Media Center

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.

Critical Victory for Standing Rock Sioux

December 4, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The Army Corps of Engineers denied today a key easement permit under Lake Oahe for Energy Transfer Partners. This decision is a major victory from the Standing Rock Sioux, who have been fighting to protect their land, water…

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.

Ten New U.S. Cities Join the City Energy Project to Cut Climate Pollution from Buildings

November 15, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON — Mayors from 10 U.S. cities today announced that they are joining the City Energy Project, a united effort to address their largest source of energy use and climate pollution: buildings. By the year 2030, the 20 participating cities…

New “Carbon Trap” Report: G20 Nations Financed $76 Billion in Coal Development Worldwide

November 14, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – In a glaring conflict with their global climate commitments, the world’s largest economies are continuing to pour billions into financing of overseas coal power plants, coal mining and coal infrastructure—trapping the world into decades of dangerous carbon emissions…

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…

Court Rejects Drilling in Upper Desolation Canyon

October 5, 2016 Press Release

SALT LAKE CITY – A federal judge has rejected a natural gas project on public lands along the Upper Desolation Canyon on the Green River in eastern Utah. The plan is part of the highly controversial Gasco Natural Gas Development…

Court: Aging E.D. Edwards Coal Plant Must Clean Up Its Smokestacks

August 23, 2016 Press ReleaseChicago

CHICAGO – A coalition of health and environmental groups have won a significant victory in their legal fight to clean up the E.D. Edwards coal plant near Peoria, IL. U.S. District Court Judge Joe Billy McDade ruled the plant operator…

Federal Government Urges State to end “Self-Bonding” for Coal Companies

August 10, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON, DC - With no relief in sight for a coal industry reeling from multiple bankruptcies and a declining demand for coal, the federal bureau that supervises coal mine reclamation recommended states “should not accept new or additional self-bonds” under…

Groups Sue to Stop Oil and Gas Exploration in Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve

July 27, 2016 Press Release

FORT MYERS, FL.— A lawsuit filed today by a coalition of local and national environmental groups would prevent extensive seismic exploration for oil and gas in the Big Cypress National Preserve, which is home to endangered species like the iconic…

NRDC Report: TransCanada’s “Reckless Plan B” Seeks Massive Tar Sands Oil Shipments via New Pipeline and Tankers

July 26, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The threat of devastating tar sands spills did not end when President Obama rejected the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline last November, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is warning today in a report that lays out TransCanada’s…

Kalamazoo Spill Settlement: “Slap on the Wrist” Fines Won’t Fix Tar Sands Troubles

July 20, 2016 Press Release

CHICAGO – A Department of Justice and EPA settlement agreement with Enbridge Energy over the disastrous Kalamazoo River tar sands pipeline spill announced today amounts to a “slap on the wrist” according to NRDC experts. The 2010 spill of a…

Gov. McAuliffe’s Smart Climate Move Shows Clean Energy Can’t Wait

June 28, 2016 Press Release

RICHMOND – Governor Terry McAuliffe today formally assigned the state Secretary of Natural Resources to lead a state plan to reduce carbon pollution and increase clean energy.

HazMat Teams Responding to Oil Spill in Ventura: NRDC Reaction

June 23, 2016 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES — Nearly30,000 gallons of crude oil has spilled in Ventura. Ventura County Fire. and HazMat teams are responding.

NRDC Joins PG&E, Labor & Other Enviro Groups in Historic Proposal to Replace California Nuclear Plant with Efficiency, Renewables

June 21, 2016 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO—The Natural Resources Defense Council today signed a historic proposal with Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), labor unions, and other environmental groups to replace Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant with zero-emissions energy--including energy efficiency, wind, and solar power--within…

Just-for-Show Hearing Won’t Stop Clean Energy and Climate Action

June 9, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – In response to today’s Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on the implications of the Supreme Court ‘stay’ of the federal Clean Power Plan, David Doniger, director of the Climate and Clean Air Program at the Natural…

New Analysis: Electric Sector on Track to Meet Clean Power Plan

June 1, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – Market forces and newly extended federal incentives are driving an unprecedented growth in clean energy that is creating good jobs, reducing harmful carbon pollution and helping the United States transition from dirty fossil fuels to clean power, according…

“Under the Rug” Report Reveals G7 Nations Financed $42 Billion in Coal Development Worldwide, Contradicting Climate Goals

May 24, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON (May 24, 2016) – In a blatant contradiction of their public declarations to limit dangerous carbon pollution and other greenhouse gases, Japan and Germany are quietly financing the global development of coal-fired power plants and coal mining, a new…

EPA Announces Standards for New Sources of Methane Pollution in Oil & Gas Industry

May 12, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency today released final Clean Air Act standards for reducing methane pollution from new oil and gas production, processing and transmission equipment nationwide.

Groups Sue EPA Over Dangerous Drilling and Fracking Waste

May 4, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – A coalition of community and environmental organizations filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today calling for regulations to stop oil and gas companies from disposing and handling drilling and fracking wastes in ways that…