News & Commentary

Recover, Reclaim, Reuse—the Coolest Way to Manage Refrigerants

January 25, 2024 Expert BlogUnited States, WashingtonDr. Richie Kaur

Washington State introduces nation-leading legislation to set up an Extended Producer Responsibility program for climate-polluting refrigerants.

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.  

Western Electricity Grid Is Entering Its Day-Ahead Market Era

April 28, 2023 Expert BlogWest, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, WashingtonKelsie Gomanie

NRDC is working with stakeholders to safeguard consumer interests and environmental protections as utilities from California to the Great Plains weigh proposals to share energy resources through an organized market.

EPA: It’s Time to Act. We need Clean Trucks Now

March 3, 2022 Expert BlogUnited States, California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, WashingtonPatricio Portillo, Heather Kryczka

Cutting tailpipe emissions and moving to zero emission vehicles can eliminate the diesel fumes causing childhood asthma, emergency room visits, and loss of life.

Washington State Adds Emergency Rules to Protect Workers from Heat and Wildfire Smoke

August 13, 2021 DispatchWashingtonLora Shinn

But many advocates point out that to fully address our new climate reality, we also need national solutions.

Monster Heat Wave Harming Health in Pacific Northwest

June 30, 2021 Expert BlogOregon, WashingtonJuanita Constible

Workers and other at risk populations need better protections from extreme heat.

Washington State Amps Up Controls on HFC Emissions

May 17, 2021 Expert BlogWashingtonChristina Theodoridi

Ambitious new law in Washington sets a maximum limit—or, global warming potential (GWP), threshold on the HFCs used in stationary air conditioning and refrigeration, and mandates that a refrigerant management program be created to combat HFC releases from large existing…

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…

How Cities Are Centering Equity in Benchmarking Policies

April 20, 2021 Expert BlogDenver, Colorado, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Seattle, WashingtonCaroline Keicher

A new resource from the City Energy Project—Incorporating Equity into Energy Benchmarking Requirements: Guidance for Policy and Program Practitioners—helps cities understand the opportunity to leverage benchmarking and transparency policies to address racial and social equity.

Stressed by Heat, Farmworkers Deserve Federal Protections

March 26, 2021 Expert BlogCalifornia, Washington, MinnesotaTeniope Adewumi-Gunn

Unprotected from many basic workplace rights and in the face of a growing climate crisis that threatens their well-being, farmworkers deserve federal safeguards from extreme heat and its dangerous effects.

This Is the Moment to Reimagine Public Transportation

September 18, 2020 Expert BlogUnited States, Seattle, New York CityAmanda Eaken

COVID-19 has changed many aspects of life, including the way we move through our neighborhoods. The pandemic has forced us to reimagine peoples relationship to streets with many cities launching "healthy streets" or "open streets" to allow for more land…

As the Ocean Encroaches, this Washington State Tribe Is Building Its Next Chapter

March 30, 2020 DispatchWashingtonJodi Helmer

The Quinault Indian Nation is one of several Pacific Northwest tribes planning for relocation, among many other climate adaptation strategies.

Free Bus Service Is the Hot New Thing in Transit

March 3, 2020 DispatchOlympia, WashingtonStarre Vartan

Olympia, Washington, is the latest city to roll out a fare-free bus system, with traffic congestion, equity, and the climate in mind.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan to Help Transition Homes off Oil

September 27, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, SeattleMaria Stamas

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, with a unanimous City Council, passed a law to help homes with oil-fueled heating sources transition to clean, electric heat.

As the DOE Abandons a Toxic Mess Threatening the Columbia River, the Yakama Nation Fights Back

September 18, 2019 DispatchWashingtonLora Shinn

The DOE wants to dodge its cleanup duties by reclassifying the nuclear waste contaminating a site along Washington’s Columbia River. Not only is it a reckless move, but it may violate treaty-protected indigenous rights.

In the Columbia–Snake River Basin, Salmon Are Losing Their Way

July 18, 2018 DispatchWest, Washington, OregonJodi Helmer

As the fish disappear, native peoples are looking for solutions lest they lose a way of life too.

In Washington, a Coal-Fired Power Plant Will Put Its Money on the Sun

June 11, 2018 DispatchWashingtonStarre Vartan

Ten percent of the state’s greenhouse gases come from a single coal-fired power plant—which will soon trade coal for solar.

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 Fight to Keep Oil and Gas Rigs Out of Our Waters. For Good.

October 3, 2017 NRDC in ActionAlaska, Florida, California, Washington, United StatesMelissa Denchak

NRDC played a key role in banning offshore drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic. Once again, it’s fighting to protect those oceans—and the rest of America’s waters.