Media Center

New Rule Targets Methane Waste On Federal Lands

March 27, 2024 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON — In an effort to curb dirty methane pollution, the Bureau of Land Management released a new rule that charges industry operators for unnecessarily wasting publicly owned methane on federal and tribal lands. Right now, more than 150 billion…

DOE Finalizes Efficiency Standards for Washers and Dryers

February 29, 2024 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued final efficiency standards for clothes washers and dryers today that will both save energy and money for consumers.

Supreme Court Rejects Lawsuit to Reverse EPA Protections for Bristol Bay

January 8, 2024 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

The United States Supreme Court today rejected the State of Alaska’s unusual lawsuit seeking to challenge, directly in that court, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Water Act veto of the Pebble Mine. The decision means any challenge to EPA’s…

Issue Brief: Building Decarbonization Policy Must Center Housing and Health Equity  

December 22, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new issue brief released today from NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) highlights how racist practices create inadequate housing quality for at-risk communities and what can be done to address this within building decarbonization policy. The brief was created…

Biden Administration Announces Action to Protect Old Growth Forests

December 19, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Agriculture unveiled a proposed nationwide forest plan amendment focused on protecting federal old-growth forests. The proposal would amend all land management plans governing the National Forest System with new directions for the management of old growth…

Report: U.S. Must Ban Seafood From 11 Nations Over Whale, Dolphin Deaths 

November 30, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

A report issued today by conservation groups finds that 11 nations have at least some fisheries that fail to meet U.S. standards for preventing whale and dolphin bycatch. Entanglement in fishing gear kills hundreds of thousands of marine mammals around…

NRDC Intervenes in Attack on Water Heater Efficiency Standards

November 14, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) intervened to defend a Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency standard for commercial water heaters.

Biden Administration Signs Off On Low-Carbon Materials for 150 Federal Projects

November 6, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON — Today the General Services Administration (GSA) announced $2 billion in investments for clean materials in federal construction projects. This initiative advances commitments made a year ago to accelerate Buy Clean efforts within the GSA and Department of Transportation…

Laura Daniel-Davis the Right Pick for Interior Post

November 2, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has named Laura Daniel-Davis acting deputy secretary of the Department of the Interior.

NOAA Denies Key Protections in Fight to Protect Rice’s Whale

October 31, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

On Friday, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries denied a petition to establish a 10-knot vessel speed limit and other protective measures in the Gulf of Mexico to protect the endangered Rice’s whale, which is estimated to have a…

EPA Cuts HFC Use in Air Conditioning, Supermarket Refrigerators

October 6, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – In a move supported by both environmental groups and industry associations, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized standards that will phase out the most climate-warming hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in key applications -- from aerosols to heat pumps; supermarket refrigerators to…

President Biden Can Take Action to Eliminate Shipping Emissions and Advance Environmental Justice

October 2, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

In a letter sent to President Biden on World Maritime Day, 32 organizations called for an Executive Order to decarbonize maritime shipping. The Biden administration has already made significant commitments to eliminate emissions from the shipping industry, as well as…

Exposing Even More Gulf Waters to Drilling “is the last thing we need – and the last place we need it.”

September 29, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced plans to expand the waters available in the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling, as part of the new five-year leasing plan that will take effect in 2024.

NRDC Digital Tool Tracks Political Opposition to Offshore Drilling

September 21, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is launching an updated digital tool today to help people track where their Members of Congress stand on offshore oil and gas drilling. The Biden administration is expected to release a final five-year plan for federal…

Sustainability Is Disrupting the Toilet Paper and Tissue Market, Finds NRDC’s “Issue with Tissue” 2023 Report & Scorecard

September 19, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) today released the fifth edition of its Issue with Tissue report and sustainability scorecard (grading at-home toilet paper brands from “A+” to “F”).

Army Corps Considers Continued Operation of Destructive Dakota Access Pipeline

September 8, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a draft environmental impact statement today for the operation of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which threatens the lands, water supply, and valuable cultural resources of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

Biden Administration to Cancel Arctic Refuge Oil and Gas Leases

September 6, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration canceled Trump-era leases for oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, eliminating an imminent threat to drill within the refuge’s 1.6-million-acre Coastal Plain.

Court Rejects Trump Administration Denial of Critical Habitat Protection to Endangered Rusty Patched Bumblebees

August 14, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

A federal judge on Friday rejected the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to refuse to designate critical habitat for highly endangered rusty patched bumblebees and ordered the Service to reconsider. Despite the bees having been listed as an endangered…

NRDC: Biden Protects Iconic Grand Canyon Lands and Waters

August 8, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON (Aug. 8, 2023) — President Biden today established the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni - Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, under the Antiquities Act, permanently protecting more than 900,000 acres of some of the most iconic landscape…

DOE’s Water Heater Standards Promise Substantial Energy Savings

July 21, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced updated energy efficiency standards for residential water heaters today promising substantial energy savings of 27 quadrillion BTUs ("quads") of energy over the next 30 years and reduced energy bills for consumers.