Media Center

As Flooding from Climate Change Worsens, Groups Seek to Change Outdated Federal Rules for Building Homes and Infrastructure

January 6, 2021 Press Release

WASHINGTON - With millions of people at risk due to worsening flooding and costs of flood recovery rising as the climate continues to warm, groups petitioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today to update its rules for construction and…

EPA Finalizes Rule That Would Censor Science

January 5, 2021 Press Release

WASHINGTON – Bowing to the whims of coal barons, the nuclear industry, and chemical companies, the Trump administration is announcing a final rule today that would severely restrict the use of peer-reviewed science in setting pollution and toxic chemical limits.

EPA’s Final Lead in Drinking Water Rule Could Leave Toxic Lead Pipes in the Ground For Decades

December 22, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The Lead and Copper Rule finalized today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will leave millions of people exposed to toxic lead in drinking water for decades.

Biden’s A-Team of Climate & Environmental Champions

December 17, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON - President-elect Joe Biden today introduced an environmental A-Team destined to make historic progress in fighting climate change and protecting public health.

NRDC CEO & President Gina McCarthy to Join Biden Administration

December 17, 2020 Press Release

NEW YORK – NRDC President & CEO Gina McCarthy has been hand-picked by President-elect Joe Biden to become the nation’s first-ever National Climate Advisor. This senior White House position, reporting directly to the president, will head the newly formed White…

Signatories to Tejon Ranch Conservation Agreement Sue Tejon Ranch Company

December 3, 2020 Press Release

LOS ANGELES – Conservation groups sued the Tejon Ranch Company this week for breach of the landmark 2008 Tejon Ranch Conservation and Land Use Agreement, which preserved 90 percent of the massive 270,000-acre ranch – the largest private landholding in…

COVID-19 Shows How No One Is Immune from Converging Health Crises

December 2, 2020 Press Release

Each year, the Lancet Countdown tracks more than 40 indicators on links between health and climate change and this year presents the most worrying outlook to date as key trends worsen. However, the latest report finds that with climate action…

Feds Say Climate is Killing Whitebark Pine Trees

December 1, 2020 Press Release

Fish & Wildlife Service ESA listing decision agrees iconic high elevation Whitebark Pine trees under assault due to climate change

(Un)Happy Holiday: Trump Administration Gifts Big Oil as it Guts Migratory Bird Treaty Act

November 27, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The Trump Administration is moving forward with gutting one of the nation’s oldest environmental protections, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

In Major Reversal, Trump Administration Denies Permit for Pebble Mine

November 25, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The Army Corps of Engineers today denied a permit for Pebble Mine, the massive gold and copper mine proposed for construction at the headwaters of Bristol Bay in southeastern Alaska.

Biden Picks Mark “Clear Return to U.S. Climate Leadership”

November 23, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON - President-Elect Joe Biden will name former Secretary of State John Kerry to oversee the administration’s international climate change policies; former Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken to become Secretary of State; and senior foreign service officer Linda Thomas-Greenfield…

Trump Administration Guts Protections for National Forests

November 18, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Forest Service issued a sweeping rollback of protections for our national forests today, its latest effort to weaken landmark rules established five decades ago under the National Environmental Policy Act.

NRDC Receives $100 million from Bezos Earth Fund to Accelerate Climate Action

November 16, 2020 Press Release

NEW YORK – NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) today announced that it has been selected to receive a $100 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund in recognition of the organization’s work to accelerate climate action.

Trump Administration Opens Alaska Rainforest to Loggers

October 28, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The Department of Agriculture today announced that it will open vast swaths of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska to logging and development, a move that tramples Indigenous rights, and threatens one of our biggest carbon sinks, which…

NRC Moves to Issue Weak Uranium Mining Rules

October 23, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission took action yesterday to start work on a rulemaking that could prevent a future Environmental Protection Agency from ending the wanton contamination of groundwater across the Mountain West generated by uranium mining.

NRDC Mourns the Passing of Cecil Corbin-Mark

October 16, 2020 Press Release

NEW YORK – The passing of Cecil Corbin-Mark, environmental justice advocate and Deputy Director and Director of Policy Initiatives at WE ACT for Environmental Justice, is a huge loss for New York and the environmental movement.

New York States Moves 70 x 30 Climate Goal Forward

October 15, 2020 Press ReleaseNew York

ALBANY, N.Y. – The New York State Public Service Commission today issued an order that implements a key component of the nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLPA) – obtaining 70 percent of New York’s electricity from clean energy…

P&G Shareholders Deliver Overwhelming Vote for Better Forest Sourcing

October 13, 2020 Press Release

CINCINNATI, OH -- Investors at Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) annual shareholder meeting today sent a clear directive to the company that it needs to address its forest sourcing, with 67% of shareholders voting for a resolution that calls on the…

Governor Newsom Announces Executive Order to Address Biodiversity Crisis

October 7, 2020 Press ReleaseCalifornia

Sacramento - Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order announcing new actions in the fight against climate change and to protect biodiversity. The Executive Order includes a statewide “30 by 30” conservation goal, which was the focus of Assembly bill…

Trump Prioritizes Dirty Mining Under False Pretext

October 1, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration issued an executive order to fast-track dirty mining projects – projects that pose enormous risks to critical water resources, pristine public lands, and communities around our nation. While it offered the pretext of national security…