Media Center

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…

DOT is Putting Transportation on the Right Track 

November 27, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Transportation released a key rule last week that will require states to measure greenhouse gas pollution from highway systems and set targets to lower those emissions.

NRDC Announces EPA Environmental Justice Leader as New Senior Vice President for Environmental Health

November 17, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

Tejada will lead the organization’s Environmental Health division, serving as the chief visionary and strategist for NRDC’s advocacy to protect human health.

240 Groups Urge Biden Administration to Take Bold Action on Plastic Pollution

November 9, 2023 Press ReleaseUnited States

As negotiations for a global plastics treaty are scheduled to resume in Nairobi, Kenya, 240 U.S. environmental, public health, and other NGOs sent a letter to the Biden administration today calling for stricter limits on plastic pollution and a crackdown…

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…

Governor Newsom Signs Bill to Protect Californians and Pollinators from Dangerous Neurotoxins

October 11, 2023 Press ReleaseSacramento

With the support of Governor Newsom and persistence from the state legislature, California has passed AB 363, which bans over the counter sales of lawn and garden neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides by 2025, limiting their use to trained professionals. The bill…

Governor Newsom Stands Up to Big Oil, Protecting California Communities and Taxpayers

October 7, 2023 Press ReleaseSacramento

In a strong move to hold oil companies responsible for the economic and public health dangers of oil wells left idle and unplugged, Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 1167, the “Orphan Well Prevention Act,” into law. This bill, authored…

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…

House Majority Fiddles While Climate Crisis Burns

September 14, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – After months of climate-fueled disasters around the nation and facing a deadline in just a few weeks to pass a budget, the House Majority instead wasted time today voting on a measure to try and prevent states from…

Biden Administration Won’t Update Health Limits for Ozone by 2024

August 21, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency will not finish by 2024 its reconsideration of an unsafe ozone health standard left in place by the Trump administration, the agency announced today. Instead, EPA will start its review over, significantly delaying the process…

More than 150,000 People Called on Biden Administration to Fully Restore Endangered Species Act

August 21, 2023 Press ReleaseUnited States

More than 150,000 people are calling on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to fully restore the Endangered Species Act (ESA), following proposed regulations that resulted from federal lawsuits challenging harmful regulations…

NRDC: EPA’s Power Plant Carbon Standards Are Essential

August 8, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency is on the right path with its proposed standards to cut carbon pollution from power plants, according to comments environmental groups will submit to the agency today.

Feds Propose New Critical Habitat Designation for Endangered Whale 

July 21, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

The National Marine Fisheries Service has submitted a proposed rule designating critical habitat for the highly endangered Rice’s whale. With only approximately 50 whales remaining, Rice’s whales are among the most endangered whales in the world, making this habitat designation essential…

President Biden Declines to Embargo Products from Mexico for Vaquita Violation

July 18, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

President Biden announced yesterday that he will not embargo products from Mexico despite its failure to halt the illegal wildlife trade threatening the critically endangered vaquita porpoise. The decision responds to the Secretary of the Interior’s recent certification under the…

Report: Strong Clean Vehicle Standards Can Deliver $44 Billion in Health, Economic and Climate Benefits to New Mexicans 

July 18, 2023 Press ReleaseSanta Fe

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently announced bold action which will give New Mexicans more electric car and truck options in the coming years, and a new report shows the state can deliver the most health, jobs, and energy…

An Urgency to Clean Up Illinois’ Dirty Air

July 13, 2023 Press ReleaseChicago

As the acrid smell of Canadian wildfire smoke has barely left the nostrils of people in Chicago and Illinois, local leaders and advocates joined forces today to call on Governor Pritzker to enact clean truck rules to reduce harmful pollution.

Groups Welcome New Denver Mayor

July 13, 2023 Press ReleaseDenver

Environmental, racial justice and health organizations today welcomed the upcoming inauguration of Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and urge him to work with City Council and regional experts to build on the city’s environmental successes with bold action addressing climate change…