News & Commentary

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.  

Advancing Sanitation Equity in the 2023 Farm Bill

July 27, 2023 Expert BlogAlabama, United StatesBecky Hammer

Increased and better-targeted USDA funding could help rural communities address sanitation challenges that threaten public health.

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.

NRDC Sues to Challenge Seismic Testing in the Gulf of Mexico

July 22, 2021 Expert BlogTexas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, FloridaMichael Jasny

Among the animals at greatest risk from the impacts of seismic testing is the Gulf of Mexico whale—one of the most endangered marine mammals on the planet.

Holding Mexico Accountable for Vaquita Extinction

March 31, 2021 Expert BlogMexicoZak Smith

Mexico has a choice. It can save the vaquita by enforcing its laws and regulations or it can let the vaquita go extinct. It has already shown that it is inclined to choose extinction. The United States and others, like…

For a Family in Mexico, a Mission to Protect Monarchs

February 9, 2021 DispatchMexicoNicole Greenfield

Siblings Joel, Anayeli, and Patricio Moreno see the future of their community and that of the butterflies that migrate annually to the local Cerro Pelón forest as being intimately connected.

A Translator for the Climate Crisis, Grief Included

May 4, 2020 NRDC in ActionNew York City, New York, Birmingham, AlabamaKaren L. Smith-Janssen

Writer, editor, teacher, and podcast host Mary Annaïse Heglar uses the art of storytelling to help people feel less alone in facing the climate crisis—and to build the movement for climate justice.

Showing Migrating Monarch Butterflies Some Southern Hospitality

August 26, 2019 DispatchMexico, Texas, HoustonRobynne Boyd

Non-native tropical milkweed fuels monarchs on their journey through southern states, but when cooler weather hits, the plant can bring parasites and starvation. Here’s what butterfly-loving southerners can do.

World Wildlife Conference: Last Chance for Vaquita

August 14, 2019 Expert BlogWest, California, MexicoZak Smith

The smallest porpoise species, found only in the northern Gulf of California, Mexico, has only around ten individuals left, making it the most critically endangered marine mammal on the planet.

It’s the 21st Century—Alabamans Shouldn’t Have to Worry About Hookworms

July 30, 2018 DispatchAlabamaNicole Greenfield

In Lowndes County, raw sewage is backing up into homes, flooding yards, and giving rise to long-eradicated parasites.

Help NRDC Save the Vaquita

July 6, 2018 Expert BlogUnited States, MexicoErika Moyer

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.

As the Vaquita Dives Toward Extinction, NRDC Isn’t Giving Up

March 21, 2018 Expert BlogMexico, United StatesZak Smith

For vaquita, the smallest porpoise species, native to a small portion of Mexico’s northern Gulf of California, the situation in the water has never been worse. With far fewer than 30 vaquita remaining and the population shrinking by half every…

The Effort to Replant the “Amazon of the South”

September 25, 2017 DispatchGeorgia, Florida, AlabamaRobynne Boyd

These Southerners are bringing the longleaf pine forest back—with some love, seeds, fire, and snakes.

Saving Salamanders Over a Pint

May 4, 2017 DispatchAlabamaJason Bittel

Alabama’s threatened salamanders get a little help from a local brewery.

Can Military Dolphins Save This Tiny, Critically Endangered Porpoise?

January 9, 2017 ExplainerUnited States, MexicoJason Bittel

Scientists want to round up the world’s last vaquitas to protect them from extinction. Cue Flipper.

Saving a Reef from Being Loved to Death

June 30, 2016 NRDC in ActionMexicoNicole Greenfield

How NRDC joined a small town’s fight to protect Mexico’s Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park from big resorts and other destructive development.

Saving the Breeding Grounds of the Pacific Gray Whale

May 12, 2016 NRDC in ActionMexicoPatrick Rogers

NRDC led the international fight to keep industrial development out of Mexico’s pristine San Ignacio Lagoon.

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?