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. 

Skip carousel items
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.

Viewing 1 - 20 of 58

Active filters:

Remove all filters

Filter Results

Flint Water Crisis: Everything You Need to Know

GuideFlintMelissa Denchak
After officials repeatedly dismissed claims that Flint’s water was making people sick, residents took action. Here’s how the lead contamination crisis unfolded—and what we can learn from it.

Advancing the Glasgow Declaration Accountability Framework

OverviewInternationalJennifer Skene

To achieve the international community’s 2030 forest protection commitments, NRDC is championing a framework for driving global, equitable action to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation.

Water Affordability Business Case Downloadable Tool

OverviewUnited StatesLarry Levine, Ed Osann
To help provide safe and affordable water and sanitation to everyone in their communities, this tool allows utilities to assess the business case for implementing a discount program for low-income customers.

Liability Protections and Safe Food Donation

OverviewUnited StatesNina Sevilla, Yvette Cabrera, Madeline Keating

Redistributing surplus food is an important way to make sure good food gets to people and doesn’t end up in landfills or incinerators. NRDC has created some resources to help potential donors understand the liability protections that exist.

Causes and Effects of Lead in Water

GuideUnited States, Flint, Michigan, IllinoisKeith Mulvihill

How this harmful neurotoxin got into our taps and what it’ll take to get it out.

Greenhouse Effect 101

GuideUnited States, InternationalMelissa Denchak
By increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, we’re amplifying the planet’s natural greenhouse effect and turning up the dial on global warming.

Water Pollution: Everything You Need to Know

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.

Inflation Reduction Act: A Big Step Toward a Climate-Safe Future

OverviewUnited StatesManish Bapna, Derek Murrow, Amanda Levin, Dr. Simon Mui, Luke Tonachel, Andrew Wetzler, Brendan Guy, Jake Schmidt, Sarah Dougherty, Carolina Herrera, Douglass Sims, Sasha Stashwick
Analysis on the 2022 climate bill by NRDC’s experts.

Advancing a Transformative Farm Bill

OverviewUnited StatesAllison Johnson, Matthew Kaplan, Yvette Cabrera
NRDC is working to ensure that the next Farm Bill supports climate-friendly agriculture, protects people and natural resources, and makes healthy food available to everyone.

Water Affordability Advocacy Toolkit

OverviewUnited StatesLarry Levine, Sam Whillans
NRDC and the National Consumer Law Center’s menu of state- and local-level policy solutions—our Water Affordability Advocacy Toolkit—aims to address access to essential water services for vulnerable communities.

Industrial Agricultural Pollution 101

GuideUnited StatesCourtney Lindwall
From fertilizer runoff to methane emissions, large-scale industrial agriculture pollution takes a toll on the environment.