Media Center

Zinke's Confirmation as Interior Secretary Could Threaten Public Lands

March 1, 2017 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The Senate today confirmed Ryan Zinke as Interior Secretary.

Conservation Groups Join with LG Electronics at Groundbreaking for New North American Headquarters

February 7, 2017 Press Release

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. – Five conservation groups joined LG Electronics USA at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new LG North American headquarters.

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.

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 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.

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.

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…

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…

Mystic Aquarium and Partners Praise Connecticut Congressional Delegation’s Call for New England Ocean Monument

August 4, 2016 Press ReleaseConnecticut

Mystic, Conn – The Connecticut Congressional delegation, led by Senator Richard Blumenthal, asked the Obama Administration today to permanently protect the New England Canyons and Seamounts, an ocean area about 150 miles off the coast of Cape Cod.

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…

Rep. Bishop Bill Makes Bears Ears a Gift to Oil, Gas & Coal

July 14, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – Two days before Interior Secretary Sally Jewell hosts a Saturday meeting in Utah to hear local views on a proposal to create a 1.9-million-acre national monument in an area called Bears Ears, Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) introduced the…

Sonic Sea: Award-Winning Documentary Exposes Impact of Industrial Ocean Noise on Whales

May 6, 2016 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES — An award-winning documentary film about the devastating impact of human-produced ocean noise on whales and other marine life will premiere globally on Discovery Channel this spring and tour both the United States and Europe throughout 2016. SONIC…

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…