Media Center

Report: U.S. Must Ban Seafood From 11 Nations Over Whale, Dolphin Deaths 

November 30, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

A report issued today by conservation groups finds that 11 nations have at least some fisheries that fail to meet U.S. standards for preventing whale and dolphin bycatch. Entanglement in fishing gear kills hundreds of thousands of marine mammals around…

NOAA Denies Key Protections in Fight to Protect Rice’s Whale

October 31, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

On Friday, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries denied a petition to establish a 10-knot vessel speed limit and other protective measures in the Gulf of Mexico to protect the endangered Rice’s whale, which is estimated to have a…

Governor Newsom Signs Bill to Protect Californians and Pollinators from Dangerous Neurotoxins

October 11, 2023 Press ReleaseSacramento

With the support of Governor Newsom and persistence from the state legislature, California has passed AB 363, which bans over the counter sales of lawn and garden neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides by 2025, limiting their use to trained professionals. The bill…

EPA Cuts HFC Use in Air Conditioning, Supermarket Refrigerators

October 6, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – In a move supported by both environmental groups and industry associations, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized standards that will phase out the most climate-warming hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in key applications -- from aerosols to heat pumps; supermarket refrigerators to…

Biden Administration to Cancel Arctic Refuge Oil and Gas Leases

September 6, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration canceled Trump-era leases for oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, eliminating an imminent threat to drill within the refuge’s 1.6-million-acre Coastal Plain.

Court Rejects Trump Administration Denial of Critical Habitat Protection to Endangered Rusty Patched Bumblebees

August 14, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

A federal judge on Friday rejected the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to refuse to designate critical habitat for highly endangered rusty patched bumblebees and ordered the Service to reconsider. Despite the bees having been listed as an endangered…

Feds Propose New Critical Habitat Designation for Endangered Whale 

July 21, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

The National Marine Fisheries Service has submitted a proposed rule designating critical habitat for the highly endangered Rice’s whale. With only approximately 50 whales remaining, Rice’s whales are among the most endangered whales in the world, making this habitat designation essential…

House Majority’s Bill on Environmental Funding Is Atrocious

July 18, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The razor-thin House majority, after weeks of delay and concessions to the most extreme elements of its fractured conference, has put forward its version of the annual appropriations bill that funds most of the federal government’s environmental programs and priorities. The…

President Biden Declines to Embargo Products from Mexico for Vaquita Violation

July 18, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

President Biden announced yesterday that he will not embargo products from Mexico despite its failure to halt the illegal wildlife trade threatening the critically endangered vaquita porpoise. The decision responds to the Secretary of the Interior’s recent certification under the…

United States Finds Mexico Is Undermining Wildlife Treaty, May Impose Embargo

May 26, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that Mexico has failed to halt the illegal wildlife trade threatening the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, diminishing the effectiveness of an international wildlife treaty. Under U.S. law, President Biden must now decide…

NRDC, SWACO Announce Seven Ohio Recipients of Food Waste Reduction Grants

May 17, 2023 Press ReleaseColumbus

COLUMBUS, OH – NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and SWACO (Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio) have partnered with the City of Columbus and Franklin County to announce the recipients of the Central Ohio Food Waste Reduction Capacity Grant, supporting…

Forest Service Permits Construction on Mountain Valley Pipeline

May 16, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Forest Service has issued a decision allowing construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline on public land in the Jefferson National Forest.

Senator Welch Introduces Bill to Reduce Barriers to Organic Agriculture

May 11, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

Senator Peter Welch and eleven other senators introduced a bill to reduce barriers to organic agriculture, and a House companion bill led by Congressman Jimmy Panetta is expected soon. The Opportunities in Organic Act of 2023 is designed to help…

Marine Mammal Bycatch in Ecuador’s Fisheries Threatens Access to U.S. Seafood Market

May 10, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

A report released today by conservation and animal protection groups finds that Ecuador’s fishing industry does not meet U.S. standards for limiting whale and dolphin bycatch. As a result, Ecuador may lose access to the U.S. seafood import market for…

Leading NGOs Launch Coalition to Advocate for Food Waste Policy

April 26, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC), and ReFED have partnered to launch the Zero Food Waste Coalition, a national effort focused on informing and influencing policy at…

U.S. to Decide Whether Mexico's Failure to Protect Vaquita Warrants Embargo

April 10, 2023 Press ReleaseNew York

In a settlement filed in court Friday, the U.S. Department of the Interior agreed to determine whether Mexico has failed to stop illegal fishing and trade of totoaba that is driving the vaquita porpoise’s extinction. The determination could result in…

Advocates Defend ‘the Birds and the Bees’ with Nation-Leading Legislation

February 27, 2023 Press ReleaseAlbany

A coalition of organizations flocked to Albany to rein in toxic neonic pesticides.

Groups File Lawsuit to Require California to Regulate Pesticide-Treated Seeds 

February 21, 2023 Press ReleaseCalifornia

Legal challenge calls on state Department of Pesticide Regulation to close loophole on unregulated sale, use of pesticides on seeds.

EPA Protects Bristol Bay, Alaska with Pebble Mine Veto

January 31, 2023 Press ReleaseAlaska

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Biden Administration today dealt a blow to the massive and controversial gold and copper mining project in Bristol Bay, Alaska called the Pebble Mine. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Final Determination under Section 404(c)…

FDA Can Curtail Antibiotic Crisis by Ending Misuse in Livestock Animals, Say Health Advocate Groups in New Lawsuit

January 24, 2023 Press ReleaseUnited States

WASHINGTON, D.C. – To protect the safety of consumers, meat processing workers and farming communities, a coalition of public health advocacy groups have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and its Center for Veterinary Medicine…