News & Commentary

Weaker Building Codes in North Carolina's Future.

May 22, 2024 Expert BlogNorth CarolinaRob Moore

North Carolina already has some of the weakest building codes in the nation when it comes to protecting people from hazards and disasters, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Division of Building Sciences. But the state’s legislature is determined…

In Planning for Climate Change, Native Americans Draw on the Past

March 11, 2024 ExplainerUnited States, CanadaTim Vanderpool

Across North America, Indigenous tribes and nations are consulting their traditional ecological knowledge to help prepare for a warming world.

Wahkohtowin Development: Creating an Indigenous Conservation Economy

October 12, 2023 Expert BlogCanadaDr. Julee Boan

Using a collaborative approach, Chapleau Cree, Missanabie Cree and Brunswick House First Nations are advancing a new paradigm of sustainability.

America’s Failing Drinking Water System

October 5, 2023 ExplainerUnited States, Buffalo, Houston, Puerto Rico, California, FlintNicole Greenfield

First, Flint, Michigan; then, Jackson, Mississippi. Communities around the country wonder if their water quality problems will lead to the next national crisis.

North Carolina's Opportunity for Clean and Equitable Transportation

August 8, 2023 Expert BlogNorth CarolinaCoral Lin

How North Carolina can leverage the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act (BIL) to secure climate, health, and economic benefits for all

Mapping Urban Heat Islands Is Helping These Neighborhoods Adapt

August 1, 2023 DispatchRaleigh, North Carolina, United StatesCourtney Lindwall

The Urban Heat Island mapping campaign is the largest national effort of its kind to identify why one section of a city can feel so different from another on any given summer day.

Extreme Heat Costs North Carolina Employers and Workers

July 6, 2023 Expert BlogNorth CarolinaJuanita Constible

North Carolina workers urgently need formal standards to protect them from the costly health consequences of extreme heat.

Questions Answered on Canadian Wildfires—a Public Health Threat Linked to Climate Change

June 12, 2023 Expert BlogUnited States, CanadaDr. Vijay Limaye

Here is some key information that may help us prepare for the future and address the fossil fuels at the root of the problem.

Indigenous-led Collaborations Are Transforming Conservation

May 17, 2023 Expert BlogCanadaDr. Julee Boan

The pressure is immense and the clock is ticking to ensure the course correction needed to stave off the worst climate and biodiversity impacts predicted for our industrialized world. A new collective, called the Restore, Assert, Defend (or RAD) Network…

Rate Increases and Blackouts: Duke Energy’s Strategy for 2023

April 6, 2023 Expert BlogNorth Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, EastLuis Martinez

Duke failed to keep the lights on last December, but it is now pursuing enormous rate increases of more than 30 percent to help pay for fossil fuels and huge executive salary raises.

IPCC Report Leaves No More Room for Climate Denial in Logging

March 21, 2023 Expert BlogCanada, United States, InternationalJennifer Skene

Industrial logging is a significant driver of global climate change. Ignoring its emissions is a dangerous new form of climate denial.

New Program Will Help Ensure Reliable Electricity in the West

February 16, 2023 Expert BlogCanada, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, WestKelsie Gomanie

The Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP) is designed to provide benefits for customers, utilities, and the environment.

North Carolina Advances Right to Know Flood Disclosure

February 15, 2023 Expert BlogNorth CarolinaJoel Scata

Smart action by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission will empower home buyers to make fully informed decisions about where to live and how to best protect their families.

20 Years of Resistance: Grassy Narrows' Land Defenders

January 18, 2023 Expert BlogCanadaDr. Julee Boan

Asubpeeschoseewagong Anishinabek (Grassy Narrows First Nation) and allies commemorate their fight to stop the industrial logging that was taking place on their territory without their consent.

The Clean Energy Future: How We Get There Matters

November 21, 2022 Expert BlogNorth Carolina, United StatesDr. Anna Reade, Dr. Katie Pelch

A clean and sustainable energy future is needed for addressing climate change, but how we get there matters. In the midst of global efforts to clean up and eliminate the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”), Chemours is doubling…

Recent Chemical Disasters Impel Stronger Federal Safety Regs

October 25, 2022 Expert BlogUnited States, New Jersey, Louisiana, North CarolinaSahana Rao

Mutual Aid and Disaster Justice: “We Keep Us Safe”

October 6, 2022 ExplainerUnited States, Puerto Rico, Louisiana, Mississippi, FloridaNicole Greenfield

As climate-fueled disasters become more frequent—from Mississippi to Puerto Rico and beyond—relief efforts by communities, for communities, could become increasingly critical.

Advancing Environmental Justice - Forty Years Later

September 28, 2022 Expert BlogNorth CarolinaDawone Robinson

EPA Administrator Michael Regan hosted an event in Warren County, North Carolina and announced the creation of a new national office dedicated to the advancement of environmental justice across the country.

This Lawyer Is Ensuring the Fight for a Just and Clean Energy Future in Puerto Rico Remains Front and Center

September 12, 2022 NRDC in ActionPuerto RicoCarmen Cusido

Five years after Hurricane Maria, NRDC’s Luis Martinez remains committed to helping develop solar projects that make the archipelago more equitable for those most in need.

Canada’s Boreal Forest: Why It’s So Important

July 1, 2022 ExplainerCanada

Protecting the boreal is not only about saving trees and wildlife, says NRDC’s Jennifer Skene. It’s also about the people who’ve been living on the land for millennia and the urgent fight against climate change.