Media Center

Court Rules Navy War Games Violate Law Protecting Whales and Dolphins

March 31, 2015 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES (March 31, 2015) —A federal court today announced that the U.S. Navy’s training and testing activities off the coast of Southern California and Hawaii illegally harm more than 60 whale, dolphin, seal, and sea lion populations. The U.S…

Senate Leader Reid “A Giant” for Our Health and the Environment

March 27, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (March 27, 2015) – Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who has served in the Senate since 1987, announced today that he will retire when his current term expires in 2016.

DOE’s Petroleum Council Dead Wrong on Arctic Drilling

March 27, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (March 27,2015) - The National Petroleum Council, the largely industry-based oil and gas advisory committee to the Department of Energy, released a study Friday predicting the twilight of oil production through fracking and calling for drilling in the Arctic…

Illinois Derailment Makes Bomb-train Risk Clear for Land of Lincoln

March 6, 2015 Press Release

CHICAGO (March 6, 2015) – A train containing 103 cars full of oil from the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota derailed yesterday near Galena, IL along the Mississippi River.

Scientists to Obama: Stop Controversial Sound Blasting Threatening Atlantic Whales, Fish

March 5, 2015 Press Release

Leading ocean scientists from the U.S. and around the world today urged President Obama to halt a planned oil and gas exploration program off the Atlantic coast involving millions of underwater sound blasts that would have “significant, long-lasting and widespread…

Ballast Water Bill Would Open Coasts and Great Lakes to Invasive Species Assault

February 25, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON, DC (February 25, 2015) – The US Senate Commerce Committee reported a bill to the Senate that would exempt ship ballast water—the source of numerous damaging invasive species infestations in the Great Lakes, inland waterways and sensitive waters along…

New Study: Rapid Ocean Acidification Threatens Coastal Economies in 15 States

February 23, 2015 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK (February 23, 2015) – The first nationwide vulnerability assessment for ocean acidification, published today in Nature Climate Change, shows that coastal communities in 15 states that depend on the nation’s approximately $1 billion shelled mollusk (e.g., oysters and…

Groups Go To Court to Protect Blueback Herring from Extinction

February 10, 2015 Press Release

Washington, D.C. – The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and a coalition of fishing and watershed protection groups filed a complaint today in federal court seeking to reverse a decision by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) not to list…

Administration Drilling Plan Would Expose Eastern Seaboard, Atlantic and Arctic Waters to Blowout Risk

January 27, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (January 27, 2015) -- The Obama Administration proposed a five-year offshore drilling lease plan today that would expose much of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans to oil and gas production.

NRDC Lauds Obama Drilling Ban in Alaska’s Spectacular Bristol Bay

December 16, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (December 16, 2014)—The Natural Resources Defense Council today welcomed the decision by President Obama to withdraw permanently Alaska’s Bristol Bay from offshore oil development. Bristol Bay supports the world’s largest salmon fishery, worth $1.5 billion per year, and is…

Deep-Sea Discovery: Atlantic Coast Ocean Canyons Teeming with Newfound Marine Life and over 40 Species of Vibrant Deep-sea Coral

December 9, 2014 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK (December 9, 2014) -- Recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-led explorations into deep undersea canyons off the East Coast have uncovered a steady stream of scientific discoveries, including over 40 different species of corals, some potentially brand…

REPORT: EPA Can Quickly Cut Dangerous Methane Pollution from Oil and Gas Industry in Half

November 20, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (November 20, 2014) — A new report from leading climate advocates today shows how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can cut climate warming methane pollution in half, while dramatically reducing harmful, wasteful air pollution from the oil and…

Federal Court Tosses Shell Oil Company’s Preemptive Suit Against Environmental Groups

November 12, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO (November 12, 2014) – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected today a Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc. and Shell Offshore Inc. lawsuit that attempted to prevent environmental groups from challenging its oil drilling plans…

Whale Woes: NRDC Petitions for Endangered Species Act Protections

September 18, 2014 Press Release

LOS ANGELES (September 18, 2014) —The Gulf of Mexico’s only non-migrating great whales are in big trouble, which is why the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) today petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to add the region’s Bryde’s (pronounced BROO-dus)…

EPA Endorses New & Improved Beach Water Quality Safety Threshold

July 31, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 31, 2014) – In a move designed to protect more than 180 million people who visit America’s coastal and Great Lakes beaches every year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced stronger National Beach Guidance for all…

NRDC Report Helps Guide Major Fuel Buyers to Sustainable Biofuels Procurement

July 29, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 29, 2014)—Amid increasing interest in alternative transportation fuels, a new report shows how federal agencies and other large commercial customers can buy sustainably produced biofuels and avoid those linked to major deforestation, destroyed wildlife habitat and fouled waterways.

Federal Government OKs Seismic Exploration for Oil, Gas on the East Coast

July 18, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 17, 2014) — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a decision today that would open the East Coast — from the New Jersey/ Delaware border to Cape Canaveral, Florida — to dangerous “seismic” exploration for offshore…

EPA Should Ban Bee-Killing ‘Neonic’ Insecticides

July 7, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 7, 2014)—The government should move as quickly as possible to ban a major class of insecticides that scientists say is a primary cause of the massive decline of bees and other crucial pollinators, the Natural Resources Defense Council…

Suit Filed to Ensure Foreign Fisheries Meet American Standards for Dolphin and Whale Safety

July 2, 2014 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK— Each year, nearly half of the more than 5 billion pounds of seafood consumed by Americans — including tuna, swordfish, shrimp, cod and other fish — comes from foreign fisheries that have not been shown as meeting U.S…

Beach Report: 10 Percent of America’s Beach Water Samples Fail Safety Test

June 25, 2014 Press ReleaseUnited States

NRDC’s annual report reveals nation’s 35 “superstar” beaches, but 17 “repeat offenders” highlight need for clean water protections to safeguard swimmers.