes of Climate Change?

September 13, 2022 GuideUnited States, InternationalJeff Turrentine

We can’t fight climate change without understanding what drives it.

Biomass 101

August 11, 2022 GuideInternational, United StatesCourtney Lindwall

It turns out this controversial renewable hardly lives up to its carbon-cutting reputation.

30x30: NRDC’s Commitment to Protect Nature and Life on Earth

August 9, 2022 OverviewInternational, United States

We have the tools to create a better, healthier future for our planet—and ourselves—but we must act now.

Climate Forests

April 22, 2022 OverviewUnited StatesGarett Rose, Niel Lawrence

To solve the climate crisis, we must protect our mature forests and big trees. NRDC is working to safeguard these climate-critical parts of our federal forestlands.

Biodiversity 101

April 22, 2022 GuideInternational, United StatesCourtney Lindwall

How do we define and measure biodiversity—and just why is it so important?

30x30 for California: Protecting the State’s Natural Wonders for all Californians

January 14, 2022 OverviewUnited States, CaliforniaSandy Aylesworth, Kate Poole, Helen O'Shea

From the iconic redwood forests to coastal kelp forests, California is a biodiversity hotspot. Protecting at least 30 percent of these natural places will help make them more resilient to a changing climate.

Missing the Forest: How Carbon Logging Loopholes Hinder Canada's Climate Leadership

October 28, 2021 ReportCanadaJennifer Skene

Protecting the Canadian boreal’s carbon stores is a crucial element in our fight against climate change, but industrial logging is responsible for cutting down more than one million acres of the forest each year. The government of Canada has used…

NRDC Experts and Events at COP26

October 26, 2021 OverviewUnited States, International, Canada, IndiaManish Bapna, Sarah Dougherty, Brendan Guy, Carolina Herrera, Sameer Kwatra, Jennifer Skene, Lisa Speer, Anthony Swift, Charlotte Steiner, Jake Schmidt, Douglass Sims

NRDC joins the United Nations global climate talks to hold global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, drive commitments to green finance, and promote nature-based solutions.

A Bad Biomass Bet: Why the Leading Approach to Biomass Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage Isn't Carbon Negative

October 12, 2021 Issue BriefUnited States, InternationalNathanael Greene, Sami Yassa

Pulp Fiction: Canada’s Largest Pulp Producers’ Actions Do Not Match Their Sustainability Claims

October 6, 2021 ReportCanadaCourtenay Lewis, Ashley Jordan

Canada’s largest pulp suppliers are broadly failing to implement even baseline environmental and social standards. Meanwhile, their communications materials are greenwashing their poor behavior, concealing harmful activities with false claims of sustainability.

Dirty Water Rule Case Documents

September 1, 2021 Legal filingsUnited States

These are some of the documents associated with District of Massachusetts: Conservation Law Foundation et al. v. EPA et al.—our case against the Dirty Water Rule.

Soil Erosion 101

June 1, 2021 GuideKeith Mulvihill

The loss of topsoil to wind, rain, and other forces is a natural process, but when intensified by human activity, it can have negative environmental, societal, and economic impacts.

By a Thousand Cuts: How Powerful Companies’ Wood Sourcing Is Degrading Canada’s Boreal Forest

April 7, 2021 ReportCanada, United StatesCourtenay Lewis, Ashley Jordan

By purchasing wood and pulp from the world’s largest remaining intact forest without key environmental and social safeguards, major U.S. corporations are profiting from and enabling ongoing forest degradation.

Through the Cracks: How Unregulated Stormwater Runoff Is Preventing a Successful Chesapeake Bay Cleanup

April 5, 2021 ReportChesapeakeBecky Hammer

Because the Clean Water Act doesn’t regulate all sources of stormwater, huge amounts of unregulated runoff threaten the success of the entire cleanup plan for the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Hydro-Highway Robbery: Reguemos Chile Would Benefit Agribusinesses at the Expense of the Environment, Small Farmers, and Indigenous Peoples

December 8, 2020 Issue BriefChileJessica Carey-Webb

As Chile rewrites its constitution, the country should invest instead in alternative projects that avoid the harmful anticipated impacts of this hydro-highway.