Media Center

Obama Administration Designates/Expands National Monuments

January 12, 2017 Press Release

WASHINGTON – President Obama today designated three new national monuments, and expanded two existing monuments.

Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Listed as Endangered Species

January 10, 2017 Press ReleaseChicago

First Native Bee in Continental U.S. to be Protected by Law

Obama Administration Protects Marine Mammals by Denying Blasting Permits

January 6, 2017 Press Release

WASHINGTON (January 6, 2017) – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today denied all six pending applications for permits to conduct seismic testing for oil and gas in the Atlantic Ocean.

China Promises to Ban Ivory Trade by December 31, 2017

December 30, 2016 Press Release

BEIJING — In the most important step yet to ending the global ivory trade, the Chinese government today announced a one-year timeline for its promised ivory ban. According to the notice, China will begin phasing out registered legal ivory processors…

Obama Creates Bears Ears and Gold Butte Monuments

December 28, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – President Obama today designated two new national monuments in the West.

While Michigan Ignores Judge’s Order for Safe Water, Flint Residents Go Back to Court Seeking Emergency Action

December 21, 2016 Press Release

CHICAGO – As Michigan ignores a court order requiring “immediate” action to secure safe drinking water for Flint, residents and organizations filed an emergency motion to force the State of Michigan and City of Flint to comply. The court has…

President Obama Permanently Bans Drilling in Arctic Ocean and Swaths of Atlantic

December 20, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – President Obama today announced he will permanently remove most U.S. Arctic waters and huge portions of the U.S. Atlantic ocean from oil and gas leasing.

NRDC to DOJ: Bayer’s Takeover of Monsanto Is Lose-Lose for Farmers, Consumers, Bees, and the Environment

December 13, 2016 Press ReleaseChicago

CHICAGO (December 13, 2016) – The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has filed a letter with the U.S. Department of Justice objecting to the proposed takeover of the Monsanto Company by the German pesticide and pharmaceutical maker Bayer AG, which…

NRDC Study Cites Huge Risks of Arctic Drilling, Supports Call for Permanent Ban

December 13, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – An oil well blowout in the U.S. Arctic Ocean would spread crude oil for hundreds of miles, and devastate Alaska’s shorelines, as well as marine life, according to a study released by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Trump’s Choice for Top Diplomat Must Embrace Spirit of Paris Climate Agreement

December 10, 2016 Press Release

Amid reports that President-Elect Donald Trump will name Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson secretary of state, Natural Resources Defense Council President Rhea Suh released the following statement:

Trump Expected to Nominate McMorris Rodgers as Interior Secretary

December 9, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – President-elect Trump today is expected to name Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington as secretary of the Department of the Interior, according to news reports.

New Draft EU Energy Policies Take Small Step to Limit Burning of Trees for Electricity, but Multiple Loopholes Threaten to Render it Meaningless

November 30, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – Responding to public pressure and signaling progress in a years-long environmental campaign, the European Commission (EC) today took a step toward curtailing the dangerous, continent-wide expansion of burning trees to generate electricity by proposing to remove misguided subsidies…

California Court Upholds Ban on State Ivory and Rhino Horn Trade

November 29, 2016 Press ReleaseCalifornia

NRDC Applauds Obama Administration Move to Exclude Arctic from Oil and Gas Drilling

November 18, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The Obama Administration today announced it will exclude the Arctic Ocean from oil and gas leasing for the next five years.

Obama Administration Releases Final Standards for Methane Pollution on Public Lands

November 15, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The federal Bureau of Land Management today released the Methane and Waste Prevention Rule, its final standards for methane pollution from oil and gas operations on public and tribal lands.

U.S Instrumental in Protecting Antarctic Waters

October 28, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – An international Antarctic commission has agreed to declare 1.1 million square kilometers of the Ross Sea in the Southern Ocean as a fully protected marine reserve. The move to conserve the area comes after extensive international negotiation. It…

People across Globe Tell European Union: New Bioenergy Policies Must Protect Climate, Crops, Forests

October 20, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – Environmental organizations today wrapped up a massive social media campaign that directed Twitter messages at two powerful European Commission members who this autumn are charged with helping overhaul crucial European Union bioenergy policies.

New Study: Biomass Costlier, Dirtier Than Wind, Solar for Replacing Coal Power in the UK

October 17, 2016 Press Release

LONDON – Wind and solar power are likely to be less expensive than burning trees in order to replace coal in the United Kingdom, according to a new study released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

New Poll Shows Robust Support for Permanently Protecting Arctic, Atlantic from Drilling

October 13, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – Most Americans—especially millennials—would support a move by President Obama to permanently protect the Arctic and Atlantic oceans by barring future offshore leasing for oil and gas drilling, according to a new Hart Research poll commissioned by the Natural…

14 Senators Ask President Obama to Protect Arctic, Atlantic from Future Oil and Gas Leasing

October 6, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – A group of 14 Democratic senators sent a letter to President Obama today asking him to permanently protect the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans from oil and gas drilling.