Media Center

Supreme Court Ruling Protects Millions from Air Pollution

April 29, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 29, 2014) -- The Supreme Court today upheld, by a 6-2 vote, the cross-state air pollution rule, one of the most significant health standards ever adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency.

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…

Koch Brothers in Court Over Chicago's Petcoke Piles?

April 28, 2014 Press Release

CHICAGO (April 28, 2014) – Environmental groups today signaled their intention to sue the owners of two sites that together hold massive mounds of oil refining waste and coal on Chicago’s Southeast Side. The Southeast Environmental Task Force (SETF) and…

Ten Times More Solar Power Coming to New York With Expansion of State Program

April 24, 2014 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK (April 24, 2014) — The Cuomo administration today took the final step in approving a major expansion of the state’s NY-Sun Initiative—a program that is successfully boosting solar power across the state—extending it through 2023 and supporting a…

CDC: Foster Farms Salmonella Outbreak Not Over

April 21, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 21, 2014) – More than two months after declaring the outbreak appeared to be over, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported an additional 43 people sickened by strains of Salmonella linked to Foster Farms…

State Department Takes Prudent Action on Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline

April 18, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 18, 2014) – The State Department announced today it will extend its decision-making period on the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

Spring-run Salmon Release Marks Progress in Restoring San Joaquin River

April 17, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (April 17, 2014) – Today, for the first time in over 60 years, spring run Chinook salmon returned to the San Joaquin River when the San Joaquin River Restoration Program released 54,000 juvenile into California’s second largest…

Court Unanimously Agrees Feds Unlawfully Renewed Unsustainable Water Supply Contracts in the Bay-Delta

April 16, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO (April 16, 2014) – A unanimous eleven-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today overturned two earlier court rulings that upheld the federal government’s renewal of several dozen long-term water supply contracts for diversions from…

In Ad and Letter, Nobel Laureates Urge Obama to Deny Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline

April 16, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 16, 2014) – Ten Nobel Peace Prize laureates today are urging President Obama to deny the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, citing the moral imperative of protecting some of the world’s most vulnerable populations from the devastating effects…

UN Experts Issue Dire Warning about Climate Change

April 13, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 13, 2014) -- The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change today issued its latest report with an urgent call to action.

Water Agencies’ Drought Plan Needs Balance

April 9, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO (April 9, 2014) – The California Department of Water Resources and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation today released their proposed 2014 Drought Operations Plan, a proposal that waives key environmental standards to the detriment of the majority of Californians.

REPORT: Nearly 300,000 New Yorkers Flooded in Sandy Lived Outside FEMA Flood Zones

April 8, 2014 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK (April 8, 2014) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood maps for New York City did not identify that nearly 65 percent of the area inundated during Hurricane Sandy—home to nearly 300,000 people—was at risk from coastal flooding…

Citing Climate Damage, More than 100 Scientists, Economists Urge Obama and Kerry to Reject Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline

April 7, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 7, 2014) – More than 100 leading scientists and economists are calling on the Obama Administration to deny the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline because it will trigger massive development of the world’s dirtiest oil, and escalate…

NRDC Report: Potentially Unsafe Chemicals in Food Threaten Public Health

April 7, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 7, 2014) – Federal protections to keep potentially unsafe chemicals out of our foods are woefully inadequate and may be putting the health of Americans at risk, a Natural Resources Defense Council investigation found.

New Law Saddles Kentuckians with Big Electricity Bills; Aims to Block Benefits of Fighting Climate Change

April 3, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 3, 2014) – A new Kentucky law approved late yesterday will raise Kentuckians’ electricity bills. This bill mirrors efforts that big polluters and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) have unsuccessfully pushed in other states to undermine upcoming…

Near Record-Low California Snowpack Measurement Warns of Greater Water Supply Challenges Ahead

April 1, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES (April 1, 2014) – Critically low California snowpack measurement was reported today by the state’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) in its annual April snow survey, revealing the snowpack measurement is at its lowest since 1988 – the…

Science Confirms We Must Cut Carbon Pollution Now Because Climate Damage Already Is Underway

March 30, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (March 30, 2014) – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released an alarming report today in Japan showing that climate change is already affecting every continent and all of the oceans, underscoring the need to reduce carbon pollution in…

Obama’s Plan to Curb Methane Emissions is a Big Step in Climate Fight

March 28, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (March 28, 2014) – The White House’s Interagency Methane Strategy to curb the emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas, released today, is a big step in the right direction, the Natural Resources Defense Council said.

FDA’s Antibiotics Plan Misses the Mark

March 26, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (March 26, 2014) – The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) today released a progress report on its voluntary approach to reducing the use of antibiotics in farm animals, which relies on collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry.

Air Pollution is Killing Millions around the World, says World Health Organization

March 25, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (March 25, 2014) – An estimated seven million people around the world in 2012 died prematurely as a result of air pollution– making dirty air the largest single environmental health risk we face, the World Health Organization reported today…