Media Center

Senator Kirk Votes Against Climate Action Blocking Bill

November 17, 2015 Press Release

CHICAGO (November 17, 2015) – Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) today voted against a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would have blocked the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rule to cut dangerous carbon pollution from power plants.

Residents of Flint, Michigan, to Sue City, State over Lead in Drinking Water

November 16, 2015 Press Release

CHICAGO – Residents of Flint, Mich., together with the ACLU of Michigan and the Natural Resources Defense Council, today announced their intention to sue state and city officials for ongoing violations of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act amid the…

Northern Gateway No More - Controversial Tar Sands Pipeline Denied

November 13, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (November 13, 2015) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal government is following through on an election promise to ban crude oil tanker traffic off the coast of northern British Columbia. This announcement will effectively kill the Northern Gateway…

Cuomo Vetoes Port Ambrose LNG Project, Clears Way for Offshore Wind Power

November 12, 2015 Press ReleaseNew York

LONG BEACH, NY (November 12, 2015) – Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced he is vetoing the proposed Port Ambrose liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility off the cost of Long Island. The Natural Resources Defense Council is part of a…

Major Poll Shows African Americans Strongly Back Climate Action, Believe Shifting to Clean Energy Will Create Jobs, Hold Down Electric Bills

November 4, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (November 4, 2015) –Two-thirds of African Americans believe global warming is a serious problem, they want action more than the population at large and they overwhelmingly support the Clean Power Plan to address the growing climate crisis, a major…

Missouri Attorney General "Putting Pollution Before People" By Joining Anti-Clean Power Plan Lawsuit

October 9, 2015 Press Release

CHICAGO (October 9, 2015) — Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced he will oppose the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan today by joining a lawsuit challenging it in federal court. The historic carbon pollution protections, ordered by a…

Legal Analysis: Strong Likelihood EPA Climate Plan Will Stand Up in Court

July 30, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 30, 2015) –The Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan is likely to prevail against an expected barrage of legal challenges by big polluters and their allies, according to legal experts at the Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club…

Poof! Go the Petcoke Piles, But Neighbors Still Bracing for Fight in Chicago

July 28, 2015 Press Release

CHICAGO (July 28, 2015) – A letter quietly issued by the City of Chicago ensures that black mounds of oil refining waste will disappear from the landscape of Chicago’s Southeast Side.

Voluntary EPA Program to Reduce Methane from Oil & Gas Industry Won’t Cut It

July 23, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 23, 2015) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released a proposed voluntary initiative for reducing methane pollution from the oil and gas industry, called the Natural Gas STAR Methane Challenge Program.

Groups Sue EPA for Failure to Protect Communities from Hazardous Spills from Storage Facilities

July 21, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 21, 2015) – The Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform (EJHA) and People Concerned About Chemical Safety (PCACS), joined by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), sued the Environmental Protection Agency today, citing its decades-long failure…

NRDC President Rhea Suh Urges Support for Historic Clean Power Plan

July 15, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 15, 2015) – Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, today called for urgent and strong action to combat dangerous climate change, and released a 12-chapter resource manual that bolsters the case for the Environmental Protection…

Senator Kirk, Your Sewage Bill Doesn’t Cover Up Stinky Climate Vote

July 10, 2015 Press Release

CHICAGO (July 10, 2015) – Senator Mark Kirk held a press conference today touting his environmental credentials in the face of withering criticism of his recent vote to block action to cut dangerous carbon emissions from America’s power plants. In…

Independent Scientific Study Released on California Fracking and Oil Well Stimulation

July 9, 2015 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES (July 9, 2015) – The California Council on Science & Technology today released its independent scientific assessment on the health and environmental impacts of fracking and oil and gas well stimulation in California. The report, produced in collaboration…

New Urban Housing Rules Could ‘Level the Playing Field’

July 8, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 8, 2015) – The new rules announced today by the Obama Administration requiring cities and towns to scrutinize their housing patterns for racial bias is an important and long-awaited step toward improving the lives of all Americans.

GOP Leaders Pack Anti-Environment Riders into Spending Bill

July 7, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 7, 2015) – Congressional Republicans have been working to add an array of anti-environment riders to the $30.17 billion fiscal year 2016 Interior and Environment appropriations bill, which already included a 9 percent cut to the Environmental Protection…

NRDC TV Ads Call Out Kirk on Climate

July 7, 2015 Press Release

CHICAGO (July 7, 2015) – A new public education advertising effort chastises Illinois Senator Mark Kirk for a recent, decisive vote to block climate action. The ads running on television stations throughout Chicagoland and social media highlight Senator Kirk’s vote…

It’s Official—New York Bans Fracking

June 29, 2015 Press Release

NEW YORK, NY (June 29, 2015)—The Cuomo Administration today made the state’s ban on high-volume hydraulic fracturing official, following through on a December promise to prohibit the dangerous industrial activity in New York.

City Exiles More of Chicago's Petcoke Piles

June 24, 2015 Press Release

CHICAGO (June 24, 2015) – The City of Chicago recently informed a company storing massive mounds of oil refining waste on Chicago’s Southeast Side that no more of the material can ever move through one of its sites. The decision…

Lancet Report Affirms Tremendous Health Benefits from Climate Action

June 22, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (June 22, 2015) – The Lancet Commission on Health and Climate released a report today warning that climate change poses both the greatest threat to health in the 21st Century and the greatest opportunity to protect public health by…

New Truck Efficiency Standards Can Go a Long Way toward a Cleaner Energy Future

June 19, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (June 19, 2015) – The Obama Administration’s proposed fuel-efficiency and carbon pollution standards for heavy trucks announced today will cut fuel bills, curb carbon pollution, and spur manufacturing innovation.