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.

Burger King’s Weak Antibiotics Announcement Gives False Impression of Action

December 29, 2016 Press Release

OAKVILLE, Canada – Burger King will stop purchasing chicken from suppliers that use antibiotics “critically important” to human medicine for its U.S. stores in 2017 and Canadian stores in 2018, according to owner Restaurant Brands International Inc. The announcement, however…

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.

USDA Overhauls Food Date Labeling for Meat and Dairy Products Nationwide

December 14, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture took action today to help make expiration date labeling on eggs, meat and dairy products less confusing, and eliminate a key cause of consumer food waste in the U.S.

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:

STUDY: Long-Dreaded Antibiotic-Resistant Superbug Discovered on U.S. Pig Farms

December 5, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – Highly transmissible resistance to critical, last-resort antibiotics called carbapenems has been found in bacteria on farms in the U.S. for the first time, according to a new study released today in a journal of the American Society for…

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…

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.

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.

NRDC and School Groups Petition USDA to Offer Responsibly Raised Chicken in National School Lunch Program

October 20, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – Schools should be able to procure chicken raised without the routine use of medically important antibiotics from the Department of Agriculture through its USDA Foods program, according to a petition filed today by the Natural Resources Defense Council…

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…

New Antibiotics Scorecard: Number of Top Restaurant Chains Restricting Use in Chicken Doubled in 2016

September 20, 2016 Press ReleaseUnited States

Subway and Wendy’s most improved; KFC, Olive Garden, and 14 others get Fs

NRDC Petitions FDA: Agency’s Weak Attempt to Curb Antibiotic Abuse in the Livestock Industry is Failing

September 13, 2016 Press ReleaseUnited States

NRDC Calls on FDA to Stop Antibiotic Overuse in Meat Production

Global Congress Endorses Protection of Bristol Bay, Condemns Pebble Mine

August 31, 2016 Press Release

HONOLULU — Native Alaskans, fishermen, conservationists and coalition partners today successfully took their battle against the proposed Pebble Mine to the World Conservation Congress in Hawaii, securing overwhelming approval of a motion urging protection of Bristol Bay from the proposed…

Obama Administration's Monument Expansion Creates World's Largest Marine Protected Area

August 26, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON (August 26, 2016) – President Obama, exercising his authority under the Antiquities Act, will quadruple the size of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM), a marine monument in Hawaii. The monument was created by President George W. Bush ten…

Despite National Decrease in Bee-killing Pesticides in “Bee-friendly” Plants; Some Still on Chicago Garden Store Shelves

August 16, 2016 Press ReleaseChicago

CHICAGO, IL– A report released today showed a significant decrease in the number of “bee-friendly” home garden plants sold at major retailers that have been pre-treated with pesticides shown to harm and kill bees. The study of plants purchased at…

U.S. to World: Protect Dolphins, Whales or Lose Access to U.S. Seafood Market

August 11, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON — The National Marine Fisheries Service issued regulations today prohibiting seafood imports from nations whose fisheries kill more whales and dolphins than U.S. standards allow. Each year around 650,000 whales, dolphins and other marine mammals are unintentionally caught and…

“Butterfly Highways” Coming to Illinois Monarch License Plate Will Fund Habitat Restoration for the State Insect

August 9, 2016 Press ReleaseChicago

CHICAGO – Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed a law that gives the green light for a new monarch butterfly license plate that will generate funds to support butterfly habitat. The “Roadside Monarch Habitat Fund,” will be used for monarch and…