News & Commentary

Biden Can Protect Communities, Halt Mountain Valley Pipeline

March 9, 2021 Expert BlogWest Virginia, Virginia, North CarolinaAmy Mall

We have new leadership in Washington under President Biden, and his administration should take action to send the Mountain Valley Pipeline right where it belongs—into the dustbin of history.

Preventing the Next Drinking Water Emergency

February 19, 2021 Expert BlogTexasAaron Colangelo

States must update emergency response plans to avert the next water crisis.

Energy Justice for Maryland’s Low-Income Communities

February 5, 2021 Expert BlogMarylandDeron Lovaas

Maryland is poised to lead the nation by adopting a low-income energy efficiency performance standard. Learn why that matters now more than ever.

Cities Are Leading the Way: 2020 Wins & Look Ahead

December 17, 2020 Expert BlogUnited States, Charlotte, Honolulu, Pittsburgh, St. LouisJay Orfield, Kimi Narita

Cities made tremendous progress in their climate challenge goals throughout a difficult 2020. Now, cities are eyeing all that is possible in the new year.

Compost Matters—But Food Matters More

December 3, 2020 Expert BlogBaltimore, United StatesYvette Cabrera

With food waste reduction in mind, the Baltimore Food Matters team created a resource that could serve as a reminder to be cognizant of food waste, what we can do to prevent it, and how anyone can compost locally.

Three Lessons Learned from the Axed Atlantic Coast Pipeline

July 6, 2020 Expert BlogVirginia, West Virginia, North CarolinaGillian Giannetti

This is a significant and long-overdue victory for the landowners, community leaders, countless people across three states, and environmental advocates who have fought this project for years.

Developers Abandon the Atlantic Coast Pipeline for Good

July 6, 2020 Expert BlogWest Virginia, Virginia, North CarolinaNRDC

The decision is a landmark win for those who saw the polluting project as a threat to waterways, wildlife, the climate, and vulnerable communities.

Defender of Energy Efficiency—and Equity

February 3, 2020 NRDC in ActionGeorgia, Detroit, Michigan, Baltimore, Maryland, Norfolk, VirginiaKeith Mulvihill

Dawone Robinson, regional director of NRDC’s Energy Efficiency for All Project, works to create opportunities for low-income communities of color to save energy and money.

NC's Missing the Big Picture on Climate Resilience

December 11, 2019 Expert BlogNorth CarolinaRob Moore

NC is applying for $168 million from HUD's CDBG-MIT fund. But NC is proposing to focus on a narrow range of projects and missing the larger opportunity to use these funds to make much-needed changes to a range of local…

July Was Hottest on Record—and Dangerous Heat Hits Home

August 20, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, North CarolinaDr. Vijay Limaye

Fueled by climate change, extreme heat is causing more hospitalizations—and even deaths—across the country.

Energy Efficiency Boosts Prospects of Low-Income Marylanders

August 19, 2019 Expert BlogMaryland, BaltimoreDeron Lovaas

There has been considerable attention from national pundits and political operatives pointing at Baltimore as a city that has not reached its full potential. While they fixate on problems, Energy Efficiency for All teammates write about a helpful solution in…

Dear Mr. Trump: Don’t Retraumatize Our Communities

August 14, 2019 Expert BlogBaltimore, MarylandStephanie Gidigbi Jenkins

Trump’s comments about Baltimore being dangerous and rat-infested hurts—not just the people of West Baltimore and other neighborhoods like it—but all of us who want a better, healthier, more sustainable and equitable future.

Justice Warrior on the Affordable Energy Front

June 12, 2019 NRDC in ActionVirginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New YorkKaren L. Smith-Janssen

Dawone Robinson is righting the inequities that low-income communities of color face in accessing the benefits of energy efficiency—like more comfortable homes and lower energy bills, for starters.

Climate Change Is Worsening Houston’s Housing Crisis

August 8, 2018 DispatchHouston, TexasTim Vanderpool

Since Hurricane Harvey, homelessness has gone up, some public housing residents are living in severely damaged homes, and others have been cast out to remote suburbs—to the detriment of local well-being and the economy.

This Tiny North Carolina Town Is Sick of Being a Dumping Ground for Pollution

August 21, 2017 DispatchNorth CarolinaRobynne Boyd

The largely African-American community of Dobbins Heights hopes to protect its health—and its trees—from the biomass industry.

Before Flint, Before East Chicago, There Was Smeltertown

November 29, 2016 DispatchFlint, Indiana, Texas, NewarkLauren Villagran

After a 1970s CDC study showed that the mostly Mexican-American population of this Texas town had dangerously high blood lead levels, its buildings were demolished and its residents were booted.

Environmental Justice: One Texas Man’s Refinery Fight

August 26, 2016 DispatchTexasJeff Turrentine

For activist Bryan Parras, a native of Houston’s refinery-filled east side, the personal is very much the political.

The Long Road to Safer School Buses

March 15, 2016 NRDC in ActionWashington, California, New Jersey, TexasAmanda MacMillan

A landmark NRDC study showed that standard-issue diesel-spewing school buses could put kids at risk of cancer—and drove a national effort to clean the vehicles up.

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?

Port Arthur, Texas: American Sacrifice Zone

November 13, 2014 DispatchPort Arthur, TexasTed Genoways

If built, the Keystone XL pipeline would end in one toxic town.