News & Commentary

The Uinta Basin Railway Would Be a Bigger Carbon Bomb Than Willow

December 13, 2023 ExplainerUtah, Colorado, United StatesNicole Greenfield

The project could sabotage U.S. climate goals, send oil-filled trains along the Colorado River, and pollute the air from Utah to the Gulf Coast.

Risky Realities—Recognizing the Harms of Global LNG Expansion

December 4, 2023 Expert BlogInternational, United States, Africa, MexicoJamie Lee, Mima Holt

Liquefied natural gas should be phased out in tandem with other fossil fuels, paving the way for renewable energy to meet international climate and sustainable development goals.

Water Is Life—from Standing Rock to Oaxaca’s Mixtecan Highlands

September 18, 2023 PerspectivesMexico, West, South DakotaElybeth Sofia Alcantar

A geographer sees a familiar pattern of government-backed energy projects devastating Indigenous communities and violating tribal sovereignty.  

Colorado River Carbon Bomb: Utah's Uinta Railway Project

April 6, 2023 Expert BlogUnited States, UtahJosh Axelrod

Backers of a proposed crude-by-rail project in northeastern Utah—which would unleash a carbon bomb potentially larger than the controversial Willow Project—want taxpayer support to the tune of $2 billion.

Ghost Pipelines: How Landowners Suffer, Long After a Project Gets Canceled

June 21, 2022 ExplainerUnited States, Virginia, Pennsylvania, NebraskaNicole Greenfield

The pipeline threat is gone, but the damage to their property and lives is already done.

The Unlikely Takedown of Keystone XL

June 29, 2021 NRDC in ActionNebraska, South Dakota, Canada, MontanaCourtney Lindwall

The notorious tar sands pipeline was a lightning rod in the fight against climate change and the seemingly unstoppable oil industry. NRDC advocates were part of a broad coalition that helped stop Keystone XL—for good.

Latin America at the Leaders Summit on Climate

April 23, 2021 Expert BlogArgentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, MexicoCarolina Herrera, Jessica Carey-Webb, Marilyn Kunce, Amanda Maxwell

The five Latin American countries that participated in the Leaders Summit on Climate – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico – displayed a broad range of ambition. Once again, some countries demonstrated their willingness to be climate action leaders while…

A Monumental Matter at Bears Ears—Land of Sacred Power

April 9, 2021 Expert BlogUtahSharon Buccino

Secretary Haaland knows with every fiber of her body the value of the 1.35 million acres of lands originally designated as Bears Ears National Monument—not simply for their beauty and tranquility, but for their cultural significance and sacred power.

Nebraska Ruling Does Not Clear Path for Keystone XL

August 28, 2019 Expert BlogNebraska, CanadaAnthony Swift

While Nebraska’s Supreme Court removes one obstacle to Keystone XL, many remain.

Mining Oil Shale Would Be Disastrous to Utah’s Rivers, Climate, and Public Health—but the Trump Administration Wants to Do It Anyway

June 21, 2019 DispatchUtahStarre Vartan

NRDC and other environmental and public health groups are suing to stop an extraction project (the first of its kind in the United States) proposed by the Estonian company Enefit.

Battered by Floods, Nebraskans Worry About Pipeline Spills

May 28, 2019 DispatchNebraskaCourtney Lindwall

Historic flooding recently inundated parts of the Cornhusker State where the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would pass through. Here’s why that’s a disaster in the making.

The Desire to Stop Canadian Tar Sands Transcends Borders

January 10, 2019 NRDC in ActionAlberta, Canada, Nebraska, Chicago, IllinoisNicole Greenfield

For more than a decade, NRDC has worked with indigenous communities in Alberta, U.S.-based grassroots groups, and intergovernmental bodies to halt the expansion of dirty tar sands oil.

Conservation and Community in Laguna San Ignacio

May 3, 2018 Expert BlogMexicoJames Blair

Laguna San Ignacio is one of the last unspoiled nurseries for Pacific gray whales in Baja California Sur, Mexico, where NRDC has partnered with the dedicated local community to protect the area.

The Sordid Backstory Behind the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Decisions

March 9, 2018 Latest NewsUtahJeff Turrentine

A lawsuit forced Ryan Zinke’s Interior Department to disclose files relating to the shrinking of national monuments. It’s easy to see why he wanted them to stay hidden.

This Is How We Stand Up to Trump

December 20, 2017 NRDC in ActionUnited States, Washington, D.C., Utah, Michigan, CaliforniaNicole Greenfield

Meet a handful of the NRDC staffers who resisted Trump’s attacks and defended our environment in 2017—and who won’t stop fighting anytime soon.

Meet Jane Kleeb: One of Nebraska’s First and Fiercest KXL Opponents

August 3, 2017 DispatchNebraskaNicole Greenfield

The founder of Bold Nebraska has led the Cornhusker State’s years-long rallying cry against TransCanada’s tar sands pipeline.

A Rubber Stamp on Keystone XL? Good Luck Persuading These Nebraskans

June 19, 2017 DispatchNebraskaNicole Greenfield

Meet some of the people who are striving to stop TransCanada’s dirty tar sands oil pipeline once and for all.

Still No Approved Route for KXL in Nebraska

June 1, 2017 ExplainerUnited States, NebraskaBrian Palmer

Yes, Trump has green-lighted the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. But Nebraska’s got a slew of public hearings on the calendar, and legal challenges loom large.

Zinke’s Western “Listening Tour” Light on the Listening, Heavy on the Fossil Fuels

May 19, 2017 Latest NewsUtahJeff Turrentine

As the interior secretary ponders the fates of 27 national monuments, he seems to be hearing some voices more acutely than others.

The Latin Quarter

December 11, 2015 ExplainerInternational, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia, PanamaBrian Palmer

Latin America is key to addressing climate change at the Paris conference. Why doesn’t it get more attention?