Media Center

New Study: Rapid Ocean Acidification Threatens Coastal Economies in 15 States

February 23, 2015 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK (February 23, 2015) – The first nationwide vulnerability assessment for ocean acidification, published today in Nature Climate Change, shows that coastal communities in 15 states that depend on the nation’s approximately $1 billion shelled mollusk (e.g., oysters and…

Atlantic Ocean Council Fails to Protect East Coast Coral Canyons

February 11, 2015 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK (February 11, 2015) — The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council today postponed a vote on a protection plan for rare, ecologically-important and highly vulnerable deep sea coral communities off the region’s coast. The Council manages U.S. fisheries resources in…

Groups Go To Court to Protect Blueback Herring from Extinction

February 10, 2015 Press Release

Washington, D.C. – The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and a coalition of fishing and watershed protection groups filed a complaint today in federal court seeking to reverse a decision by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) not to list…

Administration Drilling Plan Would Expose Eastern Seaboard, Atlantic and Arctic Waters to Blowout Risk

January 27, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (January 27, 2015) -- The Obama Administration proposed a five-year offshore drilling lease plan today that would expose much of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans to oil and gas production.

NRDC Lauds Obama Drilling Ban in Alaska’s Spectacular Bristol Bay

December 16, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (December 16, 2014)—The Natural Resources Defense Council today welcomed the decision by President Obama to withdraw permanently Alaska’s Bristol Bay from offshore oil development. Bristol Bay supports the world’s largest salmon fishery, worth $1.5 billion per year, and is…

Deep-Sea Discovery: Atlantic Coast Ocean Canyons Teeming with Newfound Marine Life and over 40 Species of Vibrant Deep-sea Coral

December 9, 2014 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK (December 9, 2014) -- Recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-led explorations into deep undersea canyons off the East Coast have uncovered a steady stream of scientific discoveries, including over 40 different species of corals, some potentially brand…

Federal Court Tosses Shell Oil Company’s Preemptive Suit Against Environmental Groups

November 12, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO (November 12, 2014) – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected today a Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc. and Shell Offshore Inc. lawsuit that attempted to prevent environmental groups from challenging its oil drilling plans…

Expanded Pacific Marine Reserve Protects Critically Important Sea Life

September 24, 2014 Press Release

President Obama will expand the Pacific Remote Islands National Marine Monument, southwest of Hawaii, putting under protection large new areas of ocean with some of the richest and most diverse sea life on the planet. The original 83,000-square mile monument…

Whale Woes: NRDC Petitions for Endangered Species Act Protections

September 18, 2014 Press Release

LOS ANGELES (September 18, 2014) —The Gulf of Mexico’s only non-migrating great whales are in big trouble, which is why the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) today petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to add the region’s Bryde’s (pronounced BROO-dus)…

EPA Endorses New & Improved Beach Water Quality Safety Threshold

July 31, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 31, 2014) – In a move designed to protect more than 180 million people who visit America’s coastal and Great Lakes beaches every year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced stronger National Beach Guidance for all…

Federal Government OKs Seismic Exploration for Oil, Gas on the East Coast

July 18, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 17, 2014) — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a decision today that would open the East Coast — from the New Jersey/ Delaware border to Cape Canaveral, Florida — to dangerous “seismic” exploration for offshore…

Suit Filed to Ensure Foreign Fisheries Meet American Standards for Dolphin and Whale Safety

July 2, 2014 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK— Each year, nearly half of the more than 5 billion pounds of seafood consumed by Americans — including tuna, swordfish, shrimp, cod and other fish — comes from foreign fisheries that have not been shown as meeting U.S…

Beach Report: 10 Percent of America’s Beach Water Samples Fail Safety Test

June 25, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (June 25, 2014) – Ten percent of all water quality samples collected last year from nearly 3,500 coastal and Great Lakes beaches in the U.S. contained bacteria levels that failed to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s most protective…

Obama takes 'bold action' to protect Pacific marine life

June 17, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (June 17, 2014)--President Obama today proposed expanding protections in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. The expansion would shelter some of the world's most pristine and biologically rich marine ecosystems.

We Can’t Risk Another Deepwater Horizon, and Shouldn’t Open Coasts for Drilling

June 13, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (June 13, 2014) —The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is beginning to develop its plan for leasing offshore parcels for oil and gas production for the five-year period that begins in mid-2017.

NRDC, BlackRock and FTSE Jumpstart Mainstream Climate-Conscious Investing

April 29, 2014 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK (April 29, 2014) – The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), BlackRock and FTSE Group, the global index provider, partnered today in launching a groundbreaking equity global index series that will exclude companies linked to exploration, ownership or extraction…

Redford Urges Americans to “Join Me in Standing Up to Big Oil”

April 17, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 17, 2014) – In a nationwide appeal, environmental activist Robert Redford today called on the American public to help put the Arctic Ocean off limits to oil industry drilling plans. The Hollywood director and actor singled out Royal…

Coast Guard Report on Shell Debacle Underscores Danger of Arctic Drilling

April 4, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 4, 2014) -- The U.S. Coast Guard’s long-awaited report on the 2012 grounding of Shell Oil’s Kulluk drill rig near Kodiak Island, Alaska underscores the serious threats posed by drilling in the Arctic Ocean, the Natural Resources Defense…

Industry Urges Ships to Shush in order to Protect World’s Whales

April 3, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO (April 3, 2014) — After five years of intensive coalition work, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) today released voluntary guidelines intended to reduce underwater noise from commercial ships globally. Ocean noise has been a growing problem for the…

EPA Takes Next Step Necessary to Protect Bristol Bay

February 28, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (February 28, 2014) - Responding to public demand to protect Bristol Bay in southwest Alaska from the proposed Pebble Mine, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said today it is taking the first step in a process under the federal…